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March Madness is here and it’s time to fill out dozens or some people’s cases, hundreds of brackets! After filling out plenty of my own, here are three teams that I think are quality underdog bets to pull out a win in the first round of the NCAA Tournament. All game odds are courtesy of DraftKings.
Santa Clara vs Kentucky (-4.5): O/U 160.5
Mark Pope’s Kentucky team has had an up-and-down season finishing 21-13 and 10-8 in SEC play. The Wildcats started its season 5-4 over the first nine games and 4-6 over the final 10. Kentucky made it to the Sweet 16 in his debut season with the Cats, losing to Tennessee after beating Troy and Illinois as a No. 3 seed. This year, Kentucky has taken a step back to a No. 7 seed.
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Santa Clara made the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 1996. The Broncos are a well-oiled machine and organized at that. Santa Clara went 26-8 and 15-3 in conference play, recording a 17-4 record since the new year began.
The Broncos force a turnover 20.1% of the time (22nd) and the Wildcats struggled with turning the ball over in SEC play this year with a 15.9% turnover rate (12th out of 16 teams). Kentucky also doesn’t force turnovers (299th) or defensive rebound well (164th). Santa Clara ranks 19th in offensive rebounding percentage and doesn’t rely on free-throws to get buckets (14.2% of points).
The Broncos rank 23rd in offensive efficiency, while the Wildcats are 27th in defensive efficiency, so this should be a battle worth watching. While Santa Clara’s schedule isn’t nearly as difficult as Kentucky’s, they are well-coached and play at an almost identical tempo as Kentucky. I like Santa Clara at +4.5 down to +3 as I think they can win. The Broncos are 3-3-1 ATS and 2-5 on the ML as an underdog, while Kentucky is 17-4 on the ML as a favorite, but 10-11 ATS.
VCU vs North Carolina (-2.5): O/U 154.5
VCU is one of the hottest teams in the nation as they enter the tournament. VCU finished on a six-game winning streak and claimed the A-10 title with a…
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Publish date : 2026-03-16 03:00:00
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