Dean Etheridge
The seedings have been announced, and the March Madness draw has been made. Yes folks, it’s time for the madness to start. First up in the NCAA Tournament are the First Four matches, and the opening game sees Texas A&M taking on Southeast Missouri State (SEMO) at the UD Arena on Tuesday night. The winner takes their place in the First Round proper against Alabama. Who will it be? Let’s take a look with our free NCAAB betting picks.
- What; NCAA Tournament Men’s Basketball March Madness
- Who; Texas A&M-Corpus Christi Islanders vs Southeast Missouri State Redhawks
- Where; UD Arena, Dayton, Ohio
- When; Tuesday, March 14th, 2023
- Tip Off; 5.40 pm ET
Betting to win 2023 NCAA Basketball Tournament
We’ve finally made it to that time of the year. It’s March Madness, and the Men’s NCAA Basketball Tournament is about to get under way. What a season it’s already been, and what a postseason it promises to be.
68 teams will compete in the tournament which starts on March 14th. They will compete in knock-out format, with the winner decided in the final to be played in Houston on April 3rd.
For most of the season, the Houston Cougars have been out on their own as the favorites. That has now changed, with the Alabama Crimson Tide joining Kelvin Sampson’s team leading the way with the best March Madness betting sites.
We’re using BetOnline’s odds here, who you can read more about at our BetOnline sportsbook review. They are making Houston and Alabama their joint favorites to win the tournament at +500. But it may vary, depending on who you bet with.
Following Alabama and Sampson’s Houston Cougars are Texas at +1100, with Purdue and UCLA both at +1200. Outside the top five in the betting is Kansas. Gonzaga, and Arizona, all at +1400. More odds from the best college basketball betting sites can be found in our below odds table.
| NCAAB Tournament Winner Betting 2023 |  |  |  |
| Houston | +500 | +500 | +500 |
| Alabama | +500 | +500 | +500 |
| Texas | +1100 | +1100 | +1100 |
| Purdue | +1200 | +1200 | +1200 |
| UCLA | +1200 | +1200 | +1200 |
| Kansas | +1400 | +1400 | +1400 |
| Gonzaga | +1400 | +1400 | +1400 |
| Arizona | +1400 | +1500 | +1600 |
| Connecticut | +1600 | +1600 | +1700 |
| Marquette | +1800 | +1800 | +1800 |
| Duke | +2000 | +2000 | +2000 |
| Baylor | +2500 | +2500 | +2500 |
| Tennessee | +2500 | +2500 | +2500 |
What’s at stake?
Moving onto this match, and it’s the opening fixture in the Final Four. This is the South Regional match, and the winners will get the unenviable task of facing Alabama in the First Round later in the week.
On the face of it, it sounds like whoever wins this match will get smashed by the Crimson Tide. These are two of the lowest ranked sides in the competition, and neither are expected to give Alabama much of a match. Both teams are +50000 to win the South Region. To put that into perspective, Alabama is +160.
But this is where dreams are made, and legends are created. The winners of this match have the chance to make history. So, with that in mind, both sides should be well up for this match when the action starts later today.
Texas A&M vs SE Missouri State Betting
The sportsbooks are making Texas the favorites. On the moneyline Texas A&M-CC is -170 to win, Southeast Missouri is +150. On the handicap line, the spread is set at 4 points in favor of Southeast. Both Texas A&M (-4) and Southeast (+4) are -110 in this market. Finally, the total points spread is set at 155. Over 155 points is -110, and under 155 is also -110.
What’s the form?
Texas head into the match on the back of a four-match winning streak. But look back slightly further, and you will discover they are on a red hot run of 12-1 in recent weeks. This is a big factor in why they are the favorites to win the match.
In their two most recent Southland Tournament matches, they defeated NW State 75-71, and McNeese State 80-63.
The win over NW State was the most recent match, and was a closely fought affair. At the halfway point, the scores were level at 31 each. But in the second period of the match, the Islanders were the stronger side and ended up winning the half 44-40, winning the match by a four point margin.
Southeast Missouri also arrives in decent form, having won all four of their matches in the Ohio Valley. Overall this season, their record reads 19-16. A strong finish to the regular season – powered by Phillip Russell and Chris Harris – saw SEMO get to this stage of proceedings.
Texas A&M-CC vs Southeast Missouri Betting Picks
Texas A&M matches are usually high scoring. This is something not lost on the top sportsbooks, who have set a total points spread of 155. The Islanders are a high octane offensive force who have scored 80 or more points in nine of their last 13 matches. But they also concede an average of 73 points per match.
The form that Texas are in says to us they are the team to get behind. They may well be a touch too short to back on the moneyline at -170. But either way, we believe Texas A&M is good value to win on the handicap line and make that our first March Madness betting pick.
Over 155 points also has a good chance of winning. So don’t be shy about wagering on that either.
