March Madness Thursday’s best first-round upsets picks and predictions

Beat the Sportsbook: Here’s Thursday’s 3 best underdog bets for the 2024 NCAA Tournament.

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If you’re old enough to remember, you know where you were when Bryce Drew’s shot led 13th-seeded Valparaiso over 4-seed Ole Miss. Every few years, we have big-time moments like that where Cinderella finds perfectly fitting slippers.

As recently as last season, 16-seed Farleigh Dickinson busted many brackets with a win over top-seeded Purdue. It was just the 2nd time in NCAA Tournament history that a 16-seed won a game.

These upset picks are the crucial ingredient to winning parlays, and they make great profit points as standalone bets as well.

After looking at the BetMGM Sportsbook’s NCAA Tournament odds and lines, here are the best 1st-round upsets for Thursday among our expert college basketball picks and predictions.

Rankings: USA TODAY Sports Coaches Poll

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NCAA Tournament best Thursday first-round upsets

Odds provided by BetMGM Sportsbook; access USA TODAY Sports Scores and Sports Betting Odds hub for a full list. Lines last updated Wednesday at 3:04 p.m. ET. All game times ET; ML = moneyline.

OREGON (+100) vs. South Carolina – 4 p.m.

The Ducks won the final installment of the Pac-12 Tournament with a 75-68 W over Colorado. They’ve won 4 straight and have a tournament-tested coach with Dana Altman. In his 14 years in Eugene, he has guided the Ducks to the tournament 8 times. He took them to the Final Four in 2017, when they took North Carolina to the brink in a 77-76 loss. The major cog the Ducks have going for them is C N’Faly Dante. He’s averaging 17.7 points, 9.2 boards, 1.9 steals and 1.9 blocks over his last 10 games. The Gamecocks are undersized, and their top rebounder is averaging a whopping 4.8 boards per game. Dante is going to eat them up.

Potential payout: Bet $100 to profit $100 (payout = $200).

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SAMFORD (+260) vs. Kansas – 10:55 p.m.

This line opened at +280 and has come down, in large part, because KU is without its leading scorer. G Kevin McCullar (knee) will miss the entire tournament, and it’s not going to be easy to replace his 18.3 PPG. Samford had a pretty good chance before that news because they’re the 5th-ranked offense in the country at 86 PPG. They play at a blistering pace, 11th in the nation at 72.8, which could wear down KU’s 7-foot-2 center Hunter Dickinson. The Bulldogs were blown out by Purdue 98-45 early in the season in their only game against a ranked team. They went 29-4 the rest of the way.

Potential payout: Bet $100 to profit $260 (payout = $360).

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NC STATE (+180) vs. Texas Tech – 10:55 p.m.

The 11-seeded Wolfpack take on the 6-seeded Red Raiders in Pittsburgh. The Pack stunned the UNC Tar Heels 84-76 to take the ACC crown. They won 5 games in 5 consecutive days, and they have the size underneath to strike an advantage on anyone. F D.J. Burns Jr., 6-foot-9 and 275 pounds, averaged 16 PPG over the last 7 games, and he was in double figures in 6 of them. F Mohamed Diarra averaged 14 PPG, 14 RPG and 2.3 BPG over his last 4 games. They’re hot, battle-tested, and they could make a run.

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Without Kevin McCullar, Kansas on upset watch against Samford

The shorthanded Kansas Jayhawks will be without star guard Kevin McCullar Jr in the 2024 NCAA Tournament, which could lead to an early exit in March Madness.

The Kansas Jayhawks earned a four seed in the NCAA Tournament after a pedestrian – by their standard – 10-8 record in Big 12 play and an exit in the first round of the conference tournament at the hands of Cincinnati.

Kansas was missing Kevin McCullar Jr and Hunter Dickinson in that contest, their two leading scorers, and while Dickinson will be back for the team’s first round matchup against the No. 13 seed Samford Bulldogs – McCullar is reportedly going to miss the entire NCAA Tournament with a nagging knee injury.

McCullar missed a few regular season games prior to his absence against the Bearcats, but when he was on the floor he was an incredibly dynamic two-way player for the Jayhawks – averaging 18.3 points, 6.0 rebounds, and 4.1 assists while shooting 45.4% from the field and playing at an elite level defensively.

Beyond the loss of McCullar and his specific skill set, this loss exacerbates what has been an ongoing issue for Kansas this season – a lack of depth.

Self has never been one to play a deep bench, but this year’s Jayhawks have been overly reliant on their big four of McCullar, Dickinson, KJ Adams, and Dajuan Harris to get them through night in and night out.

Kansas tried freshman Elmarko Jackson and Towson transfer Nick Timberlake to start at the two alongside the big four, but both struggled to contribute consistently offensively before the job was eventually given to Australian freshman Johnny Furphy.

Furphy has been far and away the best of the bunch, but now he’ll face even more pressure filling in for McCullar while one of Jackson and Timberlake step into a bigger role against the Bulldogs.

Samford’s press-heavy, constant pressure approach could cause serious issues for this depleted Kansas roster – and it is entirely possible we see the Jayhawks heading home unusually early in this year’s big dance.

Alabama Softball lands Samford transfer outfielder Kinley Pate

Samford transfer outfielder Kinley Pate has is transferring to play for Alabama. Pate spent one season with the Bulldogs.

The Alabama softball team received some good news on Wednesday afternoon as Samford transfer outfielder Kinley Pate will be transferring to Alabama after spending one season with the Bulldogs.

Pate, a native of Northport, Alabama, held a .523 batting average with four home runs and 25 runs batted in during her senior season. Following the season, she was named a First Team All-State selection.

Pate made 7 starts for Samford during her freshman season. She amassed a .143 batting average. Pate did have a .308 on-base percentage, however.

After losing multiple seniors following the 2023 season, Alabama head coach Patrick Murphy made it an emphasis to land players via the transfer portal. In doing so, Murphy and the Crimson Tide bring in much-needed experience and veteran leadership.

Pate will be returning closer to home for her sophomore season. It will be interesting to see what kind of role she plays for the Crimson Tide in 2023.

Roll Tide Wire will continue to follow the Alabama softball program and its involvement in the transfer portal.

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LSU easily stays atop SEC baseball power rankings after 5-0 week

The Tigers have looked the part of a unanimous preseason No. 1 team so far.

The Tigers entered the 2023 season as the unanimous preseason No. 1 squad in the nation, and they’ve more than looked the part so far.

LSU has suffered just one slipup against Iowa but sits at 15-1 on the season and has won its last 10 games. Pitcher [autotag]Paul Skenes[/autotag] has been arguably the nation’s best to start the season, while [autotag]Dylan Crews[/autotag] has played like the No. 1 prospect in the 2023 MLB draft.

It’s no surprise that the Tigers remain on top in On3’s final SEC power rankings before the beginning of conference play next weekend. Here’s what On3’s Jonathan Wagner said about coach Jay Johnson’s team.

Weekly record: 5-0

Overall record: 15-1

Previous ranking: No. 1 (–)

LSU had a bit of an odd schedule this week, finishing its extended weekend series on Monday with an 11-0 win against Butler. The Tigers continued rolling through the week, too. On Wednesday, LSU cruised to a 9-2 victory over Lamar. Over the weekend, LSU hosted Samford and all three games of the series ended via the run rule. The Tigers won 11-1 on Friday, 12-0 on Saturday and 13-1 on Sunday to complete the sweep.

A midweek battle against New Orleans awaits LSU on Tuesday before hitting the road for a three-game weekend series at No. 15 Texas A&M to begin conference play.

The Tigers shouldn’t have much of a problem against the Privateers on Tuesday night, but the series on the road against the Aggies will be a major test. It will be LSU’s first ranked opponent and just its second true road game.

The first was a 3-0 win against Texas two weeks ago.

LSU has the makings of a team that can make a deep run in the postseason, and we’ll see how this team responds to an uptick in competition soon.

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LSU sweeps final non-conference weekend series against Samford

LSU finished off their non-conference slate with a sweep of Samford as the Tigers won 13-1 in the series finale.

LSU finished off its non-conference slate with a sweep of Samford as the Tigers won 13-1 in the series finale.

[autotag]Thatcher Hurd[/autotag] had another great start, going five innings and only giving up only one hit, allowing no runs, and finishing with seven strikeouts and two walks.

LSU got the party started in the bottom of the third inning when [autotag]Dylan Crews[/autotag] hit a two-run Crews missile to right field to make it 2-0.

In the bottom of the fifth, [autotag]Gavin Dugas[/autotag] scored on a passed ball and [autotag]Paxton Kling[/autotag] scored on a [autotag]Tommy White[/autotag] double play to increase the Tigers lead to 4-1 after five innings.

[autotag]Gavin Guidry[/autotag] came in to pitch in the top of the sixth inning and gave up a run before [autotag]Riley Cooper[/autotag] closed the inning out to keep the 4-1 lead.

In the bottom of the seventh inning, the offense came to life. Tommy Tanks hit a GRAND SLAM to score Dugas, [autotag]Tre Morgan[/autotag], and Crews and make it an 8-1 game. [autotag]Jared Jones[/autotag] followed that with a single to score [autotag]Jordan Thompson[/autotag], [autotag]Alex Milazzo[/autotag] hit an RBI double to score Jones, and Kling decided to call ‘ball game’ when he hit a three-run homer to enforce the run rule as LSU won 13-1.

With the win, LSU moves to 15-1 on the season. Its next game will be against New Orleans on Tuesday night with the first pitch scheduled for 6:30 p.m. CT.

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Time change for LSU baseball’s series finale against Samford

The Tigers’ Sunday game has been moved up to 11 a.m. CT.

Initially, LSU was supposed to play Samford on Sunday afternoon at 1 p.m. CT, but due to the threat of rain, that game has now been moved to 11 a.m.

LSU plays Samford on Saturday at 6:30 p.m. to try and extend its current win streak and increase its overall record to 14-1.

This is the last weekend of non-conference play so the Tigers are trying to finish it off strong before they start conference play next weekend on the road against Texas A&M.

If LSU wants to prove just how great this team is, they will do it in conference play against the best conference in college baseball. The SEC boasts 6 of the top 10 teams in baseball according to the USA TODAY Sports Coaches Poll. Two of LSU’s first three conference series are against top 10 teams (No. 2 Tennessee and No. 8 Arkansas).

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Another spectacular start for Paul Skenes leads LSU past Samford in Game 1

Skenes moved to 4-0 this season after a big win over the Samford Bulldogs on Friday night. 

[autotag]Paul Skenes[/autotag] moved to 4-0 this season after a big 11-1 run-rule win over the Samford Bulldogs on Friday night.

Skenes finished the game with six innings pitched allowing 2 hits, 1 run, and 1 walk. He had double-digit strikeouts once again as he finished the game with 12.

LSU started the scoring in the bottom of the first inning when [autotag]Gavin Dugas[/autotag] scored after a couple of walks and a throwing error. The score remained 1-0 LSU until the top of the third inning when Samford scored on a wild pitch to tie the game.

The Tigers got that run back in the bottom of the third as [autotag]Dylan Crews[/autotag] scored on a [autotag]Jordan Thompson[/autotag] sacrifice fly to give LSU a 2-1 lead.

LSU scored again in the bottom of the fourth inning when [autotag]Paxton Kling[/autotag] scored on a [autotag]Jack Merrifield[/autotag] sacrifice fly. In the bottom of the fifth inning, [autotag]Jared Jones[/autotag] hit a two-run bomb to run the lead up to 5-1 LSU.

In the bottom of the sixth inning, LSU decided they were ready to call it a night. The Tigers scored six runs to enforce the run rule. [autotag]Tre Morgan[/autotag] hit an RBI single to score Kling, [autotag]Tommy White[/autotag] hit a two-RBI double to score Crews and Morgan, White scored on a throwing error, and Bear Jones hit a walk-off two-run homer to give LSU an 11-1 victory.

With the win, LSU moves to 13-1 on the season. The Tigers will take on Samford again Satu night at 6:30 p.m. CT.

How to watch No. 1 LSU baseball vs. Samford at home in final non-conference series

The Tigers will look to extend their seven-game winning streak this weekend.

SEC play is right around the corner for the LSU baseball team (12-1), but first up, coach Jay Johnson’s squad has one more non-conference weekend series.

After a perfect week that extended the Tigers’ now seven-game winning streak, they will welcome the Samford Bulldogs to town for a three-game slate that begins on Friday night at Alex Box Stadium.

“I’m proud of our guys and their approach to each game; they’re not taking any pitches off,” Johnson said in a release. “We do have talented players, and they’re focused and they’re not giving away pitches. This weekend’s series is important, because it’s the next one. I really trust our players to be in the right frame of mind; we’re going to get challenged, and I trust them to respond.

“We’ve just got to keep improving; Samford has some talented pitchers and a team that’s very capable, so we’re excited about this challenge this weekend.”

The Bulldogs enter this one at 6-6 on the year. After dropping their opening two series against Memphis and Southeastern Louisiana, they took two of three against Morehead State this past weekend. In its last outing, Samford faced an SEC team, losing 11-6 at home against Alabama on Tuesday night.

Here’s everything you need to know to follow this weekend’s series.

Score prediction, 5 reasons why Georgia stays hot vs Samford

Score prediction plus why Georgia stays hot in the home opener

The Georgia Bulldogs (1-0) opened the 2022 season with a 49-3 statement win over No. 3 Oregon (0-1) last Saturday.

Now it’s back to Athens for a clash with the Samford Bulldogs (1-0) for the first home game as Defending National Champions.

Kickoff is set for 4:00 p.m. ET at Sanford Stadium.

Here’s five reasons why UGA keeps its dominant play rolling, along with a score prediction.

Midweek betting odds for Florida vs. Missouri on Saturday

There are still a few days before kickoff but here’s an early look at the betting lines for Saturday’s game.

There are still a few days before Florida football faces the Missouri Tigers on the road for the Gators’ final SEC game of the 2021 campaign. It has not been an easy year for the Gators Nation as it has seen its gridiron gang descend to depths deeper than anyone had expected, having lost all of its conference road games so far and nearly being toppled by an FCS team last weekend.

Nonetheless, Florida is still somehow a favorite against its fellow SEC bottom-dweller despite the complete implosion of the program over the past month. When the Orange and Blue comes to play, there is plenty of talent to back up the bookmakers, but which team will show up on Saturday is anyone’s guess at this point.

According to the Tipico Sportsbook, the Gators are favored by 9.5 points over the Tigers, with the over-under set at 69.5 points. Florida’s moneyline is set at -320 while Samford’s is at +250 as of 12:30 p.m. EST Wednesday.

Kickoff is set for 4 p.m. EST on Saturday in Memorial Stadium at Faurot Field in Columbia, Missouri. The game will be broadcast on the SEC Network, livestreamed on the ESPN app and can be heard on the Gators Radio Network.

All Betting Lines are Courtesy of Tipico Sportsbook

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