Men’s College Basketball Best Bets:
It’s finally March, and the madness begins this week now that “selection Sunday” has come and gone, bubbles have burst, and tournament brackets are being filled out. I will have you covered with projections on every tournament game, both NCAA and NIT, which will be posted here at VSiN.com a day ahead of time. As always, be sure to follow me on X @TShoeIndex for all the latest tidbits and analysis, as well as women’s best bets as they come throughout the tournament as well.
Men’s Projections 3/17
| Date | Team | Team | TSI | TSI Total |
| 3/17/2026 | Howard | UMBC | -1.9 | 140.4 |
| 3/17/2026 | Texas | NC State | 0.2 | 173.4 |
| 3/17/2026 | Auburn | South Alabama | 10.8 | 151.8 |
| 3/17/2026 | George Mason | Liberty | 4.3 | 136.5 |
| 3/17/2026 | Oklahoma State | Davidson | 2.9 | 150.7 |
| 3/17/2026 | Seattle | St. Thomas | -2.1 | 128.3 |
| 3/17/2026 | Tulsa | Stephen F. Austin | 3.7 | 145.1 |
| 3/17/2026 | UC Irvine | UNLV | 1.1 | 151.8 |
| 3/17/2026 | Wichita State | Wyoming | 2.6 | 147.5 |
| 3/17/2026 | Yale | UNC Wilmington | 5.1 | 148.8 |
Howard vs. UMBC and NC State vs. Texas highlight the slate as the two NCAA tournament games, while the others are first-round NIT matchups. UMBC is currently lined as a 2.5 point favorite with an O/U of 141, so there’s not much value there on the projection; however, Texas has moved to a short 1 point favorite over NC State at sharp offshores, while the American recreational books still show NC State laying a point or 1.5 with a total of 159.5. This is where our first bet of the tournament lies. These teams combined to score about 6.7 total points per game more than opponents’ games averaged throughout the season. Of all the formulas I run, I don’t have a single total projection below 165 for this game.
Bet: NC State/Texas Over 159.5
There are no posted NIT lines yet, so be sure to follow me on X for any plays or advice I give out on those games, but I wanted you to at least have the projections early so you can make your own guided decisions based on the projections when the opening lines come out. I hope you all enjoy March Madness, and let’s cash some bets!
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