From LaGuardia to the Round of 32
Yesterday: Sweating Arizona -31.5 in Terminal B.

Today: Sweating the weather — Las Vegas is pushing 97 degrees.

Today’s checklist
👉 Saturday matchups + previews below
👉 Makinen trends drop this morning
👉 Contest deadlines hit Noon ET
🏀 Saturday Second Round — What’s on the board
Eight games. Round of 32 tips off at 12:10 ET. Will favorites dominate again?
👉 (1) Michigan (-12.5) vs. (9) Saint Louis — 12:10 ET, CBS
Read preview →
👉 (3) Michigan State (-4.5) vs. (6) Louisville — 2:45 ET, CBS
Read preview →
👉 (1) Duke (-11.5) vs. (9) TCU — 5:15 ET, CBS
Read preview →
👉 (2) Houston (-10.5) vs. (10) Texas A&M — 6:10 ET, TNT
Read preview →
👉 (3) Gonzaga (-6.5) vs. (11) Texas — 7:10 ET, TBS
Read preview →
👉 (3) Illinois (-11.5) vs. (11) VCU — 7:50 p.m. ET, CBS
Read preview →
👉 (4) Nebraska (+1.5) vs. (5) Vanderbilt — 8:45 p.m. ET, TNT
Read preview →
👉 (4) Arkansas (-11.5) vs. (12) High Point — 9:45 p.m. ET, TBS
Read preview →
📊 Betting intel you’ll want
👉 Makinen’s Round 2 trends drop this morning (target: 11 a.m. ET)
Follow Makinen →
👉 Circa College Hoops Challenge: 15 contestants submit eight Round 2 picks (Noon ET deadline)
View contest dashboard →
👉 VSiN March Betting Challenge: 10 picks due today (Noon ET)
Submit picks →
📈 Friday betting recap
I’ve been analyzing Makinen trends with AI. Here’s the Friday scorecard:

👉 Arizona -31.5 vs. Long Island ✅ (AZ won by 34)
👉 Hofstra–Alabama UNDER 158.5 ❌ (160)
👉 Northern Iowa +10.5 vs. St. John’s ❌ (SJ by 26)
📊 What the market told us
Favorites dominated Friday.
👉 Favorites: 16-0 SU (first time since 1992, per ESPN)
👉 Against the spread: 12-4 ATS
👉 Totals: Overs went 11-5

Round 1 overall:
👉 Favorites: 26-6 SU
👉 ATS: 17-14-1
👉 Totals: Overs went 19-13

Blowout City:
👉 13 of 32 games decided by 20+ points (most ever, per CBS Sports)

🎯 Saturday NCAA Best Bets from VSiN experts

Here’s where the sharpest VSiN voices are betting today:

Coming later: Adam Burke and Josh Appelbaum will post this morning. 👉 Go here

🏀 Your NCAA Tournament Toolkit

Everything you need before filling out a bracket or placing a bet.

👉 NCAA Tournament Hub (Second-round previews)

⚡ Real-time edge

👉 Track market steam with the DonBest Screen

👉 Start a 7-day free trial (use code VSIN10 for 10% off)

Zach Cohen’s NBA Report

Tank-A-Palooza Shop Open

Friday wasn’t the greatest night to hunt the league’s tanking teams, but the shop has some doorbusters on Saturday:

Thunder at Wizards
Grizzlies at Hornets
Pacers at Spurs
Clippers at Mavericks
76ers at Jazz
Bucks at Suns

Tweet me @BettingOnX and tell me who you think is ruining this six-teamer.

Real Games

Lakers-Magic is an intriguing showdown in Orlando, as LA is looking to stay hot. I’ll also be checking in on Heat-Rockets. Houston got back on track with a beatdown of Atlanta on Friday, and it’ll be interesting to see if the team can follow that up with another win over a playoff-caliber opponent.

Zach posts his Best Bets every morning.

👉 Find Zach’s picks on our NBA page.

He also does a fresh episode of the Hardwood Handicappers podcast Monday-Friday.

👉 Watch / Listen

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