March Madness 2017: Bracket Predictions, Odds Tips for Final First 4 Schedule

The first two NCAA tournament games did not disappoint, as Mount Saint Mary's held off New Orleans in a 68-67 win, and Kansas State shot 66 percent from the field in a 95-88 victory over Wake Forest on Tuesday.

First Four play continues tomorrow as North Carolina Central plays UC Davis at 6:40 p.m. ET, and USC and Providence face off at 9:10 p.m. ET. Both games will be on truTV.

Here's a look at those two games in more depth, along with some picks against the spread.

March Madness Bracket

Ultimate 2017 NCAA Tournament Bracket

North Carolina Central (-3.5) vs. UC Davis

The NC Central Eagles finished 25-8 overall and won the MEAC title, while the UC Davis Aggies ended with a 22-12 overall record and a Big West Championship.

Senior guard Patrick Cole leads NC Central in points (19.5) and assists (5.7) and is second in rebounds (7.0). He's a triple-double threat every time he steps on the floor.

Another senior guard, Brynton Lamar, leads UC Davis in scoring (16.1), and junior forward Chima Moneke posts 14.4 points and 9.4 boards a game.

NC Central should come out on top. The Eagles played the weakest schedule in the nation, per ESPN, but they competed in every single contest, only losing by double digits twice. Most notably, they hung with Big Ten team Ohio State in Columbus, only losing 69-63.

UC Davis also has one of the worst offenses in the nation, ranking 290th in adjusted offensive efficiency per the Ken Pomeroy Ratings.

Expect Cole, the MEAC Player of the Year, to fill up the stat sheet and lead the Eagles to a win.

Pick: NC Central (-3.5)

USC (-3) vs. Providence

The Trojans made the NCAA tournament behind a 24-win season and a 10-8 record in Pac-12 conference play. USC also beat rival UCLA during the regular season and nearly took down the Bruins again in the conference tournament, losing 76-74.

Most impressively, USC played 17 of its 33 games without leading scorer Bennie Boatwright, who averages 14.6 points per game.

Providence scuffled to a 4-8 start in Big East play before winning six straight games to finish 10-8 and tied for third in the conference.

The Friars beat six NCAA tournament teams this year: Marquette (twice), Creighton, Xavier, Butler, Seton Hall and Rhode Island.

Junior forward Rodney Bullock leads the team in scoring with 15.7 points and 6.4 rebounds per game, while Kyron Cartwright is the assist leader with 6.7 a game.

It's a little surprising that USC is even in a First Four game. The Trojans had the misfortune of playing No. 2 seed Arizona twice, No. 3 seed Oregon twice and No. 3 seed UCLA twice, going 1-5 in those games. That's a tough sextet for any team. Otherwise, USC went a stout 23-4 this year.

Also, Providence hasn't played well this year on the road or in neutral locations (5-9), while USC is 10-6 overall.

This should be a close matchup, but take USC to win by a few buckets.

Pick: USC (-3)