March Madness Bracket 2015: Latest Picks and Odds Advice Before 1st Round Day 1

College basketball fans are already salivating, eager to binge on ball starting Thursday, but two games Tuesday night provide small and very different appetizers.   

It starts out with the two teams in the Midwest region vying for the 16th seed. It's one of the "we only have room for one more, so you two fight to the death" games that will bring out the very best or very worst in an underdog. 

After that, two 11th seeds in the West meet up for what promises to be a fast-paced, high-scoring, madcap beginning to March Madness.

Betting odds courtesy of Odds Shark.

No. 16 Hampton vs. No. 16 Manhattan

Hampton	14-5
Manhattan	5-17
Mississippi	13-10
BYU	2-3

The Hampton University Pirates may have come into the tournament with a losing record (16-17), but don't let that fool you. They slid by higher seeds in the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference and might take that momentum right past the Manhattan Jaspers.

The Jaspers will look to shut down Pirates junior Dwight Meikle, who leads the team in both scoring and rebounding. But just chipping away at Meikle's 13 points per game won't be enough since the team has very balanced scoring, with four players averaging in double digits. 

Manhattan may also have to fight against other distractions. Unlike Hampton, it didn't expect to have to play in, and even if it wins, its reward is an immediate matchup with the undefeated Kentucky Wildcats. Its recent great win over Iona may inspire it to power over the Pirates, but in the clutch, when confidence counts most, Hampton may come through on top.

Prediction: Hampton 73, Manhattan 68

No. 11 Mississippi vs. No. 11 BYU

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You might want to grab a bottle of water and a puff of your inhaler before the Mississippi Rebels and the Brigham Young Cougars meet because both teams play at a fast pace, especially BYU.

Although BYU's leading scorer, Tyler Haws, gets the most attention—and rightly so because he's the school's all-time leading scorer—a fun matchup to watch will be between the point guards. We'll see if Ole Miss' court general and leading shooter, 5'10" Stefan Moody, will be quick enough to stay free of the Cougars' relentless 6'6" Kyle Collinsworth.

Ole Miss deep threat LaDarius White will rack up plenty of points behind the arc for the Rebels, but will it—and the minimal defense—be enough to contain the second-highest scoring offense in the country? Doubtful.

Prediction: BYU 88, Mississippi 80