March Madness 2015 Bracket: Latest Picks, Odds Advice Before Wednesday 1st Round

You don’t have to wait until Thursday to watch NCAA tournament games. Perhaps more importantly, you don’t have to wait until Thursday to gamble on NCAA tournament games.

There are two First Four contests Wednesday pitting North Florida against Robert Morris and Dayton against Boise State. While it may seem like a long shot for a team playing in Dayton before the round of 64 to actually make a deep run into the bracket, VCU has actually made the Final Four from these First Four games in the past.

The bottom line is anything is possible in March.

With that in mind, here is a look at some bracket information and essentials, the odds for Wednesday’s games and a couple of predictions for those contests.

All Your Bracket Essentials 

• Download the Printable Bracket
• Play the Free Bracket Challenge 

Bracket

Wednesday Odds

Time	Matchup	Spread	Predicted Winner Against the Spread
6:40 p.m. ET	North Florida vs. Robert Morris	North Florida -3	North Florida
9:10 p.m. ET	Boise State vs. Dayton	Dayton -4	Dayton

Wednesday Predictions/Advice

North Florida vs. Robert Morris

Duane Burleson/Getty Images

North Florida reached the Big Dance by winning the Atlantic Sun tournament, while Robert Morris is still playing because it won the Northeast Conference tournament. Incredibly, not a single player on either roster has ever participated in an NCAA tournament game.

North Florida forward Chris Davenport discussed what it will be like playing on the big stage, via Rusty Miller of The Associated Press: "It's human nature to have jitters. After the first couple of minutes of the game, me and my teammates will just treat it as any other game."

North Florida should turn the heads of NCAA tournament historians because it comes from the Atlantic Sun conference. That is the same league that produced Florida Gulf Coast, who reached the Sweet 16 two years ago, and Mercer, who beat Duke in the round of 64 last season.

As for Robert Morris, it became a household name because it beat Kentucky in the first round of the 2013 NIT.

This year’s version of North Florida will be too much for Robert Morris because it is a battle-tested bunch. The Ospreys only lost by two to Northwestern, hung with Northern Iowa for some time, hung with Florida State, kept it close against Iowa and actually beat Purdue.

Lance King/Getty Images

That’s right, the Ospreys walked into West Lafayette and came away with a 73-70 victory over the Boilermakers.

Ultimately, the Robert Morris defense that finished No. 168 in Ken Pomeroy's pace-adjusted defensive efficiency rankings won’t be able to stop the North Florida offense that was 25th in the nation in points per game (75.7).

That is a mismatch that spells disaster if you are a Robert Morris fan. 

Prediction: North Florida 84, Robert Morris 71

Dayton vs. Boise State

John Bazemore/Associated Press

Dayton reached the Elite Eight last year and has many of the same pieces still in place, including leading scorer Jordan Sibert (who started his career at Ohio State).

The experience is one thing that will undoubtedly help the Flyers later in the tournament, but they have home-court advantage for this game. Chris DiSano of Campus Insiders noted that the fans get to see Sibert one more time:

Dayton has some of the best fans in the country that nobody talks about, as they helped the Flyers finish undefeated in Atlantic 10 play on their home floor.

Between Sibert’s ability to score from anywhere on the floor (16.5 points per game), Dyshawn Pierre’s prowess on the glass (8.2 rebounds per game) and the experience this team picked up during its Cinderella run in last year’s Big Dance, there is no reason to think it cannot defend its home court.

What’s more, this squad beat VCU, Ole Miss, Georgia Tech, Boston College and Texas A&M during the season and will not be intimidated by the moment.

Isaac Brekken/Associated Press

That’s not to say Boise State won’t put up a challenge. After all, the Broncos beat San Diego State and Saint Mary’s during the season and boast a powerful offensive force of their own in Derrick Marks.

Marks averaged 19.3 points a night and can drill it from deep (44 percent from three-point range on the season). He and Sibert should put on a show for the fans, especially if it comes down to the final minutes and their respective teams rely on them to make plays in crunch time. Nobody is going to complain about a thrilling one-on-one battle in crunch time of a tournament game.

The problem for Marks is that he lost his running mate, Anthony Drmic, earlier in the season to injury. Drmic was averaging 15 points and five rebounds a night, If he was in the lineup, the Broncos would have enough firepower to overcome the experienced Flyers in Dayton.

Alas, he is not, and Dayton will prevail. 

Prediction: Dayton 71, Boise State 57

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