NCAA Brackets 2015: Picks and Updated Odds Ahead of 3rd-Round Day 2 Schedule

The opening day of the NCAA tournament set an impossible standard to meet in terms of drama.  Indeed, March Madness' second day was a near 180-degree turn; apart from Dayton upsetting Providence, every single higher-seeded team won.

Consequently, Sunday's round of 32 slate features several powerhouse matchups.  Only Wisconsin stands as a double-digit favorite in its matchup, as the majority of the schedule is filled with tossup games, making for a potential thrilling end to the tourney's opening weekend.

Your brackets may be long locked in (and very possibly busted), but savvy bettors can still exploit line movements here.  Picking each of the eight games on the schedule against Odds Shark's spread, let's highlight a trio of particularly favorable lines to watch for.

Game	Spread	Pick ATS
(7) Michigan State vs. (2) Virginia	UVA -4	UVA
(8) San Diego State vs. (1) Duke	DUKE -7.5	DUKE
(7) Wichita State vs. (2) Kansas	KAN -1.5	WICH
(11) Dayton vs. (3) Oklahoma	OK -5	DAY
(7) Iowa vs. (2) Gonzaga	GONZ -5	GONZ
(8) Oregon vs. (1) Wisconsin	WIS -11	WIS
(5) West Virginia vs. (4) Maryland	WVU -1	WVU
(5) Northern Iowa vs. (4) Louisville	LOU -1	NIU

Wichita State (+1.5) over Kansas

This game presents the ultimate big brother-little brother dynamic, as the Shockers will always be the less-heralded school to mighty Kansas.  But history matters little for Sunday's game, and considering that the Jayhawks have openly dodged regular-season meetings between the two schools in recent years, a Wichita State victory would undoubtedly be one of the sweetest in program history.

With five losses over the past two seasons, the Shockers have essentially become a premier Division I program, and their style of play reflects a power-conference confidence.  Unlike many uptempo perimeter-heavy underdogs, the Shockers are a grinding halfcourt team that muscles past opponents and grabs offensive rebounds.  Indeed, Bill Self has already stated his concerns about Wichita's physicality, an unusual admission from the favored squad:

Wichita's strength on the boards could allow them to exploit a Kansas squad that ranks 222nd in defensive rebounding percentage.  Moreover, the Shockers' veteran backcourt of Fred Van Vleet and Ron Baker has provided them with steady ball-handling, as Wichita ranks as the sixth-best team in avoiding turnovers.

Thus, it's not hard to envision a scenario where Wichita controls the tempo and mounts a greater number of shots than the Jayhawks.  Vegas' line indicates their awareness that the seeding doesn't reflect the true talent disparity between the teams, but the Shockers are still a nice value bet as a slight underdog.

Dayton (+5) over Oklahoma

Last season, the 11th-seeded Flyers made a charmed run to the Elite Eight.  This year's Dayton squad drew the same seed, and while they're still two wins away from matching last year's run, there's reason to believe the Flyers could pull yet another upset against No. 3 seed Oklahoma.

It's remarkable that Dayton is even in the tournament, considering they've lost players to suspensions, transfers and injuries this season.  Consequently, the undersized Flyers have adopted a high-risk high-reward game plan centered around forcing turnovers and shooting well from deep.  Though that naturally leaves them vulnerable to bruising frontcourts with composed point guards, Dayton's chemistry has forged a deceptively scrappy playing style:

Oklahoma may actually be a better matchup for the Flyers than sixth-seeded Providence was in the round of 64, as the Sooners are also a relatively undersized backcourt-reliant team.  The key will be the Sooners' ability to play uptempo against the slowpoke Flyers, as Dayton generally plays a low-possession game to minimize the variance of its already streaky strategy.

If Sooner guards Buddy Hield and Isaiah Cousins can prevent Dayton from penetrating the lane while also challenging them on the perimeter, Dayton could have a tough time staying close.  But the Flyers should be more competitive on the boards than they've been this season, and though Oklahoma is a deserved favorite, there's enough breathing room on this line for the value to lie with Dayton.

West Virginia (-1) over Maryland

Another regional rivalry will determine who gets the herculean Kentucky task next week.  While hyper-aggressive West Virginia may be ill-suited to beat a supremely talented Wildcats team, the Mountaineers' relentless depth is a key factor that could come into play after both they and the Terps played intense round of 64 contests:

Apart from Oklahoma State, Maryland hasn't really faced a team that pressures as relentlessly as WVU, which plays full-court press the entire game.  Freshman guards Melo Trimble and Dion Wiley will face arguably the toughest assignments of their young careers, and though the Terrapins have been a solid turnover team all season, breaking the Mountaineer press is a whole different animal.

Most encouragingly for West Virginia, senior guard Juwan Staten showed no ill effects against Buffalo after missing the previous four games with a knee injury.  Staten poured in 15 points and played 33 minutes, illustrating his ability to bear a heavy load.  As deep as West Virginia is, Staten is the engine that drives their opportunistic shooting-heavy offense, and his health is indispensable to their chances in this game.

For Maryland's part, their strong free-throw shooting (75.7 percent, 14th-best in the nation) should be a nice asset against a West Virginia team that fouled more than any other Division I team this season.  But if the Terps can't hold on to the ball, that might not ultimately matter in this Mid-Atlantic clash.