NCAA Bracket 2018: Picks, Updated Odds Ahead of Tuesday's First Four Schedule

It's time for college basketball fans to take their last few deep breaths because the ball will go up in the air Tuesday night with a First Four doubleheader, followed by another Wednesday night.

Once those early games are completed, the NCAA Tournament will go from cruising speed to 110 miles per hour with 16 games on Thursday and 16 more on Friday.

The Tuesday night games will be played in Dayton, Ohio, and will feature a matchup between 16th-seeds LIU-Brooklyn (18-16) and Radford (22-12), and once those two teams decide who is going to have the opportunity to face top-seeded Villanova in Pittsburgh, UCLA (21-11) and St. Bonaventure (25-7) will meet in the second game of the doubleheader.

The Bruins and Bonnies are 11th seeds, and the winner of that game will meet sixth-seeded Florida in Dallas.

Radford is a 4.5-point favorite against LIU-Brooklyn, while UCLA is a 3.5-point favorite over St. Bonaventure, according to OddsShark.

The Radford Highlanders finished the season on a roll. After finishing in second place in the Big South during the regular season, the Highlanders won the conference tournament by beating Liberty 55-52 in the championship game. Carlik Jones hit a long three-point shot at the buzzer to help the Highlanders earn a spot in the NCAA tournament for the first time since 2009.

Ed Polite Jr. is the Highlanders' leading scorer with an average of 13.5 points per game, and he also comes down with 7.7 rebounds per night.

Jones is the only other Radford player in double figures. He is averaging 11.8 points per night and is also contributing 3.0 assists per night.

The LIU-Brooklyn Blackbirds got hot at the right time of the year as they won the Northeast Conference tournament by beating regular-season champion Wagner 71-61 in the title game.

The Blackbirds finished the season tied for fourth in the conference, but head coach Derek Kellog got his team to turn it up a notch in the tournament. LIU-Brooklyn is led by Joel Hernandez, who is scoring 20.9 points per game and collecting 5.9 rebounds per game. Hernandez is getting an assist from Raiquan Clark, who is scoring 17.4 points per night and connecting on 55.7 percent of his shots from the field.

The Bruins had a solid year in the Pac-12, and they have an excellent offensive team that averages 81.9 points per game, ranking 28th in the nation. 

Aaron Holiday is Steve Alford's go-to scorer, averaging 20.3 points per game and connecting on 46.3 percent of his shots from the field. Kris Wilkes is doing a solid job in support of Holiday, scoring 13.8 points per night and adding 5.0 rebounds per game.

Thomas Welsh is a big-time contributor with 13.0 points and 10.7 rebounds per night.

Alex Brandon/Associated Press

The Bonnies made it to the Big Dance largely because of a strong start and excellent finish that offset a bit of a lull in the middle of the season.

St. Bonaventure won 13 games in a row before losing to Davidson in the Atlantic 10 Conference tournament. The Bonnies were victimized by Davidson's tremendous outside shooting in that game, as the Wildcats hit 16 three-point shots.

Jaylen Adams is leading the Bonnies with an average of 19.8 points per game, while Matt Mobley is scoring 18.5 points per night and connecting on 86.1 percent of his free throws.

Predictions

Radford and LIU-Brooklyn have to know the winner is going to have a brutal time when it takes on Villanova in the first round. A victory is all but out of the question, and if either team can stay within 10 points by halftime, it would be a moral victory.

While the oddsmakers favor Radford, LIU-Brooklyn has hit its stride and the Blackbirds should have the firepower to emerge with a close victory in this game. Call it a mild upset.

UCLA has designs on going fairly deep in this tournament, even though the Bruins are being forced to play in a First Four game. They may not be happy about the assignment, but if Steve Alford can't get his team prepared for a full effort, the Bonnies are capable of coming up with the big win. 

We give the slight edge to the Bruins as Holiday and Wilkes are a solid duo, and they should get some help from Welsh.

UCLA survives and advances.