March Madness 2019: Bracket Predictions, Odds, Tips for 1st-Round Day 1 Schedule

Although the First Four round of the NCAA tournament takes place on Tuesday and Wednesday, Thursday will be the true start of March Madness for many college basketball fans. That's when the first round gets underway with a full slate of 16 matchups.

Thursday's schedule includes a No. 1 seed and three No. 2 seeds, as well as some potential upsets that could quickly have an effect on brackets. The day begins with a game between No. 7 Louisville and No. 10 Minnesota at 12:15 p.m. ET.

The first day of the NCAA tournament can easily make or break a bracket, so it's important to get off to a strong start with your predictions. That could set the tone for the rest of March Madness.

Bracket

For a bracket to print and fill out yourself, go to NCAA.com.

Thursday First-Round Schedule (Odds Via OddsShark, All Times ET)

No. 7 Louisville (-5) vs. No. 10 Minnesota (12:15 p.m., CBS)

No. 3 LSU (-7.5) vs. No. 14 Yale (12:40 p.m., truTV)

No. 5 Auburn (-6.5) vs. No. 12 New Mexico State (1:30 p.m., TNT)

No. 4 Florida State (-10) vs. No. 13 Vermont (2 p.m., TBS)

No. 2 Michigan State (-18.5) vs. No. 15 Bradley (2:45 p.m., CBS)

No. 6 Maryland vs. No. 11 Belmont or No. 11 Temple (3:10 p.m., truTV)

No. 4 Kansas (-7) vs. No. 13 Northeastern (4 p.m., TNT)

No. 5 Marquette (-4.5) vs. No. 12 Murray State (4:30 p.m., TBS)

No. 7 Nevada (-2) vs. No. 10 Florida (6:50 p.m., TNT)

No. 2 Kentucky (-22.5) vs. No. 15 Abilene Christian (7:10 p.m., CBS)

No. 6 Villanova (-5) vs. No. 11 Saint Mary's (7:20 p.m., TBS)

No. 1 Gonzaga vs. No. 16 Fairleigh Dickinson or No. 16 Prairie View (7:27 p.m., truTV)

No. 2 Michigan (-15.5) vs. No. 15 Montana (9:20 p.m., TNT)

No. 7 Wofford (-3) vs. No. 10 Seton Hall (9:40 p.m., CBS)

No. 3 Purdue (-13) vs. No. 14 Old Dominion (9:50 p.m., TBS)

No. 8 Syracuse (-2.5) vs. No. 9 Baylor (9:57 p.m., truTV)

Thursday First-Round Predictions

No. 7 Louisville def. No. 10 Minnesota

No. 3 LSU def. No. 14 Yale

No. 5 Auburn def. No. 12 New Mexico State

No. 4 Florida State def. No. 13 Vermont

No. 2 Michigan State def. No. 15 Bradley

No. 11 Belmont or No. 11 Temple def. No. 6 Maryland

No. 4 Kansas def. No. 13 Northeastern

No. 12 Murray State def. No. 5 Marquette

No. 10 Florida def. No. 7 Nevada

No. 2 Kentucky def. No. 15 Abilene Christian

No. 6 Villanova def. No. 11 Saint Mary's

No. 1 Gonzaga def. No. 16 Fairleigh Dickinson or No. 16 Prairie View

No. 2 Michigan def. No. 15 Montana

No. 10 Seton Hall def. No. 7 Wofford

No. 14 Old Dominion def. No. 3 Purdue

No. 8 Syracuse def. No. 9 Baylor

Tips

Consider Belmont, Murray State and Old Dominion For Upsets

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Looking to pick a higher seed that has potential to make a deep run in the NCAA tournament? There are three teams that have a chance to score an upset victory on Thursday.

Belmont has to beat Temple in the First Four round on Tuesday to reach the first round. But expect that to happen, followed by the Bruins' high-powered offense giving No. 6-seeded Maryland some trouble on Thursday.

The Terrapins are a young team that may not keep up with Belmont, which is averaging 87.4 points per game, second in the country behind only Gonzaga.

No. 12 Murray State has an elite scorer in Ja Morant, a potential top-five pick in the 2019 NBA draft. The Racers have momentum coming off their Ohio Valley Conference tournament championship win and seem poised to upset No. 5-seeded Marquette.

While Belmont and Murray State have a decent chance to notch upset wins, No. 14-seeded Old Dominion could also upset No. 3 Purdue. It may not happen, but it's certainly something to consider before picking the Boilermakers to win.

Stick With The Nos. 1 And 2 Seeds

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Nos. 15 and 16 seeds never have good odds of winning NCAA tournament games, and that's no different with this year's first round.

The one No. 1 seed (Gonzaga) and three No. 2 seeds (Michigan State, Kentucky and Michigan) playing Thursday are all strong teams that have the potential to make runs to the Final Four. So, there's no reason to pick against any of them in the first round.

All the Nos. 1 and 2 seeds seem in good shape to get past the first round, so with those types of upsets already being rare, it's safer to pick the top seeds to win in all those matchups this year, on both Thursday and Friday.

Pick The SEC Teams on Thursday

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Kentucky used to be the only SEC team worth picking to make a solid run in the NCAA tournament, but that's no longer the case. The conference has several other strong teams, including LSU and Auburn, who both play on Thursday along with Kentucky.

Each of those three schools have good reasons to pick them to advance to the second round. The Wildcats are arguably the most talented SEC team led by a veteran coach in John Calipari. LSU was the conference's regular-season champion. Auburn won the SEC tournament championship.

Also, none of the three teams taking on those SEC squads on Thursday are worth considering for an upset bid. In the other matchup of the day featuring an SEC team, Florida seems like a good No. 10 seed to pick to move onto the second round.

Stick with the SEC teams and put all four playing Thursday into the next round.