March Madness 2019: Bracket Predictions, Odds Tips for Saturday Round 3 Schedule

There may be fewer NCAA tournament games on Saturday and Sunday than the past two days, but the stakes are getting higher.

The second round of March Madness begins on Saturday with eight matchups, followed by eight more on Sunday. Teams that win this weekend will earn a spot in the Sweet 16 round, which doesn't take place until Thursday and Friday.

Seven of the eight Big Ten teams in this year's tournament advanced to the second round. According to ESPN Stats & Info, that ties the record for the most teams a conference has sent to the round of 32, which had only been done by the Big East in 2008 and 2011.

The ACC has five teams playing in the second round—including three No. 1 seeds in Duke, Virginia and North Carolina—as does the SEC, which has a pair of No. 2 seeds in Kentucky and Tennessee.

Bracket

Saturday Schedule, Odds (Picks in Bold, All Times ET)

No. 6 Maryland vs. No. 3 LSU (-2.5), 12:10 p.m., CBS

No. 7 Wofford vs. No. 2 Kentucky (-5.5), 2:40 p.m., CBS

No. 10 Florida vs. No. 2 Michigan (-6.5), 5:15 p.m., CBS

No. 12 Murray State vs. No. 4 Florida State (-4.5), 6:10 p.m., TNT

No. 9 Baylor vs. No. 1 Gonzaga (-14), 7:10 p.m., TBS

No. 10 Minnesota vs. No. 2 Michigan State (-10), 7:45 p.m., CBS

No. 6 Villanova vs. No. 3 Purdue (-3.5), 8:40 p.m., TNT

No. 5 Auburn (-2) vs. No. 4 Kansas, 9:40 p.m., TBS

Preview

Only one No. 1 seed will be in action on Saturday as Gonzaga faces No. 9 seed Baylor. There will also be three No. 2 seeds playing—Kentucky, Michigan and Michigan State.

Although the competition is much tougher for these schools in the second round than it was in the first, it would still be surprising to see any of these four teams upset on Saturday. Also, the lines seem fair for those matchups, so they would be risky bets to make on the underdogs.

Of those four schools, Kentucky has the smallest odds line over its opponent. However, it would be a big upset for the Wildcats to lose to No. 7 seed Wofford, the champion of the Southern Conference tournament.

But that doesn't mean there's no potential for upsets to start the second round. In fact, there could be one in Saturday's first game between Maryland and LSU.

John Raoux/Associated Press

No. 6 seed Maryland is coming off a two-point win over No. 11 seed Belmont, which was expected to be a close game with the Bruins coming off a First Four round victory. However, the Terrapins held on to notch their first NCAA tournament win since 2016, which was also the only time they've made it to the Sweet 16 in the previous 15 seasons.

No. 3 seed LSU only beat No. 14 seed Yale by five points as the Tigers continue through March Madness without head coach Will Wade, who was suspended indefinitely for a wiretap scandal prior to the SEC tournament.

Maryland and LSU should play a close game, and it certainly wouldn't be surprising to see the Terps carry over the Big Ten's first-round success with a win to start the first day of the second round.

"The key for us is just be ourselves, just play defense the way we're able to, do our job early," Maryland sophomore forward Bruno Fernando said, according to Testudo Times. "We can't worry too much about them because, at the end of the day, they still have to guard us and worry about us. It goes both ways. We've got to just play basketball and do our thing and stay true to ourselves throughout the game."

Another potential upset to watch out for is No. 12 seed Murray State over No. 4 seed Florida State.

The Racers were impressive in their first-round matchup as they beat No. 5 seed Marquette by 19 points. The victory was led by Ja Morant, who recorded a triple-double with 17 points, 16 assists and 11 rebounds.

The Seminoles held on to beat No. 13 seed Vermont by seven points in the first round. But Murray State will be a tougher opponent as the Racers have won 12 straight games and feature a dynamic all-around threat in Morant.

"I really don't pay too much attention to the hype," Morant said, according to the Associated Press (h/t ESPN.com). "I just try to go out and play the same game every night. Just try to do whatever I can to help my team come out with a win."

With Murray State getting 4.5 points, this seems like a good bet to make on Saturday.