March Madness First Round Props: Most Points & Highest Margin of Victory

• See prop bets on the most points and biggest margin of victory in the 2019 NCAA Tournament’s Round of 64
• Markus Howard of Marquette has scored at least 33 points six times this season
• Historically, few teams win their Round of 64 matchup by 39 points or more

March Madness is rapidly approaching. As we get a clearer picture of who will be in the field, online sportsbooks have released some fun props on what might happen in the Round of 64 of the NCAA Tournament. Let’s take a closer look.

Most Points by a Single Player in the Round of 64

Although this feels like a Zion Williamson-related prop, there plenty of candidates that could surpass this 32.5-point mark. However, it is worth noting that no player in the country is currently averaging more than 29.8 points per game.

With Williamson specifically, he’s averaging 22.4 points per outing, so 32.5 is a tall order for him considering he’s only made it above that number once this season (and that was in an overtime game). A player like Justin Wright-Foreman, who is third in the country with 26.3 points per game for Hofstra, would be another strong contender to hit the over, but Hofstra will have to win the Colonial conference tournament to qualify, and that’s no guarantee.

Welcome to the Ja Morant show. Enjoy the pyrotechnics. ? ? @igotgame_12 pic.twitter.com/pptIeZJNC7

— SLAM (@SLAMonline) February 10, 2019

Ja Morant will be a quality candidate too as he’s one of the best scorers in the country. He’s 7th in the nation in scoring and plays for Murray State, which could conceivably get an at-large bid if it doesn’t win the OVC.

140 seconds of ridiculousness from Markus Howard (@markushoward11)#MarkusForWoodenAward2k19 pic.twitter.com/e6S5OwtPVS

— Nathan Marzion (@natemar3i0n) February 13, 2019

The player who inspires the most confidence is Markus Howard. Marquette is somewhere in the range of a No. 3 seed and he’s currently fourth in the country in points per game. He’s scored 31 or more in four of his last five and gone over 32.5 six times this season.

With players like that around, I’d bet on the over.

Highest Margin of Victory in the Round of 64

We’re looking at a margin of 38.5 points here with this prop and that is quite sizable. One would have to assume that much of this is specifically related to Duke and their dominance this year, because if you’re looking historically, this is a high margin of victory.

The biggest margin of victory in last year’s Round of 64 was just 26 points. In 2017, we did see two outcomes go over that number — No. 1 Kansas pounded U.C. Davis by 38 and No. 1 North Carolina crushed Texas Southern by 39 — and in 2016, two more No. 1 seeds won by 39 and 36.

But in 2015, the biggest margin of victory was actually a 7-10 blowout where No. 7 Iowa crushed No. 10 Davidson by 31.

“I took a charge once on (Zion) in practice. I’ll never do that again.” -RJ ?@ZionW32 & @RjBarrett6 sit down with @TheAndyKatz to talk all things @DukeMBB! ?? pic.twitter.com/sTJ52eNXJr

— NCAA March Madness (@marchmadness) February 20, 2019

Taking a look at Duke specifically, they have pumped a few opponents this year. They crushed Stetson by 64 and Princeton by 51, but outside of that, haven’t beaten anyone by more than 38. Based on the history, 39 is a tall order to hit, so I would bet under.

Highest Point Total by a Single Team in the Round of 64

With a total of 97.5 for this prop, the over looks like the right play. If we’re focusing on Duke alone, they’ve crossed that number a couple of times this season. If we’re looking at the bigger picture, the over looks even better.

In 2018, Xavier (102) easily crossed that number. In 2017, No. 2 Arizona (100) and No. 1’s Kansas (100) and North Carolina (103) surpassed hit the century mark. In 2016, No. 5 Indiana (99) went over as well. The 2015 tournament was the last time we didn’t see at least 99 points in the Round of 64 by a team, and that year, we still saw a pair of 93’s.

Keep in mind that we’ve seen some college basketball rules change since then to speed up the game (reduced shot clock), so that should also help us get above the number. Take the over.