March Madness Odds for All First Round Games – Spreads, Totals, Moneylines for Round of 64

• Opening odds are in for all available March Madness first-round matchups
• The defending national champion Kansas Jayhawks are given the biggest spread as 22.5-point favorites over Howard
• See all the March Madness first-round odds and analysis in the following story

Selection Sunday has done its job and now the first-round matchups are all set for March Madness 2023. The bracket is in place and all that’s left to be determined is which four schools will survive the First Four games in order to fill out the final matchups in the 64-school field.

Those First Four games will be contested on Tuesday, March 14 and Wednesday, March 15. First-round action gets underway Thursday, March 16 and continues through Friday, March 17.

Opening March Madness First Round Odds

There are 20 different odds set for first-round games. Of the 28 games already with odds assigned to them, 18 are given single-digit spreads and 10 are getting double-digit lines.

The most popular betting lines in three points. That’s the opening line on a trio of games – Illinois vs Arkansas, Penn State vs Texas A&M and Florida Athletic vs Memphis.

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Odds as of March 12 at DraftKings Sportsbook promos.

Going Low with Higher Seeds

Two games are sharing the shortest spread of one point. Interestingly, both are on games where the higher-seeded team is being assigned the favorite’s role.

Surprisingly, the #9 Auburn Tigers are being set as the 1-point pick over the #8 Iowa Hawkeyes in the Midwest Region. Auburn has gained a reputation this season for coming in second in close games. The Tigers have lost by three or less points during the 2022-23 campaign to USC, West Virginia, Tennessee, Vanderbilt and Arkansas. Auburn lost in the first round of the SEC Tournament and comes into March Madness 4-9 straight up over the past 13 games.

In the West Region, the #10 Boise State Broncos are the 1-point chalk facing the #7 Northwestern Wildcats. Maybe the bookmakers just aren’t big on the Big Ten this season. Balanced is a key for Boise State, The Broncos are showing five players with at least 10 points per game. As well, they also display a win over Texas A&M on their resume.

Oddsmakers Undeterred by Kansas Upset

Even though Kansas was stunned 76-56 by Texas in the Big 12 Tournament final, neither the selection committee nor the oddsmakers were swayed that there’s cause for concern when it comes to backing the Jayhawks.

TEXAS WINS THE BIG 12 CHAMPIONSHIP 🏆

The Longhorns dominate Kansas to win the Big 12 Tournament for the second time in three years 🤘 #MarchMadness pic.twitter.com/9MuqEI8jW6

— NCAA March Madness (@MarchMadnessMBB) March 12, 2023

The #1 seed in the West Region, defending champion Kansas is set as 22.5-point favorites over the #16 Howard Bison in the opening round. That’s the largest spread being offered on any game. The Jayhawks are the +1000 co-third favorite with Purdue in the March Madness odds.

Despite being upset by Memphis in the American Athletic Conference Tournament final,  the Houston Cougars are remaining the +600 chalk to win the NCAA Tournament. Houston is also the only other school being set as 20+ point first round favorites. The #1 Cougars are exactly a 20-point pick over #16 Northern Kentucky in the Midwest Region.

Gonzaga March Madness Pick to Light-up Scoreboard

The Gonzaga Bulldogs, the #3 seed in the West Region, are the #1 scoring offense in the nation. They put back on average 87.5 points per game.

Gonzaga’s opponents, the WAC champion Grand Canyon Antelopes, can also score the basketball. The #14 seed, the Antelopes are scoring 75.31 points per game. That’s 92nd in the nation. Grand Canyon is the best over team in the NCAA this season, going 25-8 (75.8%) on the total.

The two schools have assigned the highest total of Round 1 March Madness completion at 156 points. It’s among six first-round games with totals of 150+ points.

Cougars Expected To Go Under

Not only did Houston capitulate to Memphis in the AAC title game, oddsmakers are expected that the Cougars will be hitting another low in the opening-round of March Madness. The game between #1 Houston and #16 Northern Kentucky in the Midwest Region is being assigned the lowest total of Round 1 at 121.5 points.

DOWN GOES NO. 1 HOUSTON 🤯🤯

Memphis will be leaving Fort Worth as the AAC Tournament Champions 🏆

Performance of a lifetime this weekend for Penny Hardaway and the Tigers. pic.twitter.com/GJ1AgPsUaD

— Christian Fowler (@CFowlerBCM) March 12, 2023

Northern Kentucky is the #27 scoring defense in the NCAA. The Norse allow just 63.6 points per game. They won the Horizon League title by playing pressure defense. Northern Kentucky forces a turnover on one out of every four opposition possessions.

Two other opening-round games – #12 VCU vs #5 St Mary’s (122.5 points) in the West Region and Boise State vs Northwestern (128.5 points) – are also being set with totals under 130 points.