March Madness Second Round Odds – See Opening Round of 32 Point Spreads

• The second round of the NCAA Tournament tips-off on Saturday (March 18th)
• Alabama is the largest favorite on the board, laying 8.5 points to Maryland
• See below for second round March Madness odds during the NCAA Tournament’s round of 32

The first full slate of March Madness games certainly didn’t disappoint. We had a 2 and a 4 seed fall within the first few hours of Day 1, making Princeton and Furman the early contenders to be this year’s Cinderella.

The first round is still ongoing, but online sportsbooks have already released odds for a handful of the second round games. Those contests will tip-off on Saturday, with aforementioned Princeton taking on Missouri in the South Region’s 7 vs 15 matchup.

March Madness Second Round Odds (Saturday, March 18)

Editor’s note: games were added as they became available. The article below was written before several lines had been posted. 

Despite being the lowest seed thus far in the March Madness bracket, Princeton is not the biggest underdog on Saturday’s board. That distinction belongs to Maryland, who take on Alabama in the South Region’s 8 vs 1 matchup.

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Odds as of March 16 at DraftKings Sportsbook. See full list of March Madness betting promos. 

Biggest and Smallest Spreads

The Crimson Tide, owners of the second shortest price in the NCAA Tournament odds, are currently laying 8.5 points. Alabama failed to cover as 25 point favorites in the first round versus Texas A&M-CC, taking their foot off the gas in the second half and cruising to a 96-75 win.

Bama picked up the easy victory despite getting nothing from star forward Brandon Miller. The projected lottery pick was held scoreless for the first time all season, missing all five of his field goal attempts before sitting out the game’s final 14 minutes.

Alabama put up 96 points, with none coming from leading scorer Brandon Miller.

Miller's 19.6 PPG entering the tournament are the most by a player to go scoreless in any NCAA Tournament game since at least 1997. pic.twitter.com/hJvTdA3poN

— ESPN Stats & Info (@ESPNStatsInfo) March 16, 2023

The Crimson Tide covered each of their three games en route to the title in the SEC Tournament, after failing to cover in the final four games of the regular season.

The Terps meanwhile, took down West Virginia in the first game on Thursday’s slate, winning outright 67-65 as 2 point underdogs. Maryland shook off a slow start to cover for the 22nd time in 34 games this season. They’re 5-1 ATS at neutral sites, and have covered in six of eight matchups with ranked opponents.

As far as the smallest spread goes, oddsmakers expect a tight battle between Arkansas and Kansas in the college basketball odds. The Jayhawks, the West Region’s top seed, are currently 4 point favorites. Kansas breezed past Howard 96-68, covering the 22 point spread while their head coach Bill Self recovers from surgery.

The Jayhawks lead the nation in Quadrant 1 victories this season, but were far from spread crushers. They are 17-18 against the spread so far, but have covered in 10 of their last 15 games.

The Razorbacks on the other hand, took down Illinois 73-63 as 2 point favorites. Arkansas closed the season with losses in four of their last five games, and have struggled to cover versus ranked opponents.

They’re 3-7 ATS versus top-25 teams this season, failing to cover the spread by an average of 5 points per contest.

Biggest and Smallest Totals

Total wise, the largest number currently belongs to the Princeton vs Missouri matchup at 150.5. These two programs each ranked inside the top-80 in points per game this season, with Missouri boasting the nation’s 10th most efficient offense per KenPom.

Both teams saw their first round matchups fall drastically under the total, but Princeton and Missouri have been popular over bets all season. The over is 16-12 in Princeton’s games, while Mizzou is 18-16 to the over in 34 outings.

Princeton busting brackets everywhere 🤯 pic.twitter.com/T4soTrc8LV

— ESPN (@espn) March 16, 2023

The lowest total belongs to the Furman vs San Diego State matchup at 138.5. The fifth seeded Aztecs are one of the nation’s most dominant defensive teams. They rank ninth in adjusted defense per KenPom, yielding only 63 points per game.

The Paladins boast the ninth highest scoring offense in college hoops, but have failed to find a ceiling versus quality opposition. In three games against top-50 competition this season, the South’s 13 seed is averaging only 69.6 points per outing, which is 11 points fewer than their season long mark.