March Madness
My non-expert March Madness bracket fueled by coffee and 2 hours of college basketball viewing throughout the year. Go me!
I did this bracket for free at ESPN. No contests, no funny business.
Presenting My March Madness Bracket
College Basketball
March Madness Opening Lines From William Hill
William Hill just released their opening point spreads for the first round of the NCAA Basketball Tournament aka March Madness. These are already adjusted from some openers released online and in other Vegas sportsbooks (CG Technology was first to release in Vegas).
Expect these lines to move again – some before the night is over. Enjoy!
HAMPTON VS MANHATTAN
MANHATTAN -7.5 (-110)
OLE MISS VS BYU
BYU -2.5 (-110)
ROBERT MORRIS VS NORTH FLORIDA
NORTH FLORIDA -2 (-110)
BOISE STATE VS DAYTON
DAYTON -3.5 (-110)
WOFFORD VS ARKANSAS
ARKANSAS -7.5 (-110)
HARVARD VS NORTH CAROLINA
NORTH CAROLINA -9 (-110)
GEORGIA STATE VS BAYLOR
BAYLOR -8 (-110)
NORTHEASTERN VS NOTRE DAME
NOTRE DAME -12.5 (-110)
TEXAS VS BUTLER
TEXAS
-1 (-110)
LAFAYETTE VS VILLANOVA
VILLANOVA -23 (-110)
LSU VS NC STATE
NC STATE -1.5 (-110)
PURDUE VS CINCINNATI
CINCINNATI -1 (-110)
UAB VS IOWA STATE
IOWA STATE -13.5 (-110)
UCLA VS SMU
SMU -2.5 (-110)
STEPHEN F AUSTIN VS UTAH
UTAH -6 (-110)
EASTERN WASHINGTON VS GEORGETOWN
GEORGETOWN -8.5 (-110)
TEXAS SOUTHERN VS ARIZONA
ARIZONA -22.5 (-110)
OHIO STATE VS VCU
OHIO STATE -2.5 (-110)
BELMONT VS VIRGINIA
VIRGINIA -17 (-110)
GEORGIA VS MICHIGAN STATE
MICHIGAN STATE -5 (-110)
ST. JOHN’S VS SAN DIEGO STATE
SAN DIEGO STATE
-2.5 (-110)
BUFFALO VS WEST VIRGINIA
WEST VIRGINIA -4.5 (-110)
VALPARAISO VS MARYLAND
MARYLAND -4.5 (-110)
ALBANY VS OKLAHOMA
OKLAHOMA -13 (-110)
NEW MEXICO STATE VS KANSAS
KANSAS -12 (-110)
INDIANA VS WICHITA STATE
WICHITA STATE -5.5 (-110)
COASTAL CAROLINA VS WISCONSIN
WISCONSIN -19 (-110)
OKLAHOMA STATE VS OREGON
OKLAHOMA STATE -1 (-110)
WYOMING VS NORTHERN IOWA
NORTHERN IOWA -7.5 (-110)
CAL IRVINE VS LOUISVILLE
LOUISVILLE -9 (-110)
NORTH DAKOTA STATE VS GONZAGA
GONZAGA -17.5 (-110)
DAVIDSON VS IOWA
IOWA -2.5 (-110)
Fox Sports 1 Bringing Point Spreads To The Masses
Fox Sports 1 launched as a 24 hour all sports network last week. While CBS and NBC have launched 24 hour sports networks in the past year it looks as if Fox Sports 1 will be the greatest challenger to ESPN. ESPN is the largest all sports network with the most history so each network has to carve their own niche with sports fans. NBC Sports Network has focused its programming around the NHL, NFL, Premier League and fringe sports like cycling while CBS Sports Network seems to be a minor league sports network filling much of its programming with lesser tier college football and college basketball.
Fox Sports 1 will be a home for NFL, UFC, college football and soccer spillover from regular Fox programming. I’m assuming that they’ll integrate MLB into next year’s shows. Fox Sports 1 seems to have the most upper tier programming to take some market share from big brother, ESPN. In addition to strong major league sports they have a strong roster of former professional athletes and professional broadcasters for their regular TV shows (hello Charissa and Erin).
Mainstream sports media has tiptoed around gambling in the past even though it plays a large role in popularity of certain sports – especially football. One way that Fox Sports 1 is differentiating itself from ESPN is not hiding from gambling – at least not hiding from the fact that gambling exists. Fox Sports 1 has point spreads displayed when they run upcoming matchups on their bottom line or side bar (above). This isn’t just for football as they had betting odds for the UFC fights last weekend.
I haven’t noticed any of the talking heads on Fox Sports 1 speaking about gambling directly but this is the first time that I can remember seeing a TV network using point spreads all day long, not just for pick segments.
I’m curious to see how they incorporate point spreads into football wrap ups. Discussing ATS (Against The Spread) records along side of straight up records would really open the door to sports betting discussion. As a sports bettor and fan I would love this.
Body Photo: 30 FPS