Welcome to the first of two 12-hour college basketball marathon days!

There’s an abundance of matchups to dive into as we kick off the first round of the NCAA men’s basketball tournament.

Here’s a look at a few games with the most notable storylines attached to them and how to bet those contests.

 

No. 9 Michigan State vs. No. 8 Mississippi State (12:15 p.m. ET, CBS)

Your friend who only pays attention to college basketball during March Madness will tell you to bet Michigan State because of Tom Izzo, and Izzo only.


That’s at least true for the first round. Michigan State has only lost three first-round games since 2010. Two of those losses came against UCLA and the other was a true upset to a 15 seed in 2016.

However, this is not one of Izzo’s best teams and there’s no true star on the team. That could be troublesome against a sneaky-good Mississippi State team.

The Bulldogs have the third-best three-point defense of NCAA tournament teams and just dominated Tennessee last week at the SEC tournament.

The odds suggest this is a toss-up, and I believe it truly is. It may be ugly at points. Mississippi State is 16-18 to the over and Michigan State is 14-19 to the over this season.

 

No. 15 Long Beach State vs. No. 2 Arizona (2 p.m. ET, TBS)

Long Beach State has one of the wilder stories in recent NCAA tournament history.

LBSU head coach Dan Monson was fired before the Big West tournament, but then his team went on to win the conference tournament and qualify for the NCAA tournament.

It’s a great story, but it may not last long in the Big Dance.

LBSU plays at the 27th-fastest tempo in D1, but it ranks 173rd in field-goal percentage. Arizona plays at an even faster pace and shoots four percent better from the field.

Arizona is 21-12 against the spread and it is 6-1 ATS as a favorite of 19 or more points.

 

No. 10 Colorado State vs. No. 7 Texas (6;50 p.m. ET, TNT)

One of the many trends you’ve heard your friends spout out this week involves First Four winners.

At least one First Four winner has gone on to win a round of 64 game in every year except one. That’s going back to 2011, when the First Four was expanded to include at-large teams.

Colorado State and Wagner are the two First Four winners in play on Thursday. The Rams come from the disrespected Mountain West and have a guard in Isaiah Stevens who could become a March star.

Stevens will go up against a star of Marches past in Max Abmas, who led Oral Roberts to the Sweet 16 and is now at Texas.

Texas didn’t win more than two games in a row in Big 12 play, while Colorado State has a resume that includes wins over Creighton, Colorado, and San Diego State.

 

No. 13 Samford vs. No. 4 Kansas (9:55 p.m. ET, TBS)

Everyone wants to talk about the 12 seed upsetting the 5 seed.

But there’s a better chance of a 13 seed knocking off a 4 seed, especially Kansas, in this year’s tournament.

This isn’t your older brother’s Kansas team. The Jayhawks have zero depth and one of their stars, Kevin McCullar Jr., was ruled out of the tournament earlier this week.

Enter the Samford Bulldogs.

They play a 10-deep, press-heavy, fast-paced style and love to chuck up shots. They are the perfect team to fall in love with in March.

It’s one of the best days of the year for PA sports betting and NJ sports betting.