Underdogs Wofford, Murray State Highlight Saturday Madness Odds
The seventh-seeded Wofford Terriers are probably not a household name yet despite winning their first-ever NCAA Tournament game on Thursday with an 84-68 rout of the 10th-seeded Seton Hall Pirates in the Midwest Region. The Terriers closed as three-point favorites and covered the spread in their eighth straight game while extending their winning streak to 21.
But Saturday's second-round matchup will be much more difficult for Wofford as the team prepares to face the second-seeded Kentucky Wildcats as 5.5-point underdogs this time on the March Madness odds at sportsbooks monitored by OddsShark.com.
Kentucky is coming off a 79-44 blowout of the 15th-seeded Abilene Christian Wildcats on Thursday as well without leading scorer and rebounder PJ Washington, who sat out with a sprained foot. The SEC power overpowered Abilene Christian to beat the number easily as a 20.5-point favorite after falling short of covering in five of six games. Wofford will be a tougher foe for Kentucky too, especially with Washington likely out again.
In the West Region, the 12th-seeded Murray State Racers upset the fifth-seeded Marquette Golden Eagles 83-64 as three-point underdogs on Thursday. The Racers will take on the fourth-seeded Florida State Seminoles next after they eliminated the 13th-seeded Vermont Catamounts 76-69 but did not cover as 8.5-point favorites on the college basketball odds.
Led by star Ja Morant, Murray State is a five-point underdog versus Florida State and definitely has the potential to pull off another upset in this spot. Morant had 17 points, 16 assists and 11 rebounds for the ninth triple-double in tournament history, and he is expected to be a high lottery pick in this year's NBA Draft. In other words, he is a very special player who could lead the Racers on a similar run to what Stephen Curry did for the Davidson Wildcats in the 2008 NCAA Tournament.
Curry got Davidson to the Midwest Regional Final where they lost 59-57 to the top-seeded Kansas Jayhawks on their way to the national championship. Morant could earn Murray State a meeting with the top-seeded Gonzaga Bulldogs in the Sweet 16 if both schools win, and that will happen.
Take the Racers straight up to win their 13th game in a row as Saturday's best bet. The Bulldogs will be waiting for them after they knock off the ninth-seeded Baylor Bears as 13-point favorites in their second-round matchup. Whether or not Gonzaga covers that big number remains to be seen, but bettors will get a great pairing in the Sweet 16.
