2019 March Madness Expert Bracket Picks: Instinctive First Reaction Predictions
by Trevor Whenham - 3/18/2019

One of the things I like to do on the night the brackets are released every year is make my instinctive March Madness bracket picks. Things might change as I dive deeper into the bracket - and overthink every single aspect of it - but by going off of first impressions and what the gut says, we often wind up with a bracket that is interesting. And I'll do it all again after the first weekend, so I have a mulligan in my pocket if I need it - and I likely will, if the past is any indication. Last year, though, I had Villanova beating Michigan in the final when I did this exercise, so maybe lightning will strike two years in a row.

2019 March Madness Bracket Picks: Vulnerable High Seeds
by Trevor Whenham - 3/18/2019

The bracket is out, and we are just days away from the start of the NCAA Tournament - the best three weeks in American sports. It's a very interesting bracket this year, with fewer odd seedings or questionable bracket placements than usual. It's going to be a brutally-tough, wide-open tournament - unless Duke plays to their full potential, in which case it's over before it starts. As we prepare our March Madness bracket picks, here are four vulnerable high seeds that could find themselves on the sidelines earlier than their seed suggests that they should be.

2019 NCAA Tournament Betting Trends: Conferences History
by Trevor Whenham - 3/18/2019

We now know what the bracket looks like for the 2019 NCAA Tournament. So, now we can take a look at what conferences the teams come from, and what that can teach us about how to handicap the tournament. Some conferences are just better in the tournament - better at both getting into the tournament and shining once they get there. Ultimately, it's teams that win the tournament, not the conference. But by getting a sense of the history of the conferences, though, there are lessons that can be picked up.

NCAA Tournament Expert Betting Advice: Geographical Advantages
by Trevor Whenham - 3/18/2019

When the bracket is first released for the NCAA Tournament every year, the first thing I do, obviously, is look at the teams I care about and the paths they have to take. As soon as that is done with, though, I shift into my own personal obsession - geographical advantages. For the most part, the selection committee tries to make things fair and keep things as close to home as they can.

2019 NCAA Tournament Brackets Advice: Final Four Teams Repeating
by Trevor Whenham - 3/18/2019

Heading into the 2019 NCAA Tournament, there are only four teams that have the ability to say that they have the most recent knowledge possible of what it is like to be in the Final Four - last year's finalists Villanova, Michigan, Kansas and Loyola. We know that Loyola won't be repeating as a Final Four team - they blew their chance of making the NCAA field by losing in the semifinals of the Missouri Valley Tournament as the No. 1 seed to eventual tournament winner Bradley.

Expert College Basketball Betting Advice: Handicapping Conference Tournaments
by Trevor Whenham - 3/11/2019

Conference tournament season in college basketball is a great time, but often less for what they are than what they represent - this means that the brackets are just days away and the NCAA Tournament is about to start. Conference tournaments can be important and dramatic - especially in lesser conferences where an automatic bid is on the line and teams aren't likely getting into the big show otherwise.

March Madness Seed Statistics 2019
by Trevor Whenham - 3/8/2019

We are, as I write this, just over a week away from the unveiling of the NCAA Tournament bracket. That starts four days of mad scrambling to fill out what we hope will be a winning bracket. Every tournament is different, and this one will have a unique flavor like any other. But there have been enough games played over the years in the tournament that we can learn valuable lessons from March Madness seed statistics that can help guide us towards the winning picks.

March Madness Money Management Tips and Expert Betting Advice 2019
by Trevor Whenham - 3/8/2019

The NCAA Tournament is pure heaven for bettors, and in particular the first weekend. Forty-eight games over four days with teams playing at full intensity. The public loves it, attention on the sport is never higher, and there are so many opportunities for action. To succeed in the big event as a bettor, though, you need to have your betting game in top postseason form. To help you with that, here are some March Madness money management tips and some expert betting advice to guide you to success.

Should I Bet on Villanova in the College Basketball National Championship Game?
by Trevor Whenham - 4/1/2018

Let me boast for a minute, will you? I am in a pretty sweet position no matter what on Monday night. If Michigan wins then the team I have been cheering for my entire life wins an unquestionably clean title, and life will be truly grand. But if they lose then I will win two different pools and will have more than enough extra cash on hand to drown my disappointments. I'm openly cheering against my own brackets, but people have faced worse worst-case scenarios. But that's not what matters here.

Should I Bet on Michigan in the College Basketball National Championship Game?
by Trevor Whenham - 4/1/2018

The matchup is set. Villanova brings the top offense in the country up against the top remaining defense - the top defense of the last two months, really - in Michigan. It's not the least predictable final ever - my son picked it in his bracket, and he is seven years old. But it should be a good game. And all bettors are asking themselves the same question right now - should I bet on Michigan in the College Basketball National Championship Game? Here are five good arguments for you:

Sister Jean and Loyola-Chicago Betting Props with Expert Predictions
by Raphael Esparza - 3/28/2018

One of my all-time favorite movies is the classic 'Blues Brothers,' and one of the best quotes in that movie is, "We're on a mission from God." This Saturday night in San Antonio at the Alamodome, the Cinderella team of March Madness, the Loyola Chicago Ramblers, may have extra help on their side.

2018 Final Four Bracket Picks and Expert Predictions
by Trevor Whenham - 3/26/2018

Well, we re-picked the bracket again before the Final Four, and it went… okay. I picked Villanova to lose to Texas Tech, but more because I was bored by how chalky the right side of the bracket has been as anything. And I truly believed that Kansas wasn't going to be able to overcome a talent deficit against Duke. So, the right side was a bit of a disaster. But on the left we had Michigan winning the region - as we have since the start of the tournament - and we had Loyola continuing their hot streak against Kansas State. And now we are down to the Final Four, so we have one more chance to revisit the bracket and see how things set up. Here, then, are my Final Four bracket picks:

2018 Final Four Betting Trends
by Trevor Whenham - 3/26/2018

And then there were four. There were 68 teams that set out with dreams of winning a national title. Some of those dreams were obviously more realistic than others, but after just two weekends, 64 have gone home to sulk. The fanbases of the remaining teams are ecstatic, but there is still work left to do - one more prize to claim, one more net to cut down, and two more games to win. And for bettors, this bizarre endurance test of a tournament still has three more handicapping challenges for us to deal with. Three more games for us to solve. And to help you handicap each, here are some Final Four betting trends for each of the remaining teams.

2018 Final Four Betting Advice: Handicapping the Coaches
by Trevor Whenham - 3/26/2018

Four teams remain in the NCAA Tournament. That means four head coaches. Coaches have more impact in college basketball and football than any other sport because they can better implement a rigid system, find the players to work within that system, and ensure compliance with the system. And the collection of Final Four coaches we have this year is a strong one. Two guys are making their third Final Four appearance. Both have won national titles.

2018 Elite Eight Bracket Picks and Expert Predictions
by Trevor Whenham - 3/24/2018

And now there are eight. And, I must say, when one of the eight remaining teams is the one you live and breathe for, the tournament generally holds a bit more excitement. Yes, what I am saying is that the world is a better place when Michigan is playing basketball in March. And, even more so, in April. Needless to say, I had Michigan winning their last game and heading to the Elite Eight and beyond.

NCAA Basketball Expert Betting Advice: Three Interesting Opening Lines 3/23/2018
by Alan Matthews - 3/22/2018

This is my last 3-Point Play story of the 2017-18 NCAA basketball season, so let's cut to the chase and give you my Final Four and National Championship pick. Entering the Sweet 16, I have lost one team from my original four in Arizona; why did I ever trust Sean Miller? Odds from BetOnline: South Region - Kentucky (-110), West - Gonzaga (+150), East - Villanova (-120) and Midwest - Duke (-140). Yeah, pretty chalk, I know. But three of those I had previously. It will be Kentucky vs. Duke in the national title game, with the Blue Devils prevailing. Duke is currently +350 at BetOnline to win it all vs. the field (-500).

NCAA Basketball Expert Betting Advice: Three Interesting Opening Lines 3/22/2018
by Alan Matthews - 3/21/2018

It's West and South Region action on Thursday night as the Sweet 16 gets underway in what has been an incredibly memorable NCAA Tournament. It was arguably the most upset-filled first two rounds in history. Of course, No. 16 UMBC had the biggest one, dominating vastly overrated No. 1 overall seed Virginia (great regular-season team, but not the same in the Big Dance). The South doesn't have a single top-four seed left, and that's a first for any region in tournament history since seeding began in 1979.

Reseeding the Sweet 16 Bracket According to Updated NCAA Futures Odds
by Chris Vasile - 3/20/2018

The first two rounds of this year's NCAA Tournament have done nothing but leave us wanting more. March Madness has given us game-winning buzzer-beaters, dramatic comebacks, unexpected heroes, and historic upsets. The first two rounds have set the tone for what I expect to be another wild round in the Sweet 16 that sets social media on fire and wins over the hearts of casual basketball fans.

Expert March Madness Handicapping: Ranking the Sweet 16 Teams
by Trevor Whenham - 3/20/2018

And then there were 16. More than three-quarters of the teams that had ambitions of winning it all and cutting down the nets in San Antonio in a couple of weeks have been eliminated. The teams that are still standing are an odd bunch - like usual, yet except maybe a little more so than most years. We have blue bloods and we have outsiders. We have teams overachieving and a couple that have underachieved but still survived.

Sweet 16 March Madness Betting Advice: Don't Fall in Love with Underdogs
by Trevor Whenham - 3/20/2018

The first weekend of the NCAA Tournament can often get crazy, and this weekend has been crazier than usual. Of course, the capper of it all was UMBC's stunning dismantling of top-seeded Virginia, marking the first time a No. 16 has won and the first time in years they have even come close. But Buffalo manhandling Arizona, Texas A&M destroying North Carolina in Charlotte, Loyola and Syracuse winning twice as No. 11 seeds, Nevada going on a 32-8 run and taking their only lead at the end of the game over a very good Cincinnati team, and Florida State coming back late to beat Xavier, all qualify as shocking upsets as well.