It was a nice opening round to the 2022 tournament yesterday, with Richmond and New Mexico State delivering in the #12/#5 upset special, Michigan advancing as an 11-seed, but most shockingly #15 Saint Peter's delivering the knockout blow 85-79 to #2 Kentucky despite 30 points and 16 rebounds from UK's Oscar Tschiebwe.

Friday has a tough act to follow, but let's see some of the best bets for today.

🏀Top 5 Player Props March 18th 🏀

LineStar has a new Player Prop tab that lets you search for the best individual props through apps such as DraftKings, FanDuel, BetMGM, Caesars, and PointsBet. Here are some of the best bets for tonight:

🏀Boogie Ellis, USC (Over 13.5 points) -He scored 27 points and took 17 shots in the Pac-12 tournament semifinal game and had 17 in the win over Washington before that. Miami allows over 70 ppg and has one of the worst opponent field goals percentages in the country.

🏀Jaden Shackelford, Alabama (Over 17.5 points) -The Tide play a Notre Dame that just went into 2OT with Rutgers on Wednesday then had to fly from Dayton to San Diego. Alabama runs at a fast pace anyway, but Nate Oats is really going to push things today.

🏀Kofi Cockburn, Illinois(Under 19.5 points) - The 7-foot, 285 pounder is a beast, but Tennessee-Chattanooga matches up well in this one with 6'10" Avery Diggs and 6'9, 250 pound Kansas transfer Silvia De Sousa. Cockburn has a penchant for getting into foul trouble as well.

🏀Izaiah Brockington, Iowa State (Under 16.5 points) - Brockington averaged 17.5 during the regular season, but he's gotten progressively worse since dropping 35 on West Virginia, scoring 17, 13, 11, and 7 the last four games. ISU as a team has been held to under 41 points in two of the last three and they face a pretty solid LSU defense.

🏀Gabe Brown Michigan State(Over 9.5 points) - Brown averaged 11.5 in the regular season and kept consistent with 11 ppg over three games in the Big Ten Tournament. He's a senior up against a Davidson team that is solid on offense, but just 150th in adjusted defensive efficiency.

NCAA 1st Round Betting Picks

#10 Loyola-Illinois vs. #7 Ohio State (PK) O/U 132.5 12:15 ET

Is this a lack of respect for Ohio State or just love for Sister Jean and the gang from Loyola-Illinois? The Ramblers rattled off three straight wins to claim the MVC tournament last weekend, and they have the #22 adjusted defensive efficiency in the country. OSU lost to Penn State in their Big Ten opener last Thursday, but that has also given a banged up team plenty of time to rest. Pick: Ohio State (PK)

#10 Miami-Florida vs #7 USC (-2), O/U 139.5 3:10 ET

Miami was solid this season with a 23-10 record while playing in the ACC. Something that really sticks out about the Hurricanes though is their defense - or lack thereof. Opponents shot 46% from the field vs. Miami this season and their adjusted defensive efficiency ranked 154th in the nation. Compare that to USC had the 15th best opponents field goal percentage this year so if defense carries you in March, the Trojans have this one. Pick: USC -2

#11 Notre Dame vs #6 Alabama (-4) , OU 152 4:15 ET

We will see if Notre Dame is a bit worn down this afternoon, not just because the green beers were flowing yesterday on St. Patrick's Day but because they just got done with a 2OT battle with Rutgers in the First 4 on Wednesday. Plus, that game was in Dayton, then the Irish had to fly all the way to San Diego for their 1st round matchup. Plus the Crimson Tide are about the worst matchup for the situation, as they run the 13th fastest adjusted tempo in the country meaning a lot of trips up and down the court. Pick: Alabama -4

#11 Virginia Tech vs #6 Texas (-1), O/U 123 4:30 ET

Who knows if the selection committee would have deemed Virginia Tech worthy enough of a berth had they not won the ACC Tournament and got the automatic bid? Either way VT is here, and they are red hot with a 13-2 record over their last 15 while knocking Notre Dame, North Carolina, and Duke out of the ACC Tournament last weekend. Chris Beard would love to get a tourney win in his first year in Austin, but the 'Horns are in a rut right now blowing a 20-point lead in their Big 12 Tournament loss to TCU last weekend. Pick: Virginia Tech +1

#13 Chattanooga vs #4 Illinois (-8), O/U 135.5 6:50 ET

Illinois should come out angry in this one after CBS' Seth Davis called an upset from the MOCS on selection Sunday. The Illini were co-winners of the Big Ten during the regular season but got bounced in their conference tourney opener last weekend against Indiana, looking lost down the stretch. The 24-7 MOCS won the Southern League, but needed a 30-footer at the buzzer to beat Furman in the Championship game and punch their ticket here. That being said UT-C has good size and three very capable scorers who averaged at least 15 ppg last weekend. Pick: Tennessee-Chattanooga +8

#11 Iowa State vs #6 LSU (-4) , O/U 128 7:20 ET

There might be some value on Iowa State in this spot considering LSU is going with interim coach Kevin Nickelberry after firing Will Wade, but the last time we saw the Cyclones they were getting absolutely annihilated 72-41 by Texas Tech in the Big 12 Tournament. That's two times in the last three games ISU has scored 41 points or less, and LSU's defense ranked 30th in points allowed and was a top 10 team in opponent shooting percentage. Pick: LSU -4

#10 Davidson vs #7 Michigan State (-1) , OU 140.5 9:40 ET

It's Atlantic 10 vs. Big 10 round two, with Richmond upsetting Iowa yesterday in the #12/#5 matchup. Davidson's leading scorer Foster Loyer (16.8 ppg) was with Michigan State the last three seasons so he'll have familiarity - but so will Tom Izzo. Everybody wants to focus on the Spartans losing 7 of their last 10 in the regular season, but that was also against six tournament teams. MSU has also beaten #4 Purdue and #12 Wisconsin in the last two weeks. Pick: Michigan State -1

#9 TCU vs #8 Seton Hall (PK) , OU 128.5 9:57 ET

Oddsmakers seem to have this one correct as a PK, because Seton Hall went 8-2 to close out the regular season but TCU can beat anybody right now, as they've shown in wins over#6 seed Texas, #3 seed Texas Tech and #1 seed Kansas over their last six games. Pick: TCU PK

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You can follow me, Carl Taylor (@dailydogsports), on Twitter for more daily fantasy and sports betting talk and make sure to check out the LineStar chat.

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