With only one game on the NBA slate tonight as college basketball takes center stage, we're going to do the same and take a look at some of the best bets for Thursday's first-round games.

Three #1 seeds are in action today and they all should breeze to pretty easy victories. #1 overall Gonzaga is a -23 point favorite over Georgia State, Oddsmakers have #1 Baylor at -20.5 against Norfolk State, and Kansas is -21.5 against Texas Southern.

Even the #2 and #3 seeds look like they'll cruise to the round of 32 - which isn't unexpected. Tennessee is an 18-point favorite over Longwood and Kentucky is also -18 against Saint Peter's. The rest of the day is where it gets interesting though, so let's look at the top games and props of the day.

🏀Top 5 Player Props March 17th 🏀

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:

🏀Eli Brooks (Over 14.5 points) -One of the big things Brooks has going for him is experience with over 130 games played in his Michigan career. That should help him keep calm in this opening round and he's playing well down the stretch with 17,14, and 17 points in the last three.

🏀Nate Watson (Over 14.5 points) -Providence is on 🚨Upset Alert🚨against #13 South Dakota State, but at the very least Watson should dominate. The Friars' 6'10", 240-pound center is up against a Jackrabbits team that doesn't have a player over 6'8" and Watson has 20 pounds on everybody on the South Dakota State roster. Watson had 26 and 7 in the Big East Tournament over Butler.

🏀Jalen Duren (Over 8.5 rebounds) - Memphis is up against a Boise State team that has some good size, but the 6'11" 250 pound Duren just posted a 20 rebound game in the AAC Tournament opener and had 10 boards in the Championship Game loss to Houston. When there's no tomorrow, the big man's minutes will be up.

🏀Jacob Gilyard (Over 14.5 points) - The 5th year Richmond guard has the experience and he's also going to be in a fast-paced game with Iowa in the 2nd highest betting total of the day (150.5). Gilyard has taken 17 shots in two of his last three, turning those into 32 and 26 point performances.

🏀Ryan Kalkbrenner (Over 13.5 points) - San Diego State has no matchup for the Creighton 7-footer, who has at least 15 in 6 of his last 9 while playing Big East competition that is familiar with him. Not the case with the Aztecs.

NCAA 1st Round Betting Picks

#11 Michigan (-1) vs. #6 Colorado State O/U 137 12:15 ET

Is this really an upset if #11 Michigan pulls out the win as a favorite? The Wolverines have the "us against the world" mentality with a lot of people this team should have been NIT bound. Colorado State has the Mountain West Player of the Year and an All-American Honorable mention in David Roddy, but the Rams also had some travel issues this week and the Wolverines were an Elite 8 team last season. Pick: Michigan -1

#13 South Dakota State vs #4 Providence (-2), O/U 148 12:40 ET

We've got a true 🚨Upset Alert🚨in the second game on Thursday's slate, with South Dakota State being one of the more underrated teams in the tournament coming out of the Summit League. The Jackrabbits' 87.2 ppg are 2nd in the country behind only Gonzaga, and they shoot 52.7% from the field and 45.1% which are both tops in the country. Quality of competition aside, South Dakota State has an NBA prospect in Baylor Scheierman (O/U 2.5 three pointers made), and a bench that features a guy who scored 41 points in 28 minutes as well as two other players who hit 50% of their three pointers. By the way, Providence just lost by 27 in the Big East Tournament. Pick: South Dakota State +2

#9 Memphis (-3) vs #8 Boise State , OU 133.5 1:45 ET

This one really comes down to whether Memphis can get to 65 points. The Tigers are 0-6 when scoring under 65 points and Boise State has the 15th best defense in the country allowing only 60.8 ppg. Memphis averages 76.1 ppg, but was also held to 53 in the AAC Championship game loss to Houston. Pick: Memphis -3

#12 Richmond vs #5 Iowa (-10.5), O/U 150.5 3:10 ET

Should Iowa be on 🚨Upset Alert🚨 in the always dangerous #12/#5 matchup? The Hawkeyes have one of the best scorers in the country in Keegan Murray (23.3 ppg) but they also had the Player of the Year Luka Garza last season and lost in the 2nd round to Oregon. Iowa also has a quick turnaround after a long weekend winning the Big Ten Tournament, but Richmond did the same to claim the A10 crown after a 6th place regular season finish. With the combo of Tyler Burton (16.5 ppg, 7.4 rpg) and 5th year senior Jacob Gilyard (26+ in 2 of the last 3) the Spiders at least keep this one in single digits if not win outright. Pick: Richmond +10.5

#9 Marquette vs #8 North Carolina (-3.5), O/U 152 4:30 ET

It's hard to go against Shaka Smart in the tournament after he took VCU to the Final 4 in 2011, but his Marquette squad is up against a red hot North Carolina team that has won 8 of their last 10 including spoiling Coach K's last game at Cameron Indoor Stadium in a 94-81 throttling in the regular season finale. the big question in this game is what kind of answer Marquette has for walking double-double Armando Bacot, UNC's 6'10, 240 pound forward that averages 16.6 ppg and 12.5 rpg. Pick: North Carolina -3.5

#12 New Mexico State vs #5 Connecticut (-6.5) , O/U 132 6:50 ET

Is this the #12/#5 upset of the day if Richmond can't get things done over Iowa? The Huskies do look pretty good coming into this matchup as winners of 7 of their last 9, with those two losses coming 64-62 at Creighton and 63-60 to Villanova - two tournament teams. NMSU's Teddy Allen (19.5 ppg, 6.9 rpg) makes the Aggies a tough out but UConn has this playing in their 2nd straight tournament. Pick: Connecticut -6.5

#12 Indiana vs #5 St. Mary's (-2.5) , OU 126.5 7:20 ET

Fatigue is the big issue for Indiana here, playing three games in last weekend's Big 10 Tournament and then having to win their First Four game against Wyoming (66-58) in Dayton on Tuesday before flying to Portland. It doesn't help that IU is up against a St. Mary's team that has been off since last Tuesday's 82-69 loss to Gonzaga in the WCC Tournament Championship. That being said, Trayce Jackson-Davis is the best player on the floor while averaging 30 ppg in his last two. Pick: Indiana +2.5

#9 Creighton vs #8 San Diego State (-2) , OU 121 7:27 ET

Yuck to that betting total, the lowest of Thursday's 1st round games. It's not unwarranted though, with Creighton being held to 48 points in their Big East Championship Game loss to Villanova and San Diego State falling to Boise State 53-52 in the MWC Tournament in their last game. The key to this game is Creighton's 7'1 center Ryan Kalkbrenner, who SDSU has no matchup for. Pick: Creighton +2

#13 Vermont vs #4 Arkansas (-5) , OU 139 9:20 ET

Is another #13/#4 upset in the works? The Razorbacks have the pedigree after last year's run to the Elite 8 where they bowed out to eventual National Champion Baylor, and the Hogs have rolled to a 25-8 record in the tough SEC this season. Vermont just beat UMBC by 39 points though, the biggest conference championship game win in over 30 years. The Catamounts are 22-1 over their last 23 and have tourney experience with their 4th trip to the Big Dance in 11 seasons under coach John Becker. Pick: Vermont +5

#10 San Francisco vs #7 Murray State (2) , OU 137 9:40 ET

Most people would call this a toss-up game, but both squads are kind of underrated with Murray State (30-2) almost sneakily making it to #20 in the final regular-season top 25. At the same time, why are the Racers just -2 point favorites against a Dons team making their first NCAA appearance since 1998? SF is battle tested after a couple matchups with Gonzaga this season, but the Murray State trio of KJ Williams (18.2 ppg), Tevin Brown (16.4), and Justice Hill (13.0 ppg) is just too much. Pick: Murray State -2

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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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