After a year without the NCAA tournament, the 2021 men’s basketball showcase kicks off Thursday with the First Four games, followed by 32 first-round games on Friday and Saturday. We have you covered with all the lines, and we will be updating and tracking the action as it comes.
All lines and futures courtesy of Caesars Sportsbook by William Hill
First Four games
Thursday
16 Norfolk State Spartans vs. 16 Appalachian State Mountaineers
Opening line: Appalachian State -2.5, 136
Tuesday line: Appalachian State -3, 134.5
11 Drake Bulldogs vs. 11 Wichita State Shockers
Opening line: Wichita State -1.5, 140
Tuesday line: Wichita State -1, 141
Note: Drake, at 21-6 ATS, tied for the best record against the spread of any team in the tournament.
16 Mount St. Mary’s Mountaineers vs. 16 Texas Southern Tigers
Opening line: Texas Southern -2.5, 135
Tuesday line: Pk, 133
11 UCLA Bruins vs. 11 Michigan State Spartans
Opening line: Pk, 138
Tuesday line: Michigan State -2, 135.5
Note: Michigan State went 9-18 against the spread, the worst ATS mark in the field.
South Region
Friday
16 Hartford Hawks vs. 1 Baylor Bears
Opening line: Baylor -25, 142
9 Wisconsin Badgers vs. 8 North Carolina Tar Heels
Opening line: Wisconsin -1, 139
12 Winthrop Eagles vs. 5 Villanova Wildcats
Opening line: Villanova -6.5, 137
13 North Texas Mean Green vs. 4 Purdue Boilermakers
Opening line: Purdue -8, 126
11 Utah State Aggies vs. 6 Texas Tech Red Raiders
Opening line: Texas Tech -3.5, 133
14 Colgate Raiders vs. 3 Arkansas Razorbacks
Opening line: Arkansas -9.5, 157
Note: Colgate has covered the spread by averaged of 7.2 points per game, the best spread margin of any team in the field.
10 Virginia Tech Hokies vs. 7 Florida Gators
Opening line: Florida -1, 137
Note: Florida is 2-7 ATS last 9 games (0-4 ATS last 4 games)
15 Oral Roberts Golden Eagles vs. 2 Ohio State Buckeyes
Opening line: Ohio State -16.5, 154
Midwest Region
Friday
16 Drexel Dragons vs. 1 Illinois Fighting Illini
Opening line: Illinois -21, 144.5
9 Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets vs. 8 Loyola Chicago Ramblers
Opening line: Loyola-Chicago -2, 127
12 Oregon State Beavers vs. 5 Tennessee Volunteers
Opening line: Tennessee -8, 135.5
Note: Oregon State is10-1 ATS last 11 games
13 Liberty Flames vs. 4 Oklahoma State Cowboys
Opening line: Oklahoma State -9, 147
Note: Nineteen of Oklahoma State’s 28 games have gone over the total, the most of any team in the field.
11 Syracuse Orange vs. 6 San Diego State Aztecs
Opening line: San Diego State -1.5, 137
14 Morehead State Eagles vs. 3 West Virginia Mountaineers
Opening line: West Virginia -12, 138
10 Rutgers Scarlet Knights vs. 7 Clemson Tigers
Opening line: Pk, 128
15 Cleveland State Vikings vs. 2 Houston Cougars
Opening line: Houston -18.5, 135
West Region
Saturday
16 Norfolk State/16 App State vs. 1 Gonzaga Bulldogs
9 Missouri Tigers vs. 8 Oklahoma Sooners
Opening line: Oklahoma -1, 141.5
Note: Oklahoma has failed to cover the spread in seven straight games, the longest such streak of any team in the tournament.
12 UC Santa Barbara Gauchos vs. 5 Creighton Bluejays
Opening line: Creighton -8, 140
Note: In the regular season, the largest reported bet to win the tournament at sportsbook PointBest was $10,000 on Creighton at 20-1.
13 Ohio Bobcats vs. 4 Virginia Cavaliers
Opening line: Virginia -10.5, 131.5
11 Wichita State/11 Drake vs. 6 USC Trojans
14 Eastern Washington Eagles vs. 3 Kansas Jayhawks
Opening line: Kansas -11, 140.5
10 VCU Rams vs. 7 Oregon Ducks
Opening line: Oregon -5, 139
15 Grand Canyon Antelopes vs. 2 Iowa Hawkeyes
Opening line: Iowa -15, 145
Note: Grand Canyon is 14-4 ATS this season, tied for best in Division I; 5-0 ATS as an underdog
East Region
Saturday
16 Mount St Mary’s/16 Texas Southern vs. 1 Michigan Wolverines
9 St. Bonaventure Bonnies vs. 8 LSU Tigers
Opening line: Pk, 145
Note: Fourteen of St. Bonaventure’s 19 games stayed under the total, the most of any team in the field.
12 Georgetown Hoyas vs. 5 Colorado Buffaloes
Opening line: Colorado -5, 138
Note: Georgetown is 12-3 ATS last 15 games (4 straight covers)
13 UNC Greensboro Spartans vs. 4 Florida State Seminoles
Opening line: Florida State -10, 145.5
11 Michigan State/11 UCLA vs. 6 BYU Cougars
14 Abilene Christian Wildcats vs. 3 Texas Longhorns
Opening line: Texas -10, 140
10 Maryland Terrapins vs. 7 UConn Huskies
Opening line: UConn -1.5, 131
Note: UConn is 16-6 ATS this season, 4th best in Division I
15 Iona Gaels vs. 2 Alabama Crimson Tide
Opening line: Alabama -16, 144
Odds to win NCAA tournament (as of March 15)
Gonzaga 2-1
Baylor 5-1
Michigan 6-1
Illinois 6-1
Iowa 18-1
Houston 18-1
Alabama 20-1
Ohio State 20-1
Texas 25-1
Oklahoma State 30-1
Kansas 35-1
Florida State 35-1
Creighton 40-1
West Virginia 40-1
Virginia 40-1
Connecticut 50-1
Arkansas 50-1
Wisconsin 50-1
Tennessee 50-1
Loyola-Chicago 60-1
Georgia Tech 60-1
Oregon 60-1
Villanova 60-1
Oklahoma 60-1
Purdue 60-1
North Carolina 60-1
Texas Tech 60-1
Colorado 60-1
USC 75-1
San Diego State 75-1
LSU 75-1
Michigan State 100-1
Florida 100-1
Maryland 150-1
UCLA 150-1
Georgetown 150-1
BYU 150-1
Syracuse 150-1
Virginia Tech 150-1
Clemson 150-1
Wichita State 200-1
Drake 200-1
St. Bonaventure 250-1
Utah State 250-1
VCU 250-1
Oregon State 300-1
Winthrop 500-1
Eastern Washington 750-1
Ohio 750-1
UC Santa Barbara 750-1
UNC Greensboro 750-1
Abilene Christian 750-1
Cleveland State 750-1
Liberty 750-1
Morehead State 750-1
North Texas 1,000-1
Grand Canyon 1,000-1
Colgate 1,000-1
Iona 1,000-1
Drexel 1,000-1
Appalachian State 1,000-1
Oral Roberts 1,500-1
Hartford 2,000-1
Norfolk State 2,000-1
Texas Southern 2,000-1
Mount St. Mary’s 2,000-1