March Madness is in full swing! The first round is in the books, and what a first round it was! At this point, your bracket is busted—they are almost all busted! Before we dive into my 2024 NCAA March Madness Tournament second-round upset picks and parlays, let’s take a look back at the crazy round one.
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2024 NCAA March Madness Tournament Second-Round Upset Picks and Parlays
It all started with No. 11 Duquesne taking down No. 6 BYU. The Dukes held off the Cougars 71-67 to secure the win. Next up was Dana Altman and the No. 11 Oregon Ducks taking down No. 6 South Carolina.
BANG! Oakland +725 and then NCST, Wazzu & JMU +1605! LFG @GamblingPodcast & @TheSGPNetwork https://t.co/AX3PxQHPML https://t.co/JwbTvvEo6C pic.twitter.com/piL1tLoiFb
— Cody Zeeb (@Husker_Zeeb) March 23, 2024
Later on Friday, No. 13 Oakland slayed the giant, or rather, Wildcats of No. 3 Kentucky. Causing Wildcat fans to call for John Calipari’s job. Luckily for us, my first-round upsets article called for the Oakland win at +725! Let’s see if we can recreate that magic for the second round.
On Saturday, the No. 13 Yale Bulldogs made it two years in a row of Ivy League teams taking down high-seeded power five schools as they downed the No. 4 Auburn Tigers. The No. 12 JMU Dukes ended the day taking down the No.5 Wisconsin Badgers and cashing our +1605 parlay from the first-round article.
Duquesne (11) Over Illinois (3) (+380)
The Dukes took down BYU in round one. Can they recreate that magic and do it again in the second round? Illinois struggled in the first half against Morehead State in round one. Up by just one point at the half. Illinois’ motto on this postseason run has been coming back in the second half and putting teams away.
Duquesne is a physical team. If they can take an early lead and slow the game down, it might not be too easy for Illinois to turn the power jets on and find their way into the Sweet 16. The Dukes at +10 (-1080 is one of my favorite plays on Saturday.
Expect this one to be close, and Duquesne is a live dog in this one. They are my favorite second-round March Madness upset pick.
Dayton (7) Over Arizona (2) (+370)
These two teams’ first rounds couldn’t have been more opposite of each other. Arizona started out a little sluggish shooting the ball but quickly poured it on against Long Beach State. Last year, it was an early exit for the Wildcats of Arizona, who lost to the No. 15 seed Princeton in the first round.
For the Flyers, it took a thrilling second-half comeback to overcome the Nevada Wolfpack, but Dayton got it done. This is another game where the underdog must slow down the pace and keep it close. Arizona averages scoring 87.9 points per game, while Dayton only allows 66.1.
Arizona has struggled in a few matchups against teams who slow the pace down, like Oregon State, Washington State, and Purdue. Dayton is also a dangerous team from beyond the arc. The Flyers are third in the country in three-point shooting percentage (40.2) and shot 42.1% against Nevada.
Like Oakland in the first round, if these three-point teams start draining shots, they are dangerous. Give me the Flyers to send the Wildcats home early for a second straight year.
Oakland (14) Over North Carolina State (11) (+215)
Jack Gohlke will tell you, “We’re not a Cinderella.” While that may be correct right now, if this team makes it to the Sweet 16, it’s at least time to try on that glass slipper. Both of these teams pulled first-round upsets, but the higher-seeded North Carolina State team is the 6-point favorite in the Saturday evening matchup.
I rode the Golden Grizzlies in the first round. There’s no way I’m not rolling some of those winnings back into the Horizon League champs in this second round. NC State, the ACC champions, are one of the hottest teams in basketball right now.
But when you get a team like Oakland believing, feeling like they aren’t that Cinderella team, like they belong here. They can get scary fast. If the shots continue to fall, the Golden Grizzlies might just be dancing into the Sweet 16.
“We’re not a Cinderella”
JACK GOHLKE off the bench in the upset win vs Kentucky32 Points
10/20 Threes
10/20 Shooting
2/3 Free Throws
0 AssistsHe attempted 355 shots this season. Only 8 of them were two-point attempts!!!pic.twitter.com/55Pvx50xZw
— Ballislife.com (@Ballislife) March 22, 2024
Yale (13) Over San Diego State (5) (+195)
Last year, Princeton, out of the Ivy League, made it to the Sweet 16 after pulling the early March Madness upset as the No. 15 seed. This year, Yale is trying to repeat that success.
San Diego State is a solid team that made a run to the Final Four last year and is capable of doing so again in 2024.
However, this team likes to keep games close, and that’s what makes it scary if you are an SDSU backer. SDSU has trouble putting games away, coming into the tournament with an ATS record of only 12-16-1.
In the first round, UAB kept it close, covering the six-point spread. Yale is a 5.5-point underdog, expect it to be a close game at the end, which makes a +195 dog very much alive.
Parlay all three of these teams for a +4360 bet
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