2008 NCAA March Madness: Picks, predictions, brackets and odds

2008 NCAA March Madness: Picks, predictions, brackets and odds The long anticipated 2008 NCAA March Madness is finally here and we have the latest bookmakers' picks, predictions, bracket contests and betting odds on the college basketball games. We will start the March Madness 2008 NCAA picks with the first scheduled game, the Opening Round Tuesday matchup between Coppin State and Mount Saint Mary's. The winner of the March Madness Opening Round game will then meet North Carolina in the first round of the East Regional. So far the online bookmaker BodogLife predicts that Mount Saint Mary's will be the winner of the game, being -7 points favorite against the spread.

Now to "more important" March Madness business - the first round of the 2008 NCAA Tournament (individual March Madness games will be reviewed during the weekend, check back with us later to read the previews.). Again, we will look at the odds offered by the online sportsbook BodogLife to make the March Madness picks and predictions.

Starting with the March Madness East Regional games which will take place in Charlotte, North Carolina on March 20-21 (Thursday and Friday). On Thursday in the East Regional NCAA Tournament we have two games, the picks and predictions are as follows: Notre Dame is the favorite to win against George Mason at -7 points against the spread and Washington State is -8.5 points against the spread when they meet 13-seeded Winthrop. The remaining games (expect North Carolina) are on Friday and here are the bookmaker's picks for the March Madness East Regional Friday games: Indiana is a small favorite against Arkansas, the point spread favors Indiana -1.5 points. Oklahoma is also going to have a hard time, predicts BodogLife, when they play 11-seed Saint Joseph's, although the Sooners are -1.5 points against the spread. Butler should meet some resistance from South Alabama on Friday, being just -4 points against the spread. Meanwhile Louisville should breeze though its March Madness first round game against Boise State. The Cardinals are -13 points favorite on the spread. And the ultimate favorite in the 2008 NCAA East Regional Tournament is Tennessee listed at -20 points against the spread for its game against American.

Moving on to the 2008 NCAA South Regional Tournament First Round picks, predictions and odds. Total of four games will be played on Thursday and the bookie's picks are as follows: Michigan State is -6.5 favorite on the spread when they meet Temple, while Pittsburgh should have no problem bringing it to 13-seed Oral Roberts with a point spread of -9.5. Kentucky is +6 points underdog on Thursday when they play Marquette in the first round of the South March Madness games and Stanford is favorite at -14.5 points against the spread for the game against Cornell. Four more games will take place in the South Regional NCAA Tournament, starting with the matchup between No.1 seed Memphis and the last-seeded Texas Arlington, the Tigers naturally the ultimate favorite of the South Regional lusted with a point spread of -24.5 points. Oregon is +2.5 points underdog on the spread for the game against Mississippi State, Miami Florida is just one points against the spread when they meet Saint Mary's on Friday and finally Texas is big -16 points favorite against Austin Peay.

The March Madness picks, predictions and odds continue with the Midwest Regional, first round. The four games on Thursday have the bookmaker BodogLife making the following picks: Kansas as big favorite at -23 points against the spread when they meet last-seeded Portland State. Meanwhile Kent State is only -2 points against the spread for the game against UNVL. Southern California is -2.5 points favorite against Kansas State and Wisconsin should see to no trouble when they meet Cal State Fullerton with -11 points against the spread. On Friday the 2008 NCAA Midwest Regional Tournament will continue with Clemson -6 points favorite on the spread against 12-seeded Villanova, Vanderbilt is -7 points against the spread for the game with Siena, the bookie's prediction is that the 10th seed Davidson will beat the 7th seed Gonzaga with -2 points against the spread and Georgetown is expected to destroy UMBC at -16.5 point spread.

For the final 2008 NCAA March Madness bracket, the West Regional Tournament, fans and bettors will have much more action on Thursday with six of the eight game played. Starting with the March Madness Round One ultimate favorite - UCLA is the whopping -32 points against the spread for the game with the last-seeded Miss. Valley St. BYU is +2 points underdog on the spread when they play Texas A&M on Thursday, Purdue is the favorite pick against Baylor with -3 points on the spread, Xavier is -8 points against the spread for the game with the Georgia Bulldogs, West Virginia is a small pick against Arizona and Duke should beat Belmont without a problem, posted at -19.5 against the spread at BodogLife. For the two West Regional Firday games we have Drake -4 points against Western Kentucky and Connecticut -11 points against the spread for the game with San Diego.

Here you have it folks, the basic picks and predictions by the bookmakers for the first round of the 2008 NCAA March Madness games. Again, we will take a closer look into the individual games soon, this is to help you start your March Madness brackets. And speaking about March Madness brackets, don't forget that BodogLife is offering a free March Madness pool with grand prize of $1 million if you get your brackets perfect.

Published on 03/17/2008