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March Madness East Region

2021 NCAA Tournament Betting Trends: East Region

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  • The Michigan Wolverines are the #1 seed in the East Region and have the shortest odds of any team in the East to win the NCAA Tournament at +1000 odds.
  • The first East Region game will be the (5) Colorado Buffaloes vs. (12) Georgetown Hoyas @ 12:45 p.m. EST Saturday.

INDIANAPOLIS – The 2021 NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament is almost here after no national champion was crowned last year due to the Covid-19 pandemic. The East Region has a blend of star power and team depth which makes this region unique compared to the other three.

For any college basketball betting fans looking for a top-five or higher-seeded team with longshot odds to bet on the East Region is the best place to look.

At Bovada the East Region features the No. 1 seed with the longest odds to win the national championship: the Michigan Wolverines.

Betting Odds For Top Five Teams In The East Region

  • (1) Michigan Wolverines +1000
  • (2) Alabama Crimson Tide +2200
  • (3) Texas Longhorns +3300
  • (4) Florida State Seminoles +3500
  • (5) Colorado Buffaloes +10000

Whether betting on March Madness or setting your bracket we’ve listed some betting trends along with notable information to aid sports bettors in making their predictions in the East Region.

(1) Michigan Wolverines vs. (16) Mount St. Mary’s Mountaineers/Texas Southern Tigers @ 3 p.m. EST (Saturday)

The No. 1 seed Michigan Wolverines will face the winner of the Texas Southern Tigers - Mount St. Mary’s Mountaineers play in-game. The Mountaineers are narrowly favored to beat the Tigers by just 1.5 points.

The Mount St. Mary’s defense has been the calling card for the team this season only allowing an average of 62.3 points per game which places them at 16th in the country. Texas Southern’s offense will have to make some tough shots to advance to play the Wolverines.

The Tigers average 74.79 points per contest while MTSTMS only averages 63.73.

Michigan likely won’t run into any problems with either team but the health of Isiah Livers moving forward will be something to note moving forward as Michigan is not the same team without Livers.

  • Mount St. Mary’s Record ATS: 13-9
  • The Mountaineers have a 4-1 record ATS in their last five games.
  • The total has gone over in four of Mt. St. Mary’s last five games.
  • Texas Southern Record ATS: 11-10-2
  • Texas Southern is 4-1-1 ATS in their last six games.
  • The over has hit in eight of the Tigers' last 12 games.
  • Michigan Record ATS: 16-5
  • In four of the Wolverines' last five games, the total has gone under.
  • Michigan has a 2-3 record ATS in their last five games.

(2) Alabama Crimson Tide (-17) vs. (15) Iona Gaels @ 4 p.m. EST (Saturday)

The No. 2 Alabama Crimson Tide will face the No. 15 Iona Gaels in the opening round of the NCAA Tournament. The Iona Gaels have qualified for the NCAA Tournament for the past four seasons, the only difference this time is that they will have legendary coach Rick Pitino on the sidelines.

For what it’s worth, the coaching experience could help the Gaels pull off the upset over the Crimson Tide, but it won’t be easy. Alabama comes into this matchup having won the SEC Tournament over LSU.

The Crimson Tide plays at the second-fastest tempo of the tournament teams with only Gonzaga above them. Defensively, Alabama is also solid; they've held their opponents to 40.4% shooting through 30 games played this year which is 33rd in the nation.

However, when the Tide fail to score at least 70 points they have just a 1-5 record. Considering the Crimson Tide haven’t lost in their last six games and it's easy to see why they’re 17-point favorites over Iona.

  • Alabama Record ATS: 17-12-1
  • The Crimson Tide are 4-1 ATS in their last five games.
  • The under has hit in five of Alabama’s last seven games.
  • Iona Record ATS: 11-5-1
  • The Gaels are 5-0-1 ATS in their last six games.
  • The total has gone under in four of Iona’s last five games.

(3) Texas Longhorns (-9) vs. (14) Abilene Christian Wildcats @ 9:50 p.m. EST (Saturday)

The Big 12 Champion No. 3 seed Texas Longhorns take on another in-state school in the No. 14 Abilene Christian Wildcats.

The Longhorns have yet to win an NCAA Tournament while Shaka Smart has been the head coach of the team. However, Texas has a talented and deep group of players that make them one of the most complete teams in the Tournament.

Abilene Christian has made the NCAA Tournament for the second time in three years as a program. The Wildcats played two tournament teams closely during the regular season in the No. 3 seed Arkansas Razorbacks and the No. 6 seed Texas Tech Red Raiders, but they didn’t win those games.

Abilene Christian’s offense is potent, ranking 44th in the nation averaging 77.6 points per game. While the Longhorns are favored to beat the Wildcats by nine points, this matchup could be a potential upset in the making.

  • Texas Record ATS: 12-13-1
  • The Longhorns are 5-0 ATS in their last five games.
  • The over has hit in 14 of Texas's last 19 games.
  • Abilene Christian Record ATS: 16-6
  • Abilene Christian has a 7-1 record ATS in their last eight games.
  • The total has gone over in 11 of the Wildcats' last 13 games.

(4) Florida State Seminoles (-10.5) vs. (13) UNC Greensboro Spartans @ 12:45 p.m. EST (Saturday)

The No. 4 seed Florida State Seminoles will face the No. 13 seed UNC Greensboro Spartans as they look to make the Sweet 16 for the third consecutive NCAA Tournament. The Seminoles are a team that can cause matchup problems with their size especially defensively.

Florida State, through 22 games this season, has held opponents to 39.84% shooting which places them 20th in the country in opponent's field goal percentage.

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Isaiah Miller leads the UNC Greensboro in points (19.3), assists (4.0), and steals (2.6) per game. Miller averages 6.9 rebounds per game which is just a shade below the team leader who averages 7.0 rebounds. Miller is the heart and soul of the Spartans and stopping him will be paramount to the Seminoles preventing an upset.

The Seminoles are favored by 10.5-points at sportsbooks which is a spread they could cover in this matchup if they can limit Miller.

  • Florida State Record ATS: 11-9-2
  • The over has hit in seven of the Seminoles' last nine games.
  • Florida State has an 11-4 record SU in their last 15 games.
  • UNC Greensboro Record ATS: 17-11
  • The Spartans are 13-4 ATS in their last 17 games.
  • The O/U is 2-2 in UNC Greensboro's last four games.

(5) Colorado Buffaloes (-6.5) vs. (12) Georgetown Hoyas @ 12:15 p.m. EST (Saturday)

The No. 5 seed Colorado Buffaloes are looking to capitalize on the highest seeding the program has ever received and will face a tough No. 12 seed in the Big East Tournament champion Georgetown Hoyas.

Colorado has the 25th ranked defense in the country only allowing 63.3 points per game.

The Hoyas defeated tournament teams in (5) Villanova Wildcats and (5) Creighton Blue Jays en route to the Big East Championship. Could the Buffaloes be the next No. 5 seed that the Hoyas defeat? It's certainly not out of the realm of possibilities.

This is one of the most intriguing matchups in the East region and could be ripe for an upset. In the 2019 NCAA Tournament, three of the four 12 seeds defeated the No. 5 seeds, and that marked the third time in the past seven tournaments that this has happened.

  • Colorado Record ATS: 17-13
  • The Under has hit in eight of the Buffaloes' last eleven games.
  • The Buffaloes are 4-2 ATS in their last six games.
  • Georgetown Record ATS: 16-9
  • The Hoyas have a 6-1 record ATS in their last seven games.
  • The total has gone under in six of Georgetown’s last eight games.

(6) BYU Cougars vs. (11) Michigan State Spartans/UCLA Bruins @ 9:40 p.m. EST

The No. 6 seed BYU Cougars will face the winner of the play-in game between the No. 11 Michigan State Spartans - UCLA Bruins. The Cougars caught the attention of many when they took a 12-point lead into halftime against the No. 1 overall seed Gonzaga Bulldogs.

Whether the Cougars face the Bruins or Spartans, they’ll be very well equipped to win that game and possibly make a deep run behind the 7-foot 3-inch center Matt Haarms and guard Alex Barcello, who is leading BYU in scoring at 15.9 points per game.

The Spartans are 2.5-point favorites over the Bruins as they’ve had impressive wins over No. 1 seed Illinois Fighting Illini, No. 1 Michigan Wolverines, and No. 2 seed Ohio State Buckeyes. The Bruin's last four losses all come to tournament teams in the No. 5 seed Colorado Buffaloes, No. 6 seed USC Trojans, No. 7 seed Oregon Ducks, and No. 12 seed Oregon State Beavers.

The Bruins are reeling at the wrong time while Michigan State is trending in the right direction.

  • BYU Record ATS: 14-8-3
  • The total has gone over in four of the Cougars' last five games.
  • In their last five games, BYU has a 3-2 record ATS.
  • Michigan State Record ATS: 9-1
  • The Spartans are just 7-13 ATS in their last 20 games.
  • The total has gone under in Michigan State’s last six games.
  • UCLA Record ATS: 12-14
  • Over their last 14 games, the Bruins are 3-11 ATS.
  • The over has hit in four of UCLA’s last six games.

(7) Connecticut Huskies (-3) vs. (10) Maryland Terrapins @ 7:10 p.m. EST

The No. 7 seed UConn Huskies face the No. 10 seed Maryland Terrapins in the opening round of the NCAA Tournament. The Terrapins are a team that has fallen victim to being in a stacked Big Ten Conference and that experience could push them to a Sweet 16 run.

The Terrapins have beaten a No. 1 seed in the Illinois Fighting Illini and have also beaten the No. 9 seed Wisconsin Badgers this season, but their losses outweigh those victories. The Huskies finished third in the Big East and have wins Over the No. 6 seed USC Trojans, and No. 12 seed Georgetown Hoyas.

The Huskies' depth will give them an advantage in this matchup as they love to spread the ball around on offense.

James Bouknight is a player that changes the entire identity of the Huskies team when he is on the court. The sophomore guard is averaging 19.4 points, 5.7 rebounds, and 1.9 assists per game.

While the Huskies are a deep team, Bouknight is their unquestioned leader, if he continues his stellar level of play there will be little doubt that he is one of the best guards in the NCAA Tournament and will likely be an NBA Draft Lottery Pick.

  • UConn Record ATS: 16-6
  • The Huskies are 5-1 ATS in their last six games.
  • When the Huskies are facing a Big Ten Conference opponent the under has hit in 10 of the last 12 games.
  • Maryland Record ATS: 12-16
  • The total has gone under in five of Maryland’s last six games.
  • The Terrapins are 6-3 SU in their last nine games.

(8) LSU Tigers (-1.5) vs. (9) St. Bonaventure Bonnies @ 1:45 p.m. EST (Saturday)

The No. 8 seed LSU Tigers face the No. 9 St. Bonaventure Bonnies as both of these teams have just one loss in their last five games.

The Bonnies are a team that could give the Tigers some problems as they’ve held their college basketball opponents to 38.85% shooting which is the eighth lowest in the nation. St. Bonaventure’s defense has allowed the fifth-lowest points per game at 60.4.

The Bonnies have beaten the No. 10 seed VCU Rams twice this season so at least they’ve gotten a taste of a tournament team.

LSU lost to the No. 2 seed Alabama Crimson Tide in the SEC Championship game by just one point. The Tigers also knocked off the No. 3 seed Arkansas Razorbacks in the SEC Tournament as well. LSU's eighth-ranked scoring offense (82.1 PPG) against the Bonnies' stout defense will make this one of the best battles of the East Region.

Freshman guard Cameron Thomas has been the most important part of LSU’s offense top 10 ranked offense this season. Thomas is averaging 22.6 points per game which is the fourth most in the country.

Thomas can score in a variety of ways and is shooting 40.5% from the field while shooting a 32.0% clip from deep in his first season. LSU has made Thomas their go-to scorer all season long and expect him to have a big game against St. Bonaventure in the first round.

  • LSU Record ATS: 14-13
  • The Tigers are 5-0 ATS in their last five games.
  • The total has gone over in three of LSU’s last four games.
  • St. Bonaventure ATS: 13-5-2
  • The Bonnies are 6-1 ATS in their last seven games.
  • The Under has hit in 14 of St. Bonaventure’s last 18 games.