No. 5 seed Vanderbilt and No. 12 seed McNeese State play Thursday, March 19, in a March Madness NCAA Tournament first-round game.
The South Region game is scheduled for 12:15 p.m. MST and can be seen on truTV (stream with Sling TV).
Who will win the March Madness game and advance to the second round in the NCAA Tournament bracket?
Check out these March Madness picks and March Madness predictions for the men’s college basketball NCAA Tournament matchup.
Vanderbilt is an 11.5-point favorite over McNeese State in the game in March Madness odds provided by BetMGM Sportsbook. The Commodores are -650 on the moneyline. The Cowboys are +475. The over/under for the game is set at 150.5 points.
March Madness picks: Ohio State-TCU | Nebraska-Troy | Louisville-South Florida | Wisconsin-High Point | Duke-Siena | Vanderbilt-McNeese | Michigan State-North Dakota State | Arkansas-Hawaii | North Carolina-VCU | Saint Mary’s-Texas A&M | Illinois-Penn | Georgia-Saint Louis | Gonzaga-Kennesaw State | Houston-Idaho | Kentucky-Santa Clara | Texas Tech-Akron | Arizona-Long Island | Virginia-Wright State | Iowa State-Tennessee State | Alabama-Hofstra | Villanova-Utah State | Clemson-Iowa | St. John’s-UNI | UCLA-UCF | Purdue-Queens | Kansas-Cal Baptist | UConn-Furman | Miami-Missouri | The Republic’s score predictions
Jeremy Cluff writes: “McNeese State is 28-5 on the season, with losses to Santa Clara, Michigan, Incarnate Word, UTRGV and Stephen F. Austin. Vanderbilt will be too tough for the Cowboys to overcome.”
It writes: “After extensive simulations, our model gives McNeese State a win probability of 15%, while Vanderbilt has a win probability of 85%.”
Join the madness: USA TODAY Bracket Challenge | Survivor Pool | Printable bracket
The site gives the Cowboys an 18.8% shot at defeating the Commodores in the NCAA Tournament March Madness first-round game.
Bill Speros writes: “Did Vandy peak too soon? The Commodore’s 16-0 start included two wins over Tennessee. They also sailed to a victory over the defending national champion Florida Gators in the SEC tournament. McNeese, the Southland Conference champs, face a Vanderbilt squad that dismantled the cream of the SEC this past week. This number opened at 10.5 but quickly spiked to 12.5. That’s a good sign for the Commodores, who are otherwise 18-16 ATS.”
March Madness odds: Ohio State-TCU | Nebraska-Troy | Louisville-South Florida | Wisconsin-High Point | Duke-Siena | Vanderbilt-McNeese | Michigan State-North Dakota State | Arkansas-Hawaii | North Carolina-VCU | Saint Mary’s-Texas A&M | Illinois-Penn | Georgia-Saint Louis | Gonzaga-Kennesaw State | Houston-Idaho | Kentucky-Santa Clara | Texas Tech-Akron | Arizona-Long Island | Virginia-Wright State | Iowa State-Tennessee State | Alabama-Hofstra | Villanova-Utah State | Clemson-Iowa | St. John’s-UNI | UCLA-UCF | Purdue-Queens | Kansas-Cal Baptist | UConn-Furman | Miami-Missouri | Betting odds | Title odds
Jay Bilas writes: “This 5 vs. 12 matchup is always a trendy upset pick — and then-No. 12 McNeese beat Clemson last year. But in this case, Vanderbilt’s guards, Tyler Tanner and Duke Miles, are too good for a Cowboys upset. Take Vandy.”
Gentry Estes writes: “The Commodores’ physicality and defensive improvement showed during the SEC Tournament. But they shouldn’t want to get into the mud and play that kind of game with a team like McNeese. The first five to 10 minutes of this game will be important. If the Commodores are able to get into a rhythm offensively from the jump, they have the ability to overwhelm an opponent that might struggle to keep up in a free-flowing game. Letting the Cowboys hang around all afternoon, though, would be dangerous.”
Reach Jeremy Cluff at [email protected]. Follow him on X, formerly Twitter @Jeremy_Cluff.
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