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Howard Bison takes on the Wagner Seahawks in the opening game of the NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament on Tuesday night. The Bisons are the betting favorites to win the match. And in our latest NCAAB betting picks, we tell you if they can take the final place in the First Round proper.
- What: 2024 NCAA Men’s Tournament – First Four
- Who: Howard Bison vs. Wagner Seahawks
- Where: UD Arena, Dayton, Ohio
- When: Tuesday, March 19th 2024
- Tip-Off: 5.40 p.m. ET
This is the first of two First Four matches to tip off on Tuesday as March Madness gets underway. The Howard Bison are the MEAC champions, and they face the Wagner Seahawks for the privilege of securing the last spot in the West Region.
Whoever comes through could have a short-lived tournament, as they will be seeded 16 and are slated to face North Carolina (No.1) on Thursday. Nevertheless, both colleges will want to go as far as they can in the competition, even if that does mean exiting in the First Round.
Following the conclusion of this match, the Colorado State Rams and Virginia Cavaliers will fight it out in the second match of the night at this venue. The winners will be the No.10 seed and will face the No.7 Texas Longhorns in Charlotte.
Betting to win the Men’s 2024 NCAA Basketball Championship
We now know who the colleges are to make it to the NCAA Men’s Basketball Championship. This is the business end of the season, and with March Madness about to start, is one of the most exciting months of action on the sporting calendar.
The best March Madness betting sites still favor the UConn Huskies to win the title again in 2024. Attempting to win the Men’s Championship for a second year, the Huskies are +400. UConn is followed by fellow No.1 seeds the Houston Cougars at +550, Purdue at +700, and North Carolina at +1100.
Outside the four No.1 seeds are the Arizona Wildcats at +1200, Auburn at +1400, Tennessee at +1600, and Iowa State at +2000. All these four colleges are seeded two in their respective regions.
UConn has been the favorite for some weeks now. They have been as short at +375 to retain the title they won last year. But even though they have slightly drifted in the betting, they still retain the overall favorites tag.
Howard Bison vs. Wagner Seahawks: March Madness Match Betting
Onto the opening First Four matchup of March Madness, the best college basketball betting sites favor a win for Howard Bison at -160 on the money line. Opponents, the Wagner Seahawks, are +140.
Onto the handicap spread, and the Seahawks are receiving a 3.5-point advantage. To win with the spread, Wagner is at a top price of -115 with BetOnline. Elsewhere, they are -110. To win and cover the spread, the Bison are -110.
The total points amount is 127.5, with over and under both at -110. More betting options are available on our college basketball odds table. For our odds, we only use the top-rated NCAA basketball betting sites.
| Howard vs. Wagner |  |  |  |
| Howard | -160 | -160 | -160 |
| Wagner | +140 | +140 | +140 |
| Howard (-3.5) | -110 | -105 | -110 |
| Wagner (+3.5) | -110 | -115 | -110 |
| Over 127.5 | -110 | -110 | -110 |
| Under 127.5 | -110 | -110 | -110 |
Howard Bison vs. Wagner Seahawks: Latest Form
The Howard Bison finished third in the Mid-Eastern with a conference record of 9-5. Their overall NCAA record this season reads 18-16, and they are on a winning streak of three.
The three wins all came in the MEAC Tournament against Morgan State (78-65), Norfolk State (80-74), and Del State (70-67). Before the end of the regular-season tournament, the Bisons had been in good form, winning six of their last eight matches. While in their last ten overall, they have won eight and lost two.
The Wagner Seahawks finished sixth in the Northwest with a conference record of 7-9. Overall, they fared slightly better than they did in their conference, with a 16-15 record. Like Howard, the Seahawks have won their last three matches in their respective conference tournament. The wins came against Sacred Heart (60-57), Central CT (66-56), and most recently, Merrimack (54-47).
All three of those tournament wins came against higher seeds. But to put Wagner’s overall form into context, they lost three of their last four games in the regular-season.
Howard Bison vs. Wagner Seahawks: Our Picks
Both these teams aren’t going to be bothering the odds setters for too long in the NCAA Tournament. The Bison have the better record on paper this season. But the Seahawks had to beat three higher-ranked teams to get to this stage of the competition, so arguably, come into the match in better form.
Melvin Council Jr. is a key component of the Seahawks team. Even though he was outscored in the win over Merrimack by Tahron Allen, who recorded 22 points and seven rebounds, Council Jr. is the leading scorer and rebounder, averaging 14.6 points and 5.7 rebounds per game. If he performs, the Seahawks have a great chance.
For our betting pick, we are going with the Wagner Seahawks to upset the betting favorite. When this match went live in the betting, we expected it to be close, and it could be argued that the Seahawks should be favorites. We are backing Wagner to win a close match with the spread.
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