The Montana State Bobcats and the Grambling State Tigers will contest the third Final Four match of the 2024 NCAA Tournament. The winners take on the Purdue Boilermakers in the Midwest Region, with the best NCAAB betting site predicting the Bobcats (-170) will win. Are they right? We give you the answer in our March Madness NCAAB betting picks.
- What: 2024 NCAA Men’s Tournament – First Four
- Who: Montana State Bobcats vs. Grambling State Tigers
- Where: UD Arena, Dayton, Ohio
- When: Wednesday, March 20th 2024
- Tip-Off: 5.40 p.m. ET
This is the third straight year the Bobcats have made it to the postseason and the sixth time in the school’s history. The Tigers are making their first-ever appearance at the NCAA Tournament.
The Bobcats look the better fit of the two schools on paper. But as we all know, that doesn’t always mean a win for the betting favorites. The Grambling State Tigers have never got this far before. And now they’re here, they will want to make the most of it. A win for the Tigers would give them a shot at causing an even bigger upset by taking down Purdue in the first round.
Betting to win the Men’s 2024 NCAA Basketball Championship
Neither the Bobcats nor the Tigers are being given any chance to win the NCAA Basketball Championship. The UConn Huskies (+400) are the betting favorite with the best March Madness betting sites. UConn is followed in the betting 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. These four colleges are seeded two in their respective regions.
Mid-West Regional winner betting
In the betting to win the Midwest bracket, Purdue leads the way at +170. The Boilermakers have Tennessee for company at +325 and Creighton at +400. If you believe in miracles, Montana State is +25000, and Grambling is +40000.
Elsewhere in bracket betting, UConn (+105) is the favorite to win the East bracket. Iowa State (+425) and Auburn (+425) are the biggest rivals to the Huskies.
In the South bracket, Houston is the stand-out college at +140. The Cougars’ closest rivals are Marquette at +550 and Duke at +575. Finally, in the West bracket, Arizona is +250, and North Carolina is +325.
Montana State Bobcats vs. Grambling State Tigers: March Madness Match Betting
Match three of the Final Four sees the best college basketball betting sites favor a win for Montana State at -170 on the money line. The Grambling State Tigers are +150 to pull off a shock victory and take their place in Round One against Purdue.
On the handicap spread, the Tigers are receiving a 4-point start. To win with the spread, Grambling State is -110. While to win and cover the 4-point spread, Montana is also priced up at -110.
The total points amount is 135, 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.
Montana State vs. Grambling | |||
Montana State | -170 | -170 | -170 |
Grambling | +150 | +150 | +150 |
Montana State (-4) | -110 | -110 | -110 |
Grambling (+4) | -110 | -110 | -110 |
Over 135 | -110 | -110 | -110 |
Under 135 | -110 | -110 | -110 |
Montana State Bobcats vs. Grambling State Tigers: Latest Form
The Montana State Bobcats finished fifth in the Big Sky with a conference record of 9-9 and an overall record of 17-17. They are currently on a winning streak of four and have won seven of their last ten.
In their latest three outings in the Big Sky Tournament, the Bobcats defeated Weber State 91-82, Sacramento 74-71, and the Montana Grizzlies 85-70. The Bobcats were the No.5 seeds in the tournament, so coming through was a good achievement.
The Grambling State Tigers topped the Southwestern Atlantic Conference. They are currently on a winning streak of three. The wins for the No.1 seeds came in the SWAC Tournament over Alabama State (56-50), B-CU (65-53), and Texas Southern (75-66).
In the conference, the Tigers had a 14-4 record. Overall, their record reads 24-14. While in their last ten fixtures, Grambling is 9-1. The only defeat came at the hands of Alabama State (87-84).
Montana State Bobcats vs. Grambling State Tigers: Our Picks
The first thing we have noted here is that the Bobcats average 75.1 points per game and give up 74.1. In the case of the Tigers, they score on average 67.6 and give up 69.0.
We think that makes 135 look low on the total points line, so our opening betting pick on Montana vs Grambling is over 135 total points.
For a match-winner pick, this looks tough to call. The bookmakers have Montana very short at -170 in a fixture that looks more like a 50/50 matchup to most observers. Given the difference in odds, we are backing the Tigers to win as they look so overpriced at +150 with Betonline.
The Grambling State Tigers to win on the money line is our betting pick to win the match.
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