2025 NCAA Tournament First Four Betting
The 2025 NCAA Tournament begins with First Four games on Tuesday, March 18th and Wednesday, March 19th. In the beginning, the First Four was a path for the NCAA to gain four extra money and attention. Gamblers, fans, and TV networks quickly took to the First Four format. Of course, the four winners will advance to the regular bracket of the NCAA Tournament, making for instant drama. Just as important, the First Four has legitimate hope for big things. Two teams that started in the First Four, VCU in 2011 and UCLA in 2021 made it to the Final Four. The 2019 tourney was the only one since the field expanded to 68 teams where at least one First Four team didn’t win a game in the main bracket. It is possible in the future that the First Four could be history. The NCAA Tournament may expand to 96 teams, and if that happens, 32 teams would likely get a bye into the second round while the other 64 teams play first round games. The 2025 First Four games have (16) Saint Francis vs. (16) Alabama State and (11) North Carolina vs. (11) San Diego State on Tuesday, March 18th and (16) Mount St. Mary's vs. (16) American and (11) Xavier vs. (11) Texas on Wednesday, March 19.
NCAA Basketball Betting Lines
2025 NCAA Tournament First Four (All Times Eastern)
Tuesday, March 18 from the UD Arena in Dayton, Ohio
(16) Saint Francis vs. (16) Alabama State, 6:40 p.m. (truTV)
Alabama State is a slight favorite in this matchup of No. 16 seeds on Tuesday. Alabama State is in the Big Dance for the first time since 2011. The team won three games in the SWAC tournament by a combined 11 points. This will be the first appearance in the NCAA Tournament for Saint Francis since 1991. They made it to the tournament this year thanks to a 46-43 win over Central Connecticut State in the NEC final. It could be a low scoring game on Tuesday night, as both of these teams struggle to score and play good defense. This game could come down to turnovers, as Saint Francis is one of the worst teams in the country in terms of turnover percentage, while Alabama State thrives at forcing turnovers.
(11) North Carolina vs. (11) San Diego State, 9:10 p.m. (truTV)
The Tar Heels are listed as a slight favorite in March Madness odds in this game. North Carolina by all metrics and according to almost every expert doesn’t belong in this NCAA Tournament. They were terrible against top teams this season, but they dominated weaker teams. The Tar Heels can definitely win this game, as the Aztecs are nothing special. North Carolina struggles on defense, but that isn’t likely to be an issue against a San Diego State team that struggles to score. It is all about defense for San Diego State, so they will be looking to slow the pace in this one.
Wednesday, March 19 from the UD Arena in Dayton, Ohio
(16) Mount St. Mary's vs. (16) American, 6:40 p.m. (truTV)
American is a slight favorite in NCAA Tourney odds in this contest. American is led by center Matt Rogers who is a big man who can actually shoot from distance, as he was 40% from 3-point range this season. He should have a field day against a Mount St. Mary’s team that was one of the worst teams in the country defending the 3-point shot this season. Mount St. Mary’s will be looking to Dallas Hobbs to have a big game. He had 18 points and 7 assists in their conference title game. It is all about who hits their 3-point shots in this one and American should have a slight edge in that department.
(11) Xavier vs. (11) Texas 9:10 p.m. (truTV)
Xavier is a slight favorite in March Madness odds in this contest. It will be the 39th appearance in the NCAA Tournament for Texas and their 23rd in the last 26 tourneys. Texas was 4-2 in neutral sites games this season and 8-8 on the road. The Longhorns have SEC Freshman of the Year in Tre Johnson who leads the SEC in scoring at 19.8 points per game. He scored 20 points or more 14 times this season. Xavier went 21-11 this season and they were hot heading into the Big East Tournament as they had won seven straight games, but they were bounced out by Marquette, a team that beat them twice this season.
NCAA Tournament First Four History
The NCAA Tournament expanded to 65 teams back in 2001, forcing the worst two teams in the field to "play-in" to the bracket to face a No. 1 seed. The game was considered a smashing success, as it gave fans something to look forward to before the start of the NCAA Tournament, which eventually led to the decision to expand from 65 teams to 68 teams.
A No. 1 seed had never lost to a No. 16 seed in the NCAA Tournament before UMBC defeated Virginia in 2018. That led to a week’s worth of stories about the plucky underdogs, and there was a firestorm on social media as a result of the upset win. Don’t feel too bad for Virginia being on the wrong side of history though as the following season they won the national championship.
The First Four was extended to four games starting in 2011, with the early games on Tuesday and Wednesday featuring the worst four conference tournament winners in the NCAA Tournament, while the two late games those days pit the last four teams in the at-large field against each other.
2024 NCAA Tournament First Four Results
March 19 - West Regional:
(16) Wagner 71, (16) Howard 68
March 19 - Midwest Regional:
(10) Colorado State 67, (10) Virginia 42
March 20 - Midwest Regional:
(16) Grambling 88 (OT), (16) Montana State 81
March 20 - South Regional:
(10) Colorado 60, (10) Boise State 53
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