2022 March Madness Forecasts: NCAA Bracket Expert Selects Against the Spread, Chances in Friday’s Round 1 Game

March Madness is finally here with First Four action in retrospect and the 68-team 2022 NCAA tournament field will soon be cut to 48 teams as the action of the first round closes on Friday. Now it’s time to hack another 16 from the field as we slim down to a decent 32 coming in this weekend.

The final cut of Friday before the 2nd round seems to be very dramatic and loaded with some potential upsets from teams with high and low seeds. Of the 16 games, six have spreads within 5 points, so when the Las Vegas chancemakers are at their game, some hilarious finishes in true NCAA tournament fashion may emerge.

To prepare you for the final day of Round 1, I have called our experts together to pick up directly on and against the spread for some of the players we have decided they will choose outside of your bracket. If you do not see a game below, be sure to check out our expert brackets to get a feel for who we love when taking on teams on the moneyline.

Be sure to stay with CBS Sports for the rest of the month for NCAA Tournament coverage until the end of the Final Four. Let’s take a look at our expert picks for the final list of first-round players on Friday.

Chance via Caesars Sportsbook | All the time east

Excellent NCAA Tournament Cherry

(2) Auburn vs. (15) Jacksonville State

Friday, 12:40 | truTV, March Madness Live: Auburn has lost four of his last nine games before the NCAA Tournament and played his way out of a No. 1 spot with an early exit from the SEC Tournament, but the Tigers should enjoy a proper place here against Jacksonville State. They will have a big lead in the post led by Walker Kessler and Auburn’s No. 1 ranking shot-blocking unit in the country, and Jacksonville State will have no answers for potential No. 1 pick Jabari Smith Jr. LayT who have points. with Auburn despite his recent inconsistency. Wheel: Auburn -15.5

(3) Texas Tech vs. (14) Montana State

Friday, 13:45 | TNT, March Madness Live: Texas Tech has the No. 1 ranked defense and matched efficiency in all college basketball, and that unit should be up for the task. It’s on offense that the Red Raiders have more questions. Bryson Williams and Terrence Shannon should lead this unit to a comfortable victory, but I take the points here with Montana State happy. Great number, and I think Montana State could come up with a back door later if the game is potentially out of the question. Select: Montana State +15

(7) USC vs. (10) Miami (Fl.)

Friday, 15:10 | truTV, March Madness Live: I love Miami as an underdog on the moneyline against USC – I’ve advanced it in all my brackets – so I take the 1.5 points it gets here. This Miami team never stops and is always in the mix, and it feels like it’s due to a positive regression after losing so many close games this season. Wheel: Miami +1.5

(2) Duke vs. (15) Cal State Fullerton

Friday, 19:10 | CBS, March Madness Live: Duke lost his regular season finale to rival North Carolina and failed to finish the ACC tournament title game, so nearly a week off before that game might have been necessary. His defense has some real holes that were exposed last week by Virginia Tech. With so much time to prepare, Coach K will be pushing his Blue Devils to go – and this feels like an outing coming from a team that has number 1 seed talent. Wielt: Herzog -18.5

(6) LSU vs. (11) Iowa State

Friday, 19:20 | TBS, March Madness Live: Everyone will be in Iowa State as an upset choice after LSU fired their coach before the NCAA tournament. I chose not to be everyone. The Tigers have a top-five defense in college basketball, and are up against a flailing Iowa State offense that put up 41 points against Texas Tech in the Big 12 tournament and 36 (!) Points two games ahead. . Like LSU in this place a lot. Select: LSU -4

(3) Wisconsin vs. (14) Colgate

Friday, 21:50 | TBS, March Madness Live: The health of Wisconsin star Johnny Davis contributes greatly to this game and to the entire Midwest region. When healthy, the Badgers are in business in a pretty weak bracket and capable of making the Final Four. If not, they could be vulnerable here with Colgate. We’ll see. I’m ready to take my shots that he’s at least a little better than his 3-of-19 shooting performance in the Big Ten tournament, where he did not look quite 100%. Badgers have the talent to win this with 20. Select: Wisconsin -8

Who will win every college basketball game, and which team will lose your bankroll? Visit SportsLine now to see how you choose the spread, money, line and over-under in each tournament gameall from the model, which raised nearly $ 1,500 on top-rated college basketball picks and simulated each property 10,000 times.