2025-26 March Madness Odds: Back Underdogs TCU, South Florida in First Round

Apologies to the holiday season, but this is the most wonderful time of the year.

Everyone has a perfect bracket, with an excuse to miss work on Thursday all lined up. After all, it’s very hard to prove that you don’t have a stomach bug or a sore throat — or both.

By the time noon Thursday rolls around, we will be down to 64 teams and the road to the Final Four will be underway. 

To many, this weekend is the best four-day stretch in the sports calendar, so let’s look for some best bets for Thursday’s slate to try and enjoy it even more.

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No. 9 TCU vs. No. 8 Ohio State

The ninth-seeded Horned Frogs and the eighth-seeded Buckeyes kick things off Thursday — the REAL start of the Tournament. Ohio State is a slight favorite. According to some analysts, deep into the season, the Buckeyes were on the outside of the Tournament bubble. But a late surge got them all the way up to the 8-line. They will have the best player on the floor in sensational guard Bruce Thornton, but TCU has a very good, athletic defense that is well-equipped to contain Thornton. I’ll take the better defense, as well as the 2.5 points. 

PICK: TCU (+2.5) to lose by fewer than 2.5 points or win outright

No. 11 South Florida vs. No. 6 Louisville

A sky-high total of 164.5 tells you what’s expected here and that's a fast-paced game with plenty of offense from each team. I like 11th-seeded South Florida here, as sixth-seeded Louisville has an elite freshman guard in projected lottery pick Mikel Brown, but he is out for at least the opener of this Tournament. South