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A huge contrast in styles is set to go down in Greenville, SC on Friday night when Steve Wojciechowski's Marquette Golden Eagles square off against Frank Martin’s South Carolina Gamecocks in the 7/10 matchup of the East Region. Marquette is back in the dance for the first time since 2013, and it will no doubt hit the ground running looking to unleash its high-powered offense upon a Cocks’ defense that ranks out as one of the best in the country.... 

Due to Oakland and Valparaiso succumbing to shocking early defeats in the Horizon League tournament, the sea parted for the Northern Kentucky Norse who went on to take full advantage and punch their first-ever ticket to the dance in the program’s very first year of eligibility. Unfortunately, the No. 2 seed Kentucky Wildcats await in the first round making this one of the toughest challenges for John Brannen’s troops who fell to the only two teams it faced that made the tournament in the regular season.... 

No matchup in the first round has raised more eyebrows and created more of a backlash in the direction of the Selection Committee than that of the 7/10 pairing between Wichita State and Dayton. The former is the No. 10 seed and the latter the No. 7. However, Wichita State has been lined the decided favorite by the linemakers putting the committee’s seeding of the two teams under the microscope with magnification set to 1.21 gigawatts.... 

The No. 15 Jacksonville State Gamecocks look to have a world of hurt in store for them on Friday afternoon when they run up against the No. 2 Louisville Cardinals in front of what will no doubt be a pro-Louisville crowd with Bankers Life just a quick two hour trip away from campus. With the Ville ineligible to partake in last year’s NCAA tournament due to a self-imposed ban, they’ll be looking to make up for lost time.... 

Some major star power will take to the hardwood to kick things off on Friday afternoon when the Oklahoma State Cowboys and red hot Michigan Wolverines lock horns in the 7/10 pairing of the Midwest Region. John Beilein’s kids just parlayed a near catastrophic event into winning the Big Ten tournament and will hit the hardwood in Indy oozing with confidence. On the flipside, Brad Underwood’s squad will be looking to halt a three game losing streak to earn the program its first Big Dance win since 2009.... 

The Connecticut Huskies have the best women's basketball team in the nation, and they've been that way for years and years. We know that the Huskies are going to be the overwhelming favorites to win the National Championship for a fifth consecutive season, but today, we're going to look at some of the other teams who might have a shot at cutting down the nets in Dallas.... 

Betting on each game of the NCAA Tournament and filling out a bracket isn't where all of the wagering fun stops! Here at BookMaker.eu, we're counting down our Top 5 March Madness props that should make the tournament extra interesting to follow.... 

The Creighton Bluejays used a strong first part of the season and needed that to soften the blow in the latter stages. The Jays won 18 of their first 19 games before losing the country’s leader in assists, Maurice Watson, to a knee injury. Since then Creighton has gone just 7-8 and needed a trip to the Big East title game to solidify its status as a NCAA Tournament team. In as the sixth-seed in the Midwest Region, the Bluejays lock horns with the Rhode Island Rams in the opener.... 

The Sun Belt Conference came up with a big upset in last year’s NCAA tournament after Arkansas Little Rock shocked Purdue as 8.5 point underdogs. If that we’re to occur this season, the Troy Trojans would likely ruin just about everyone’s bracket like MTSU did last season in beating Michigan State. While it’s another 15/2 match-up, the No. 2 this time around is a Duke Blue Devils squad that just caught fire to win the ACC tournament. There won’t be any huge moneyline ticket cash in this one, but a cover is certainly a possibility.... 

Off a disappointing loss in the semis of the ACC tournament to the hated Duke Blue Devils, the South Region top seeded North Carolina Tar Heels will look to vent some frustration upon the No. 16 seed Texas Southern Tigers from the lesser SWAC. The Heels have failed to cover each of their last three first round games in the Big Dance, but the betting public looks to be backing them to end that streak in what should amount to being a layup for the more powerful reps out of the ACC.... 

The winner of the 8/9 matchup in the South Region will likely have to match wits with the region’s top seed North Carolina Tar Heels in the Round of 32, but before that occurs, there’s a game to be played on Friday. The Arkansas Razorbacks just fell in the SEC title game to Kentucky, while the Seton Hall Pirates gave defending champion Villanova a major run for its money in the semis of the Big East tourney. Each enters playing some solid ball, so this matchup should be competitive till the bitter end.... 

Two mid-majors that are no strangers to the NCAA Tournament will meet in the 7-10 matchup in Salt Lake City on Thursday. The St. Mary’s Gaels haven’t been to the Big Dance since 2013 after getting snubbed despite a 29-6 record last season and are ready to show the world what they are capable of. Their opponent will be the Virginia Commonwealth Rams, who have been in this situation often in recent years. VCU has now made it to March Madness for seven straight seasons and.... 

The Kansas State Wildcats had to sweat it out, but they are back in the NCAA Tournament for the first time in three seasons. Kansas State finished at just 20-13 but due to the strength of the Big 12, got into the Big Dance. They will now face another team that is back in March Madness for the first time in a few seasons, the Wake Forest Demon Deacons. Wake Forest posted a winning record for the first time in three seasons under Danny Manning and like Kansas State, finished with a mediocre record but got into the tourney by virtue of the strength of its conference.... 

The New Orleans Privateers are in March Madness for the first time in over 20 years. After winning the Southland Conference during the regular season, New Orleans squeaked past Texas A&M Corpus Christi to get the conference’s automatic bid but has to travel to Dayton before a potential matchup with the NCAA Tournament’s No. 1 overall seed Villanova. Their opponent will be the Mount Saint Mary’s Mountaineers, a team that has made four trips to the Big Dance, but is still looking for its first win.Don’t miss the hardwood action from the UD Arena at 6:40 p.m. ET on Tuesday, March 14, 2017. Catch every moment of the game live on truTV. We will have NCAA basketball odds at BookMaker.eu available for this and every other First Four college basketball matchup.... 

The North Carolina Central Eagles have to feel a little jobbed going to Dayton. They finished the season at 25-8 and won the MEAC in the regular season comfortably and cruised to wins in the conference tournament as well. North Carolina Central even managed to beat a major conference team on the road, knocking off Missouri by 10 in Columbia earlier this year. A date against Kansas in Kansas City awaits them if they can knock off the UC Davis Aggies in Ohio.... 

It was a bit of a surprise when the Arizona Wildcats didn’t get a No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament. Arizona finished 30-4 and won both the Pac-12 regular season title and conference tournament, but the Wildcats can’t complain too much about staying West and being the No. 2 seed. Their fans will surely make the trek north to see their beloved Wildcats take on the North Dakota Fighting Hawks in the last game of the evening on Thursday.This war on the floor will go down Thursday, March 16, 2017 at 9:50 p.m. ET at Vivint Smart Home Arena in Salt Lake City. The game will be televised live on TBS. We will have NCAA basketball odds at BookMaker.eu available for this and every other NCAA Tournament matchup.... 

For the first time ever, the Northwestern Wildcats are finally a part of March Madness. On Selection Sunday, Evanston exploded with joy as the Wildcats were selected to head to the NCAA Tournament and the committee even showed them respect with an 8-seed. They will be facing another school known more for its academics than its athletics on Thursday, when they take on the Vanderbilt Commodores. Three wins over Florida did the trick for Vanderbilt, but many were surprised to see just how ‘in’ this team was with a record of 19-15.... 

No longer can the Gonzaga Bulldogs be considered a mid-major. Gonzaga has made the NCAA Tournament in all 18 seasons that Mark Few has been in Spokane, but this team might be the best one yet. However, for all their success, they still have yet to make a Final Four and that is something that Few will be looking to change. Their first test will be against the South Dakota State Jackrabbits, the winners of the Summit League.This war on the floor will go down Thursday, March 16, 2017 at 2 p.m. ET at Vivint Smart Home Arena in Salt Lake City. The game will be televised live on TBS. We will have NCAA basketball odds at BookMaker.eu available for this and every other NCAA Tournament matchup.... 

The NCAA Tournament Committee must have really enjoyed the first-round matchup between the Providence Friars and the USC Trojans last season because they pitted the two sides against each other again in the final First Four game this year. It was somewhat surprising to see Providence here after the Friars finished tied for third in a tough Big East, but perhaps even more surprising that USC got in the tournament in the first place. The winner of this one will face Cincinnati in Sacramento on St. Patrick’s Day.... 

A sign of disrespect is that the Mountain West regular season and tournament champion Nevada Wolf Pack were given a No. 12 seed and will face the Big 12 champion Iowa State Cyclones in the first round of the NCAA’s. That’s just fine with the Pack, however, who will be making their first trip to the Big Dance since 2007. And they could be the hottest team entering the tournament with nine consecutive victories while covering the spread in every one of them.... 

Here’s a quick NCAA Tournament quiz for our readers. Can you name the team with the longest winning streak entering the tournament? We have to eliminate teams that lost in their conference tournament, so Kansas, North Carolina and UCLA are out. You still have Kentucky and Gonzaga to pick from, but you’d be wrong. The correct answer is the Vermont Catamounts, whose 21-game run is 10 longer than Kentucky’s. Vermont enters the Big Dance as a 13-seed and looks to extend its streak against the Purdue Boilermakers.... 

Virginia Tech had an inferior overall record this season but played in the ultra-tough ACC, which is why it got a favorable seed in March Madness. However, the oddsmakers clearly believe their Big Ten foe is going to emerge from this one victorious.Wisconsin has an elite defense and will aim to shut down Virginia Tech to move on.... 

It’s been quite a season for the Minnesota Golden Gophers, who enter the NCAA Tournament as a No. 5 seed in the South Region after winning a total of eight games last season. The Pitino coaching tree apparently has deep roots as son Richard earned Big Ten Coach of the Year honors and joined dad Rick as the only son/father combo to coach in the same NCAA Tournament. The Gophers open with a tough Middle Tennessee State Blue Raiders squad, which pulled off an upset as a No. 15 seed in last year’s NCAA Tournament.... 

Bucknell has pulled off a pair of first-round upsets in program history, but this will be a tall task. West Virginia uses a full-court press which can confound foes and it will help make it a heavy favorite in this matchup.The Mountaineers have designs of making a deep run in March Madness, and the first round shouldn’t give them too much trouble. Bucknell will need to play nearly perfectly in order to have a chance to pull off this upset.... 

Notre Dame made it to the championship game of the conference tournament before falling to Duke, showing its offensive prowess in the contest. Princeton rolled to the Ivy League championship and hasn’t lost a game in months.However, this is a big step up in competition and the Tigers will be underdogs, although the spread is close enough that an upset isn’t out of the question....