The NCAA Tournament is in full gear and the March Madness continues with Sunday’s Round of 32 games. We’ve seen plenty of upsets with double-digit seeds busting brackets left and right in the first round. Our NCAA tournament best bets for Sunday’s action features some of those. Check out these college basketball picks and March Madness predictions for Colorado vs Marquette and Yale vs San Diego State. 

 

All odds and betting lines are subject to change but are accurate as of this writing. Plus, all bets are for one unit unless otherwise specified. Now, let’s dive into the top NCAA Tournament betting picks for Sunday’s games.

*Editor’s Note: Be sure to check out all of Servo's March Madness betting material from this week, featuring more expert NCAA Tournament picks!

March Madness Second Round Predictions: Round of 32 Picks for Sunday

#10 Colorado vs #2 Marquette Prediction: Buffaloes +4.5 (-110 FanDuel)

After winning its First Four play-in game, Colorado carried that right over to a first-round win over Florida. The Buffaloes put up 102 points in a high-scoring game and survived the Gators’ late push. As for Marquette, it took care of Western Kentucky with an 18-point win despite trailing by double digits at one point in the first half. This sets up for an intriguing Round of 32 matchup with a trip to the Sweet 16 on the line. 

A second-round matchup between No. 2 and No. 10 seeds may seem like Marquette is the clear better team at first glance. That’s not the case and Colorado actually has the advantage in a few key areas. 

The Buffs are 29th and 92nd in defensive and offensive rebounding rates, respectively, while Marquette is 273rd and 276th. The Golden Eagles only have one reliable big in Oso Ighodaro, who isn’t a great rebounder despite being 6-foot-11. Colorado, meanwhile, can lean on center Eddie Lampkin as an elite rebounder on both ends while boasting valuable size and rebounding chops at every other position.

Furthermore, Colorado has the advantage in three-point shooting. The Buffs are shooting 39.4% from three (6th-best in CBB) while holding opponents to 31.7% (55th). On the flip side, Marquette is shooting 35.8% from deep (69th) with the 157th-ranked three-point defense. Colorado is also the better free-throw shooting team at 78% compared to Marquette’s 71% rate.

The Golden Eagles do hold a significant edge in the turnover department. They force turnovers at a top-20 rate and are also 26th in giving it up on the offensive end. Colorado, conversely, is 300th and 273rd in defensive and offensive turnover rates, respectively. 

It was encouraging to see Marquette ultimately win by nearly 20 points over 15-seed Western Kentucky in the first round. Still, it’s hard to ignore how the Golden Eagles trailed at halftime and needed a strong second half to put away their mid-major opponent. Tyler Kolek is back healthy after sitting out the previous six games with an oblique injury. He’s very valuable to Marquette’s success, but the quick turnaround could be a factor for a guy that may not be totally 100% and this is his first game against a top-25 caliber opponent in over a month. Don’t be surprised if he’s a bit less efficient. 

Colorado has already gotten through two quality opponents in Boise State and Florida while playing with a ton of momentum right now. The Buffaloes are now 10-1 since mid-February and BartTorvik rates them as the 13th-best team in the country during this stretch. They boast a stud point guard in KJ Simpson, a dominant center in Eddie Lampkin, underrated versatility from Tristan da Silva, and a predicted NBA lottery pick in Cody Williams. Colorado has just as much, and maybe even more, overall talent than Marquette and is very live to win this outright. 

 


#13 Yale vs #5 San Diego State Prediction: Aztecs -5.5 (-110 BetMGM)

On Friday, No. 13 seed Yale pulled off the improbable first-round upset over Auburn. San Diego State, meanwhile, avoided an early exit of its own with a narrow win over UAB. As tempting as it may be to back Yale to keep the Cinderella run going, the Aztecs should win this one comfortably. 

While San Diego State’s four-point victory vs UAB in the first round doesn’t offer much confidence, it deserves some context. The Aztecs shot just 27% from three and barely got anything offensively outside of Jaedon LeDee’s 32 points. LeDee continues to be a force inside and he should have success vs Yale, despite going head-to-head with 7-footer Danny Wolf. San Diego State isn’t a great three-point shooting team (31.2% for the season), but the role players usually offer more scoring-wise – so there’s positive regression potential there. 

Yale’s upset over Auburn, while certainly impressive, also needs some context. The Bulldogs shot 45% from three, led by John Poulakidas’s season-high 28 points on 6-for-9 shooting from deep. Poulakidas is a talented scorer, but he won’t be that potent against San Diego State. The Aztecs have an elite defense overall (9th-best in CBB, per KenPom) and are holding opponents to just 30.6% from three this season. They boast multiple tenacious defenders to limit Poulakidas and force Yale to be more efficient in other areas offensively. That’s asking a lot when facing a top-tier Aztecs defense that’s allowing just 66.5 PPG this year. 

The Yale upset also has much to do with Auburn collapsing late. The Tigers blew a 10-point lead in the final seven minutes of the game and were outscored 12-6 in the last four minutes. Auburn also missed a slew of free throws in the final minute while the defense could not hold Poulakidas in check. Again, all credit to Yale for pulling it off but Auburn’s miscues also allowed it to happen. Plus, the result tells a bigger story with most of the SEC’s top teams underperforming in the NCAA Tournament.

San Diego State actually finds itself in a similar situation as last year when it started a run to the National Championship game. Also as a No. 5 seed, the Aztecs squeaked out a six-point win vs Charleston and then were gifted a second-round matchup vs. No. 13 seed Furman – who upset Virginia. They ended up beating Furman by 23 points. After surviving a first-round scare, San Diego State gained confidence to propel itself against another mid-major in the next game. The Aztecs are in the same spot this time around and should take care of business. 

 

Other March Madness Second Round Predictions: Sunday, 3/24

  • Grand Canyon +6.5 (-110 FanDuel)
  • Texas A&M vs Houston Over 133.5 (-105 FanDuel)