Written by Keith Sargeant at NJ.com
Here’s a look at the opening lines on the play-in and first-round games of the NCAA Tournament, which begins Tuesday:
TUESDAY
FAVORITE LINE UNDERDOG
Florida Gulf Coast 6½ Fairleigh Dickinson
Wichita St 3 Vanderbilt
WEDNESDAY
Southern 2½ Holy Cross
Michigan 3 Tulsa
THURSDAY
Miami 14 Buffalo
Baylor 5½ Yale
Duke 9 UNC-Wilmington
Providence 2 USC
Virginia 24 Hampton
Butler 3 Texas Tech
Kansas 26 Austin Peay
UCONN 4 Colorado
Indiana 11½ Chattanooga
Kentucky 14 Stony Brook
Purdue 8 UALR
Iowa St 7½ Iona
Utah 8½ Fresno St
Gonzaga 1½ Seton Hall
FRIDAY
Villanova 17½ NC Asheville
Iowa 6½ Temple
West Virginia 7 Stephen Austin
Oklahoma 13½ Cs Bakersfield
VCU 3½ Oregon St
Texas A&M 13 Green Bay
Texas 4½ N. Iowa
Xavier 13½ Weber State
Wisconsin 2 Pittsburgh
Michigan St 17 Middle Tenn
Syracuse 1 Dayton
Maryland 9 South Dakota St
California 6½ Hawaii
Cincinnati 1½ St. Joseph’s
Things to know:
BIG 12 OR BUST: The Jayhawks weren’t the only Big 12 flop last season. No. 3 seeds Baylor and Iowa State lost their openers and the league didn’t get anybody to the Elite Eight. Can the seven teams that made this year’s NCAA Tournament field find retribution?
MOMENTUM MATTERS: UConn roared through its conference tournament to solidify its spot in the field, not unlike it did in winning the 2011 and ’14 national titles. But if having momentum is a good thing this time of year, not having it is just as bad. Iowa was once considered a potential No. 1 seed but fell all the way to a seventh seed, while teams such as Providence and Southern Cal have also had trouble lately.
“Our fans love this time of year,” UConn coach Kevin Ollie said. “I love it as a coach.”
TOUGHEST TICKET: Good luck getting a seat in Des Moines. The Jayhawks have a three-hour drive from their campus in Lawrence, while blue-bloods Kentucky, UConn and Indiana are joining them there. The only thing that would have driven up the price more is if the Hawkeyes (headed to Raleigh), Iowa State (off to Denver) or Northern Iowa (sent to Oklahoma City) were playing close to home.
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