NCAA Tournament Betting Guide: Best Underdogs to Pick in Round of 64
The brackets are set, and we are just a few days away from the best few weeks of basketball the year has to offer! Let’s start with our Cinderellas.
High Point has the depth and length to beat a Purdue squad that has lost six of their last nine, while Yale has what it takes to make yet another four-seed stumble in the first round with their smart offense and defense that packs the paint like no other.
High Point (+300) vs Purdue
The first timers could give Purdue another NCAA Tournament scare in this 4 vs. 13 matchup in the Midwest Region. High Point is an experienced team that shoots extremely well at 36.6% from beyond the arc and 49.3% from the field (5th in the nation).
With a deep bench, a comeback win in their Big South tournament win against Winthrop on 52 second-half points, and an incredible 7-foot rebounder in Juslin Bodo Bodo, this team is the Cinderella that could make some noise in the Round of 64. Purdue had a 7-10 Quad 1 record this season and are coming into the NCAA Tournament dropping six of their last nine games.
With a deep and big High Point team on the other end, I think Purdue’s offense is limited in this game which could cause some massive issues. Matt Painter’s inconsistency in March including a blowout loss to Michigan in the Big 10 Tournament leads us to pick High Point as our best upset pick of the opening games.
Yale (+270) vs Texas A&M
Yale has made the NCAA Tournament three times in the last four years now out of the Ivy League. They defeated Princeton and Cornell in two very different games to win their conference tournament and have a shot at beating a four-seed for the second consecutive year.
Although Yale is a different team in 2025 without star big man Danny Wolf, they have what it takes to beat A&M. Yale shoots it better than A&M and doesn’t turn the ball over. The best stat of all? They force opponents into three-point shots nearly 50% of the time.
This is not only the highest rate of any team in the tournament but will be key against a Texas A&M team that shoots just 31.1% from beyond the arc on seven makes per game. Both rank extremely low in the nation. Take the Bulldogs to at least cover in what could be the first back-to-back Round of 32 appearance for a program that deserves it.
Grand Canyon (+425) vs Maryland
This is the longshot. Maryland is extremely talented. Freshman Derik Queen is a menace and potential lottery pick, averaging 16.3 PPG and 9.0 RPG. The Terrapins push the tempo and have a solid defense led by two bigs. The key to this game will be foul trouble.
Maryland plays with a tight rotation with their five starters averaging somewhere between 12-16.3 PPG. Their bench? Of players that have played 20 or more games this season, just 1.8-3.6 PPG. Grand Canyon has a star in Tyon Grant-Foster, who led the Lopes to an upset win over Saint Mary’s last year with 22 points, 7 boards, and 4 stocks.
He then scored 29 against the Alabama Final Four squad that they held the lead against at the 6:03 2H mark in the ball game. The Phoenix, Arizona based squad might get their first Sweet 16 appearance this year under Coach Bryce Drew who should get a look at that Indiana coaching job after the season wraps up.
Jaden Vann
Sports Betting Contributor
Jaden Vann is a Sport Management and Creative Writing student at Syracuse University. Originally from Los Angeles, he covers sports betting and daily fantasy sports with a focus on the NBA, College Basketball, NFL, and College Football.
