That's enough for me to lean their way in a close spread, so I'll lay the point. So, effectively, this is a home game for the Tigers. | TNT, March Madness Live: As Jerry Palm wrote about Wednesday, the selection committee oddly awarded Auburn a spot in the Birmingham site to open the NCAA Tournament.

Odds via Caesars Sportsbook | All times Eastern Let's take a look at our expert picks as first round games get underway Thursday. While surviving and advancing is clearly what matters for most, we care about whether these teams will cover their spreads, and we've tracked the season since November to be able to offer our own thoughts on every game.īe sure to stick with CBS Sports throughout the rest of the month for NCAA Tournament coverage through the end of the Final Four. Our expert brackets may offer some help on this front as well. Below, our CBS Sports experts have provided their insight with picks straight up and against the spread for some of the top games on Thursday's extended slate. Getting some extra skin in the games may help put you in the tournament spirit, too. It's what makes March Madness, well, March Madness. Between the next two days, the field will shrink in half from 64 to 32 teams as a (nearly) sun up to sun down schedule consumes the sport of college basketball. The 2023 NCAA Tournament officially began Tuesday in Dayton, Ohio, with games in the First Four, but for most fans the real mayhem of March gets going Thursday and Friday as first-round action takes place across the country.

Ncaa basketball spreads and odds