March Madness Odds: 4 Best Bets for Today's College Basketball NCAA Tournament Games

March Madness is here, and each year, these next four days is one of the best stretches on the sports calendar.

We've got 16 games coming at us today. What are the best bets to target?

Let's dig in.

All March Madness odds come from FanDuel Sportsbook's college basketball odds and may change after this article is published. Stats via Bart Torvik and KenPom.

Best March Madness Bets for Thursday

Ohio State vs. TCU

Ohio State -2.5 (-110)

Let's start with the day's first game.

I think there are a few reasons to back the Buckeyes in this matchup.

KenPom is certainly a fan of Ohio State, ranking the Buckeyes 26th overall, which makes them the field's top 8 seed by his numbers. That also puts them well ahead of TCU as the Horned Frogs rank 43rd on KenPom.

Both of these teams enter the tourney playing some of their best ball of the season. TCU has won six of its past seven games, including a win over Texas Tech. OSU, meanwhile, has won four of five, beating Purdue in that span. In their one loss during that time, the Buckeyes ran 1 seed Michigan close, losing by just four.

Torvik projects Ohio State to win by 5.0, so with both KenPom and Torvik bullish on OSU, that's the side of the spread I want to be on.

High Point vs. Wisconsin

Over 163.5 Points (-110)

Both of these teams check a lot of over-friendly boxes.

Wisconsin is one of the nation's best offenses. The Badgers rank 11th in KenPom offense and play at a faster pace than you may think (103rd adjusted tempo). They just hung 97 on Purdue at Mackey on March 7th and had put up at least 85 points in three straight games before scoring just 65 on Michigan's elite D in a Big Ten Tournament loss.

The Badgers love to fire from three, boasting the sixth-highest three-point attempt rate in the country (52.6%) and taking 32.6 three-point tries per game. If they get hot, they can carry the load toward getting this game to 164-plus points.

But don't sleep on High Point.

The Panthers play fast (49th adjusted tempo) and rate out a decent 66th in KenPom offense. On top of that, they're not very strong defensively (161st).

Even with this total set at a lofty number, I like the over. I'm expecting Wisconsin to fill it up, and High Point can keep it competitive enough to force the Badgers to keep their foot on the gas.

BYU vs. Texas

Texas Moneyline (+118)

I was going to be very interested in whoever won the Texas-NC State play-in game because I'm pessimistic about BYU.

Texas prevailed over the Wolfpack on Tuesday night, and I like the Longhorns to get another win on Thursday.

Per Torvik, BYU was over-seeded as Torvik's numbers slot the Cougars 33rd. They can score with the best of them (10th in KenPom offense) but are not that good on D (57th). They are struggling at the moment, too, going just 6-9 across their past 15 games. Losing star guard Richie Saunders has been a major setback for this team, and I think they're in trouble.

Texas has plenty of flaws, too, and statistically, they're fairly similar to BYU as the Longhorns are good on offense (18th KenPom) and blah on defense (95th). But I think it can benefit Texas to have a Big Dance game under its belt already, although the travel from Dayton to Portland is less than ideal.

At the end of the day, this pick is more about my concerns with BYU than it is anything with Texas. BYU has beaten just two top-50 Torvik teams since mid-February. I think they'll struggle versus the Longhorns and am taking Texas to win in what is close to a pick'em.

St. Louis vs. Georgia

Georgia -2.5 (-105)

St. Louis is in pretty poor form entering the tourney, leading me to back the Dawgs to cover on Thursday night.

The Billikens are just 4-4 over their last eight games after starting the season 24-1. Looking at Torvik's numbers for only games since the start of February, St. Louis checks in 109th overall. In that split, they've been poor on both ends -- 88th offensively and 156th on D. Yikes.

Using that same stretch (from February on), Georgia ranks 37th overall on Torvik, including 11th on offense. They have the ability to ambush St. Louis. On the year overall, the Bulldogs are 16th in KenPom adjusted tempo and also 16th in offense.

The Bulldogs have played a much tougher schedule than the Billikens (61st strength of schedule to 131st) and are in much better form, winning five of their past seven games, with Ws over Alabama and Texas in that time. Give me the Dawgs to cover.

Which March Madness odds stand out to you this year? Check out FanDuel Sportsbook's latest college basketball odds to see the full menu of options.

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The above author is a FanDuel employee and is not eligible to compete in public daily fantasy contests or place sports betting wagers on FanDuel. The advice provided by the author does not necessarily represent the views of FanDuel. Taking the author's advice will not guarantee a successful outcome. You should use your own judgment when participating in daily fantasy contests or placing sports wagers.