2024 March Madness Early Best Bets: Bracket picks and sleepers

The 2024 March Madness is about to start and there are some intriguing bets that we can make on the opening round of the tournament. There are betting odds that are jumping off the page and there are some sleepers that we can take advantage of. Let's take a deeper dive into some games with some odds that are looking great for us.

Top 3 March Madness Bets

Texas vs. Colorado State (+2.5)

The Rams are coming off a First Four victory where they held the Virginia Cavaliers to 42 points. Colorado State is very similar in shooting the basketball as well as rebounding. Take the Rams to cover the spread and pull off the upset in this game.

UConn vs. Stetson (+26.5)

The Stetson Hatters and the UConn Huskies are squaring off in a 16 vs. 1 seed matchup. The simple thing about this bet is the fact that 26.5 points is a lot to lay. When the public bets one side heavy, jump to the other side and 88% of the bets are on UConn to cover the spread. This bet is simply logic.

Drake (-1.5) vs. Washington State

The Drake Bulldogs are the 10th seed taking on the seventh seed in the East Region in the Washington State Cougars. The Bulldogs have been a dominant offensive team as they are averaging 83.2 points in their last five games en route to winning the Missouri Valley Conference Tournament.

The Cougars are not going to be able to keep up, so expect this to be a good bet and even consider getting this to -3.5 for some more value.

Sleeper Pick to win the March Madness 2024 Region

Michigan State to win West Region (+2200)

The Michigan State Spartans are the ninth seed in the West Region this year and have proven to elevate their game since the regular season concluded. With a great coach like Tom Izzo, who has had success in the NCAA Tournament, and a team that only lost by five to the Purdue Boilermakers, one of the favorites in the nation, they should be respected more.

North Carolina seemingly is the likeliest one-seed to not make a run with their lack of size. If Michigan State can survive the first weekend, they are in the first place standing for the rest of the regional portion of the bracket and should dominate.