Bet$ For Realz - March Madness 2024

I once visited Las Vegas for the first round of March Madness. Before sports gambling was legalized around the country, this was the adult version of going to Disney World. Shoulder to shoulder with fellow sports fans, and every single person had a rooting interest. Random screams of terror and cries of joy while a 19-year old kid decided to make an uncontested layup at the end of a game to cover a 27.5 point spread. It was magical. 

That magic is now Bad and it’s Nationwide. It may not be as much fun staring at your phone instead of the sports book of the MGM Grand, but it’s still pretty damn fun. And way more convenient. Anyway, enough of my yappin’, let’s boogie! - Colin

Big $ (Pencil Storm Browns Beat Writer with The North Coast Posse)

This has to be one of the most unified fronts in recent history as it pertains to the natty. Uconn deserves the hype, so I'll move off that.

I will also briefly mention my final 4 (Uconn, Unc, Kentucky, Tennessee)

The real fun is in the nooks and crannies, so let's get to it.

Looking for low seed, first round winners? Here is a list of teams that treated me well, wagering in ‘23/‘24: JMU, Drake, College of Charleston.

Surprise teams that I think can make sweet 16 runs: BYU, Grand Canyon, Oregon.

My lay them on the table prognostication: Nebraska beats Houston in the round of 32.

Could I lay out a full analysis of why I like these teams/games? Probably, but March is about digging down and riding with your gut.

Enjoy the greatest 2 days and sporting event of the year… see ya in April.

Brian Phillips (Host WWCD.com Morning Show)

Before I get started, I must make mention that a lot of what I've learned about picking college basketball is thanks to the Action Network. They are not paying me to say this, but I would be lost in my picking without them. I am far from an expert. What they do very well is find edges. Often these edges exist at the Mid Major level. The teams aren't as well covered. The context of their schedules is sometimes hard to sort out. Of course this is the tournament and every angle is being explored. Edges are tough to find! 

Here's one angle to take.... Unders for games tipping off before 1 pm in the first round are pretty darn solid the past several years. 

Drilling down here's a few first round picks I'm looking at... 

Oregon - 1.5 vs South Carolina.... The Ducks got hot and went from outside to Pac 12 tournament champions. The edge here is head coach Dana Altman and his insane tournament record ATS,  with the Ducks especially. It was an unexpected season for Carolina this year and they do play tough defens, but big man N'Faly Dante may be too much for the Cocks to overcome in what should be a battle. 

Baylor -13.5 vs Colgate... Colgate may be a bit of a public side for the inevitable upset, but this Raiders team isn't as good as the recent past. Baylor flat out has too much talent for them to hang. 

Texas A&M +1.5 vs Nebraska... A&M can be pretty ragged offensively, but they're psychotic rebounders and play tough defense. Important characteristics in the dance That they're catching a bit... even better.

Charleston +9.5 vs Alabama... Bama doesn't defend. This could even be a sneaky upset spot. 

Houston -14.5 FIRST HALF vs Longwood. Hat tip to the Action Net again as they pointed out that the full game line of -23,5 us a bit rich given the game total is only 127.5. Houston is a bit banged up a well. I agree with their take that the Cougars will look to put this one to bed early and rest some guys in the second half. 

James Madison ML over Wisconsin... The Badgers floundered their way through much of the Big Ten season. Their victory over Purdue in the conference tournament was pretty flukey. JMU is probably the best mid-major in the tournament. They're catching 5.5 which is certainly inviting as well. 

Grand Canyon +5.5 vs Saint Marys... Bryce Drew's Lopes have solid guard play. The WAC and WCC aren't that much different when you look at the bottom half of the league especially. I'm leaning toward GCU for an outright upset as well. 

And finally... My Washington State Cougars have landed in a terrible draw late Thursday against Drake. A great mid major playing two hours from home has me very concerned. I'm not even picking this one. Just hope stellar freshman Myles Rice can re-discover his shooting touch. He seemed to wear out as the season drew to a close. Not hard to understand as the kid is a cancer survivor. If the Cougs rebound and play defense like they are capable, and Rice and Isaac Jones can make some baskets the Cougs can win. That's the best I got there. Go Cougs!

OMG and CP - Sharps. Ballers.

OMG - Final Four: Uconn, Arizona, Houston,Creighton. Arizona over Houston

CP - Final Four: Iowa State, Baylor,Houston,Tenn. Houston over Iowa State

Jeff Hassler (Pencil Storm webmaster)

Betting on March Madness makes me a little nervous. The last and only time I wagered was at my bachelor party in Las Vegas. I lost a lot of money. My ex-wife (then fiance) Kim got really angry and we almost cancelled the wedding. The thing is, I didn’t lose that much betting on the games. I mostly just bet chump change on the over and got free drinks standing next to Big$ and Ben Galli who were throwing Big $ around. Ha! Get it? However, after a bunch of those “free” drinks we headed out to Club Deja Vu for a traditional bachelor party experience. If you know what I mean. Wink wink nudge nudge. 

The guys set me up with a very special lady and we really hit it off. Seriously, we had a connection. I told her about how I wasn’t sure if I was ready for marriage and she understood. We had our own private room and while she danced a little, we mostly just talked until sunrise. I mean, this stripper really liked me. Being a gentleman, I was buying drinks for her, and some of her co-workers. What can I say, I’m a pro-labor kinda guy. 

My big mistake was that instead of opening a tab, I used the ATM machine at the club every time to buy drinks with cash. I thought this would be a more responsible approach and the inconvenience of having to get off the couch and get cash before every round would slow me down. It didn’t work. And it turned out that with every $20 cash withdrawal there was a $50 transaction fee! 14 x $50 X $20 at a strip club = big trouble on the homefront for Jeff. 

Kim was understandably upset when she saw all the money I dropped at a strip club and asked exactly what services had cost so much money? When I told her what happened she got even more upset, “Jeff you are such a dumb-ass!!! I’d rather hear you spent $100 on a blowjob than $1,000 on transaction fees. At least that would have been a good deal.” 

To make it up to her I hired the Dancing Bear company to entertain at her bachelorette party and everything was cool after that night. Couldn’t wipe the smile off her face. 

I watched the Big Ten all year and it’s obvious to me it is BY FAR the best conference in college basketball. I think they have multiple Final Four contenders. With that in mind, I put $50 on Purdue to win the whole thing. If Zack Edey finally gets some calls from the zebras, there is no stopping the Boilermakers. Why do the refs hate the Big Ten so much? ESPN, obviously.

Colin Gawel - Musician, Coffee Shop Owner, Pencilstorm Founder

I took a conference champion bet on the SEC +550. For comparison, Big East and ACC going for +240 so I thought that was good value on what is probably the best conference this season to provide the champion of March Madness.

And I hedged that bet by taking UConn and Houston to meet in the final at +1100

I took Arizona over Houston to win my bracket. no real reason other than I know I cannot win enough points to beat the field with UConn or Houston. This Zona team is pretty solid on both sides of the ball. Or so say the nerds. I haven’t watched a single second of Arizona basketball this season. March Madness indeed!

Jeremy Porter (Pencil Storm Co-Editor in Chief, Musician - Jeremy Porter and The Tucos, degenerate gambler)

I’m admittedly not a huge basketball fan, but my gambling gets me sucked into various brackets and pools every March, and if the Wolverines or Spartans (or the Golden Grizzles!) start doing well I’ll be front and center with bells on. I’ll follow Michigan and MSU casually throughout the season, and into the Big 10 Tournament if there’s a buzz, but not so much this year.

Because of my lack of engagement with the sport, I’m the guy who uses the quick-pick function, either random, or based off some analyst who’s guess isn’t much better than anyone else’s. Sometimes I’ll tweak something here or there, sometimes not. Looks like I’ve got UNC winning it all, but I’ll be rooting for Purdue, representing the Big 10 and the Midwest with the best chance. When it comes to Bet$, I’ll be makin’ `em for sure, starting with MSU over MSU (Michigan State over Mississippi State) and Oregon over SC. Good luck!