March Madness Round of 64 upset picks include VCU, Butler

The No. 7 Virginia Commonwealth Rams have made a name for themselves in the NCAA Tournament in recent years with a 12-3 ATS record in their last 15 March Madness games. The Rams will be looking for an upset this Thursday going up against the No. 10 Ohio State Buckeyes.

VCU is a 4-point underdog according to sportsbooks monitored by OddsShark.com. Shaka Smart's brand of basketball is built for postseason play, as illustrated by VCU's 3-0 SU and ATS record over its last three games en route to an Atlantic 10 title.

Ohio State's offense is run through leading scorer D'Angelo Russell, who can expect to be hounded all game long by the Rams' aggressive defense. The Buckeyes are just 1-5 ATS in their last six NCAA Tournament games and were upset in their opener last year by Dayton; the same fate could be at hand this season.

The No. 6 Butler vs. No 11 Texas matchup is another game in which the favorite should be on upset alert. Butler finds itself going off as a 2-point underdog despite going 7-2 SU and 8-1 ATS in its last nine Round of 64 games and 6-0 SU and 5-1 ATS in its last six games as the higher seed.

Texas is 0-3-1 ATS in its last four Round of 64 games. With the UNDER going 8-0 in Butler's last eight games and 6-0 in Texas' last six, this figures to be a game in which points are hard to come by; look for Butler to squeeze out the win in crunch time.

Getting into some of the bigger upset picks, No. 12 Stephen F. Austin is a 6.5-point underdog against No. 5 Utah on Thursday. Stephen F. Austin went 28-1 SU over its last 29 games and scored an upset last year in the Round of 64 as a 6-point dog against VCU. Utah is just 3-4 SU and 2-5 ATS in its last seven games as a favorite and is just 8-20 SU in its last 28 games away from home.

No. 12 Wofford (+7.5) over No. 5 Arkansas could be another Round of 64 surprise as well. Arkansas is just 1-6 SU and ATS in its last seven NCAA Tournament games.