The Arizona State Sun Devils went 6-2 straight up and 5-3 against the spread over their last eight games to earn their spot in this year’s First Four. The Sun Devils will try to advance into the Round of 64 with a win over the St. John’s Red Storm on Wednesday night.
March Madness odds 2019: First Four Wednesday betting lines, trends
Arizona State and North Dakota State will try to cash in as betting favorites at sportsbooks as the First Four wraps up Wednesday.
Photo by Ethan Miller/Getty Images
Arizona State is a 1.5-point favorite on the March Madness odds in Dayton at sportsbooks monitored by OddsShark.com. This is the team’s second straight year in the First Four; the Sun Devils narrowly made the tournament last season and ended up losing 60-56 to the Syracuse Orange as 1-point favorites.
While there are some similarities to last season’s team, this year’s group comes into the NCAA Tournament playing well over the last month while last year’s team was 1-5 SU and ATS in its previous six games before losing to the Orange.
St. John’s Red Storm vs. Arizona State Sun Devils
When: Wednesday, March 20, 9:10 p.m. ET
Where: University of Dayton Arena, Dayton, Ohio
Betting Line / Total: Arizona State -1.5 / 153 Points
St. John’s finds itself in a similar position to last year’s Arizona State team, coming into this play-in game cold with a 1-4 SU and ATS record over its last five games. The Red Storm are just 3-9 SU in their last 12 games as a betting underdog and 0-3 ATS in their last three games as one. On the season, St. John’s went 21-12 SU and 13-18-2 ATS overall. The winner of Wednesday’s contest will advance into the next round as an 11-seed to take on the Buffalo Bulls in the West bracket.
In the earlier game of Wednesday night’s double-header, the North Dakota State Bison are a 5-point favorite squaring off against the North Carolina Central Eagles. The winner of this matchup will earn a No. 16 seed and go up against the tournament favorite Duke Blue Devils.
North Carolina Central Eagles vs. North Dakota State Bison
When: Wednesday, March 20, 6:40 p.m. ET
Where: University of Dayton Arena, Dayton, Ohio
Betting Line / Total: North Dakota State -5 / 133 Points
North Dakota State got off to an underwhelming start both before and during conference play this season going 9-12 SU and 6-13 ATS through its first 21 games. But over the Bison’s last 12 games, the team is 9-3 SU and 8-4 ATS including a 3-0 SU and 2-1 ATS run through the Summit Tournament en route to the conference title.
North Carolina Central enters the tournament with an 18-15 SU and 18-11-1 ATS record after winning the MEAC Tournament. The Eagles rank 50th in the nation in defense allowing 66.3 points per game and are 8-2 SU and 8-1-1 ATS at sports betting sites over their last 10 games.
For more odds information, betting picks and a breakdown of this week’s top sports betting news check out the OddsShark podcast with Jon Campbell and Andrew Avery. Subscribe on iTunes or Spotify or listen to it at OddsShark.libsyn.com.
