March Madness 2017: First Round South and Midwest Region

We have our 2017 March Madness First Round first day picks for the South and Midwest Regions. There are two games in each that are scheduled for Thursday. We start with the South at #13 Winthrop at #4 Butler. The start time is 1:30 p.m. After that, it’s another South Region games as #12 Middle Tennessee plays #5 Minnesota. Could this be one of those 12 seeds upsets a five seed scenarios?

We then go to the Midwest Region with #13 Vermont at #4 Purdue. That game tips off at 7:27 pm. The final Midwest contest for today has another 12 seed, Nevada, at a five seed, Iowa State. Might there be two upsets today? Read on to find out.

#13 Winthrop at #4 Butler

1:30 PM TNT
BMO Harris Bradley Center, Milwaukee, Wisconsin

In our first South Region game, the Big South Conference Winthrop Eagles come to the tournament on an eight-game winning streak. Keon Johnson is averaging 22.5 PPG while Xavier Cooks is good for 16.3 PPG and 9.2 RPG. This team is deep with a lot of guys contributing in each game.

The Big East Conference Butler Bulldogs finished 12-6 and second to Villanova. For the Bulldogs, Kelan Martin offers 16.1 PPG and 5.7 RPG, while Andrew Chrabascz is scoring 11.0 PPG and taking down 4.6 RPG.

We’re going with the Eagles at +11.0 and the over at 145.0

2017 March Madness First Round First Day Pick: Winthrop at +11.0 and over 145.0

#12 Middle Tennessee at #5 Minnesota

4:00 PM TNT
BMO Harris Bradley Center, Milwaukee, Wisconsin

In our second South Region contest, the Middle Tennessee Blue Raiders dominated Conference USA this year, taking the regular season title and the conference tournament. They last loss on Feb. 4 to UTEP 57-54. Three players offer points and rebounds. JaCorey Williams is putting in 17.3 PPG and taking down 7.3 RPG. Giddy Potts and Reggie Upshaw are averaging 15.8 PPG and 14.5 PPG respectively. The team is averaging 75 PPG while connecting on 49% of its shots and 37% of their threes.

The Big Ten Minnesota Golden Gophers went 8-2 in their last 10 regular season games. In the conference tournament they beat Michigan State before losing to Michigan 84-77. Nate Mason leads the team in points, averaging 15.5 PPG amd 5.0 APG. Jordan Murphy is good for 8.8 RPG and 11.2 PPG.

This one’s a close call with Middle Tennessee at -1.0. We’re taking the over at 135.5

2017 March Madness First Round First Day Pick: Middle Tennessee at -1.0 and over 135.5

#13 Vermont at #4 Purdue

7:27 PM truTV
BMO Harris Bradley Center, Milwaukee, Wisconsin

Our initial Midwest Region game has Vermont Catamounts, the winner of the American East Conference, playing Purdue. The last time Vermont lost was Dec. 21, 2016 to Butler. The Catamounts have three players who are averaging between 11 and 13 PPG. The team is hitting 50% of their shots from the field.

The Purdue Boilermakers finished first in the Big 10. Although they took the regular season crown, they lost to Michigan in the first game of the conference tournament. The final was 74-70. Purdue’s front man Caleb Swanigan is averaging 18.5 PPG and 12.6 RPG. Three other players are good for double-digit point totals.

We like the Boilermakers at -10.0 and the over at 135.5

2017 March Madness First Round First Day Pick: Purdue at -10.0 and over 135.5

#12 Nevada at #5 Iowa State

9:57 PM truTV
BMO Harris Bradley Center, Milwaukee, Wisconsin

The Mountain West Nevada Wolf Pack topped the conference this season. Guard Marcus Marshall is averaging 20 PPG. Forward Cameron Oliver is good for 8.7 RPG and 15.8 PPG. Jordan Caroline leads the team in rebounds with 9.2 RPG. He’s also good for 14.8 PPG.

Iowa State finished in a virtual three-way tie for second in the Big 12. Monte Morris tops all scorers averaging 16.3 PPG. He’s also dishing off 6.1 RPG and taking down 4.8 RPG. Deonte Burton is bringing in 6.2 RPG while scoring 14.8 PPG. Two other players are in double-digits when it comes to scoring.

We’re going with the Wolf Pack at +6.5 and under 156.5.

2017 March Madness First Round First Day Pick: Nevada at +5.5 and under 156.5

2017 March Madness First Round First Day Picks

That’s it for our 2017 March Madness First Round first day picks for the South and Midwest. We’ll have more tomorrow as a majority of tomorrow’s games are from these two regions.