March Madness predictions to get you through Round 1 of your 2026 survivor pool, including the Nebraska Cornhuskers and Kanas Jayhawks.
Douglas Farmer provides you with a team from each day of Round 1 that will bring you to glory in your March Madness survivor pool.Photo By - Reuters Connect. Bryson Tiller and guard Darryn Peterson against the Arizona State Sun Devils at Desert Financial Arena.
Here comes the puzzle that demands both misery and sleep deprivation. But it is also a puzzle you can plausibly solve, unlike picking a perfect bracket. March Madness survivor pools are the truest springtime chance at a massive payout from a modest investment. If you're unfamiliar with the concept, it is very similar to the better-known NFL survivor pools, but the tournament format means your pool of available teams shrinks by half with each round. Pick a team to win each day of the NCAA Tournament. Once you pick a team, you cannot pick it again, so you'd better hold your title pick in your back pocket for three weeks. In the first round, you want to find teams flawed enough that they do not have plausible Final Four hopes yet strong enough you can trust them to win their opening games. This is March; how many flawed teams can you genuinely trust?It becomes difficult to find enough variance when a double-digit underdog plays at a plodding pace and does not make even a third of its 3-point attempts. You may have noticed, few folks are considering Troy as a trendy underdog pick.to reach the Sweet Sixteen, an underdog to No. 4 seed Vanderbilt in the same pod . Taking Nebraska as your initial survivor pick makes sense, as the Cornhuskers should win handily while struggling to see a path forward. Also considered: Vanderbilt as an 11.5-point favorite vs. McNeese State and with -115 odds of reaching the Sweet Sixteen and +400 odds of reaching the Elite Eight; Arkansas as a 15-point favorite vs. Hawai’i and with -140 odds of reaching the Sweet Sixteen but +450 odds of reaching the Elite Eight.are 14.5-point favorites against the 13-seed Cal Baptist Lancers. Some may point out how dynamic Cal Baptist guard Dominique Daniels can be, particularly since he hoists shots on 34.0% of the possessions when he is on the court. But the blunt reality is the Lancers lost by 31 points against BYU in early December, the most comparable opponent to the Jayhawks on their schedule. For that matter, Kansas has its own dynamic guard, freshman Darryn Peterson, actually shooting even more often than Daniels at 34.7%. Just as BYU star AJ Dybantsa won the showcase matchup with Daniels — the latter scoring only 11 points on 4 of 13 shooting — expect Peterson to exert his will on both ends of the court.to advance out of the first weekend, undone by the imposing threat of St. John’s. Again, taking Kansas should open a path to the weekend without closing off a path further forward. Also considered: Virginia as an 18.5-point favorite vs. Wright State and with -130 odds of reaching the Sweet Sixteen but +300 odds of reaching the Elite Eight. Douglas Farmer spends his days thinking about college football and his nights thinking about the NBA. His betting habits and coverage follow that same pattern. He covered Notre Dame football for various outlets from 2008 to 2024, most notably spending eight seasons as NBC Sports’ beat writer on the Irish. That was also when his gambling focus took off. Knowing there were veteran beat writers with three decades more experience than he had, Douglas found his niche by best recognizing Notre Dame’s standing in each year’s national landscape, a complex tapestry most easily understood and remembered via betting odds. In 2021, that interest created a freelance opportunity with Covers, a role that eventually led to Douglas joining the company full-time in 2023. In the fall, Douglas will place five or six dozen bets each week, a disproportionate amount via BetRivers because the operator tends to have lines slightly different than the rest of the market. The same can be said of Circa Sports’ futures markets. While Douglas is an avid NBA fan and covers the league throughout the year, the vast majority of his bets are on college football, because that is the biggest key to sports betting: Know what you do not know.UNLV vs UC Irvine Prediction, Picks & Odds for Today's NIT Tournament GameSouth Alabama vs Auburn Prediction, Picks & Odds for Today's NIT GameStephen F. Austin vs Tulsa Prediction, Picks & Odds for Today's NIT GamePanthers vs Canucks Prediction, Picks & Odds for Tonight’s NHL GameMarch Madness Props 2026: Best Tournament-Long Prop Bets, Picks & StrategyCopyright © 1995 - 2026 CS Media Limited All Rights Reserved. If you choose to make use of any information on this website including online sports betting services from any websites that may be featured on this website, we strongly recommend that you carefully check your local laws before doing so.It is your sole responsibility to understand your local laws and observe them strictly.Covers does not provide any advice or guidance as to the legality of online sports betting or other online gambling activities within your jurisdiction and you are responsible for complying with laws that are applicable to you in your relevant locality.Covers disclaims all liability associated with your use of this website and use of any information contained on it.As a condition of using this website, you agree to hold the owner of this website harmless from any claims arising from your use of any services on any third party website that may be featured by Covers.
United States Latest News, United States Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
St. John's facing Northern Iowa in first round of March Madness bracketSt. John’s is ready for the Madness of March.
Read more »
March Madness Predictions: 3 NCAA Tournament Bets to Make Right NowDon't wait until tipoff. Here are three March Madness picks and predictions to bet right now.
Read more »
Virginia Opens As Massive Favorite Over Wright State In First Round March Madness MatchupThe brackets are set and March Madness will commence this weekend. Virginia earned the No. 3 seed in the Midwest Region and will open up NCAA Tournament play a
Read more »
March Madness Brackets: Expert Predictions for the 2026 Men’s NCAA TournamentSports Illustrated writers make their round-by-round picks and which teams will advance to the Final Four in Indianapolis.
Read more »
March Madness Predictions: Our 3 Favorite Underdogs for the First RoundJason Logan breaks down his 3 favorite March Madness underdog bets for Round 1, featuring the TCU Horned Frogs. Free college basketball picks for the 2026 NCAA Tournament.
Read more »
Ranking All 32 Men’s March Madness First-Round GamesHere’s your guide to a jam-packed slate on Thursday and Friday of the NCAA tournament.
Read more »