Just a day in and it’s already been an eventful turn of events in the March Madness bracket, with 14th-ranked Oakland crashing the party and sending Kentucky tumbling out of Round 1, part of several Day 1 upsets already.
For our purposes, it’s another day of scouring through the March Madness props on Day 2 to find my favorite bets, on a day that features the tourney’s No. 1 seed, the UConn Huskies, as well as the Purdue Boilermakers in action.
Let’s get to these free college basketball picks, and fingers crossed that your March Madness picks come out aces on Friday, March 22.
Best March Madness props today
- Newton Over 5.5 assists (-130 at DraftKings)
- Edey Over 25.5 points (-135 at DraftKings)
- Broome Under 16.5 points (-135 at DraftKings)
Picks made on March 22 at 1:00 a.m. ET.
Read full analysis of each pick.
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March Madness player props for March 22
Prop bet #1: Newton keeps it old school
Senior UConn Huskies guard Tristen Newton has been keeping his teammates well-fed.
The team’s top assists man, who ranks 22nd in the nation at six dimes per game, is coming off a nice performance in the Huskies' 73-57 Big East Championship win over Marquette. Newton had 10 helpers to go along with his 13 points one game after dishing out nine assists in a win over St John’s.
His assists line against 16th-seeded Stetson is 5.5, a figure he has crossed in four of his last seven games, missing out on two other covers by a single assist.
The Huskies are seventh in the NCAA in assists per game at 18.5, and the Hatters have been carved up by the pass, ranking 269th in assists against.
Newton is also quite comfortable on the big stage, as he was a key component of the Huskies' run to the NCAA title a season ago. He bested this total three times in six tournament games, including a six-assist performance in the opener against Iona.
Look for the 6-foot-5 Newton to keep the Huskies’ offense humming on Friday.
Tristen Newton prop: Over 5.5 assists (-130 at DraftKings)
Prop bet #2: All-in Edey
The 7-foot-4 Zach Edey is about as sure a thing as there is a lock to bring home college basketball’s player of the year award.
Purdue’s big man led the nation in scoring at 24.4 points per game, adding 11.7 rebounds and shooting a blistering 61.9% from the field in helping the Boilermakers secure a top seed.
Despite dropping the Big Ten Tournament to Wisconsin in overtime, Edey poured in 28 points on 7-for-11 shooting, grabbing 11 rebounds and entering March Madness with a head of steam.
In his final 12 games to close out the regular year, Edey topped the 25.5 total set for today in five of his last six, averaging 29.5 points per game. The only game he failed to go Over the total was against the Badgers in the regular season finale, when he went for 25 points.
He’ll be taking on a Grambling side that features just one regular big, forward Jonathan Aku, who stands 6-foot-11. Malik Lamin is also 6-foot-11 but plays sparingly. No other player on the Tigers stands taller than 6-foot-8.
Edey should be able to feast on the interior and pile up trips to the stripe, where he’s taken at least 11 free throws in eight of his last 10.
Zach Edey prop: Over 25.5 points (-135 at DraftKings)
Prop bet #3: Broome gets swept up
Johni Broome is Auburn’s top scorer, with his 16.2 points per game ranked eighth in the SEC this season. He’s also doing it efficiently, shooting 54.4% from the field, which ranks second in the conference.
The 6-foot-10 junior is coming off a nice 19-point, 11-rebound, three-assist, three-block night against the Florida Gators in the SEC Championship. His line is set for 16.5 points Friday, a number he has topped five times in the last seven games before the madness, an average of 16.9 points per game.
However, the Tigers have themselves a rockfight of a battle in Round 1, as they take on the Yale Bulldogs.
Stylistically, this one has the potential to grind to a halt. Yale is 51st in scoring defense in the country, allowing just 66.6 points per game while limiting teams to 41.5% shooting from the field, a Top-60 mark.
Yale also ranks a distant 329th in adjusted tempo at KenPom, the seventh-slowest team in the NCAA Tournament field.
Broome should still play an integral role for the Tigers, but this one is a tough matchup for him.
Johni Broome prop: Under 16.5 points (-135 at DraftKings)
Not intended for use in MA.
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