Cincy-Mizzou highlight Mad Thursday

After a few preliminaries Tuesday and Wednesday the circus that is the NCAA men's basketball tournament really gets started Thursday. And to cap off a full day of what should be great action bettors are presented with a big conference catfight when the Cincinnati Bearcats of the Big East scratch it out with the Missouri Tigers of the Big 12 (9:50 pm Eastern) in Washington, DC.

Thursday's opening session gets started down in Tampa when West Virginia, the 7th-place team in the Big East this season, takes on the winner of Tuesday night's Clemson/UAB game (12:15 pm Eastern). Then, in a good mid-major matchup, Butler, last year's national runner-up, plays Old Dominion in Washington (12:40 Eastern). Then Louisville, which finished tied for third in the Big East, goes against the champions of the Ohio Valley, Morehead State, out in Denver (1:40 Eastern). And in a state of Pennsylvania rivalry game Temple plays Penn State out in Tuscon (2:10 Eastern).

As of Tuesday morning oddsmaker.ag is listing the Tigers at -4.5 over the Blazers (Tuesday); the Monarchs at -1.5 over the Bulldogs; the Cardinals at -9.5 over the Eagles; and the Owls at -2 over the Nittany Lions.

Next up, Kentucky, champion of the SEC, is favored by 14 points over Ivy League titlist Princeton (2:45 Eastern). Pittsburgh, the regular-season champs in the Big East and the top seed in the Southeast, plays the winner of Tuesday's NC-Asheville/Arkansas-Little Rock game (3:10 Eastern). Vanderbilt, an at-large out of the SEC, is a 1.5-point favorite over Richmond, the champion of the Atlantic 10 conference (4:10 Eastern). And San Diego State, which earned a two seed by losing just two games all season, is favored by 16 points over the dual champions of the Big Sky, Northern Colorado (4:40 Eastern).

Thursday's happy hour session starts with Florida, the best team in the SEC during the regular season, favored by 13.5 points over the upset winners of the Big West tournament, UC-Santa Barbara (6:50 Eastern). BYU, trying to forge ahead without its leading rebounder, is an 8-point favorite over the champs of the Southern Conference, Wofford (7:15 Eastern). UConn, which just won the Big East tournament, is listed at -11 over the dual champions of the Patriot League, Bucknell (7:20 Eastern). And Wisconsin, the third-place team from the Big Ten, is favored by 4.5 points over 30-win Belmont (7:25 Eastern).

And late-night Thursday UCLA, the second-place team out of the Pac-10, is a 1.5-point underdog vs. a .500 team from the Big Ten, Michigan State (9:20 Eastern). St. John's, which tied for third place in the Big East, is favored by two points over the champs of the WCC, Gonzaga (9:45 Eastern). Missouri is giving Cincinnati 1.5 points. And Kansas State, which tied for third in the Big 12, is two-point chalk over the dual champs of the WAC, Utah State (9:55 Eastern).

Bettors should also check out oddsmaker.ag's updated NCAA championship board, and the regional betting boards, for some futures action on this NCAA tournament.