Round of 64 hoops action concludes Friday

The NCAA basketball tournament finishes up its Round of 64 on Friday with 16 more games. Among them we get an interesting east coast encounter between George Mason and Villanova (2:10 pm Eastern), a Midwestern matchup between Notre Dame and Akron (1:40 Eastern), and a bi-coastal bout between Washington and Georgia (9:45 Eastern).

Tipping things off Friday, Texas, the second-place team in the Big 12 this season, takes on Oakland (of Michigan), which won both the Summit League's regular season and tournament titles, in Tulsa (12:15 pm Eastern). Then Michigan, which went 9-9 in the Big Ten, plays Tennessee, an 8-8 team from the SEC, in Charlotte (12:40 Eastern). Then the Irish, who finished second in the powerful Big East, run with the Zips, the surprise winners of the MAC tournament, in Chicago. And George Mason, Colonial regular-season champions, meets Villanova, which enters the tournament on a five-game losing streak, in Cleveland.

As of Wednesday morning oddsmaker.ag is listing the Longhorns at -9.5 over the Golden Grizzles, Notre Dame at -13.5 over Akron, the Vols at -2 over the Wolverines, and the Patriots and Wildcats as a pick 'em.

A little further down Friday's board Arizona, the Pac-10 regular-season champ, is a six-point favorite at Oddsmaker over Memphis, winners of the CUSA tournament (2:45 Eastern). No. 1 seed Duke, winner of the ACC tournament, is listed at -22.5 over MEAC tournament champion Hampton (3:10 Eastern). Texas A&M, which finished tied for third in the Big 12, is a pick 'em vs. the third-place team in the ACC, Florida State (4:10 Eastern). And the winner of Wednesday night's UT-San Antonio/Alabama State game takes on No. 1 seed Ohio State (4:40 Eastern).

Friday's second session starts with No. 1 seed Kansas, dual champs in the Big 12, favored by 22.5 points over Boston University, the America East tournament champions (6:50 Eastern). North Carolina, which got hot late to win the ACC's regular-season title, is listed at -17.5 over high-scoring Long Island, dual champs in the Northeast (7:15 Eastern). Purdue, the second-place team in the Big Ten, is a 14-point favorite over St. Peter's, upset winners of the Metro Atlantic tournament (7:20 Eastern). And Xavier, the A-10 regular-season champs, is -2 over Marquette, a 9-9 team in the Big East (7:25 Eastern).

And to bring the Round of 64 to an end, UNLV, the third-place team in the Mountain West, is -2 over Illinois, a 9-9 team in the Big Ten (9:20 Eastern). Washington, which won the Pac-10 tournament on a buzzer-beater, is -5.5 over a 9-7 SEC team in Georgia (9:45 Eastern). The winner of Wednesday night's USC/VCU game takes on Georgetown (9:50 Eastern). And Syracuse, which tied for third place in the Big East, is listed at -11 over Indiana State, winners of the Missouri Valley tournament (9:55 Eastern).

On top of all this action bettors will want to hurry up and get down on oddsmaker.ag's updated NCAA championship board before the tournament really begins Thursday morning. Oddsmaker is also offering betting on each of the regionals, and is listing OVER/UNDER numbers on tournament wins by conference. So no doubt there is plenty for tournament bettors to choose from at oddsmaker.ag.