 What's up basketball fans, check it out, the brand new Mohegan Son Fandall Sportsbook just opened in Connecticut, in person betting dozens of massive screens, 11,000 square feet of absolute awesome, including two levels of food, drink, kicking it with friends and family while catching all the hoops action and so much more. And here we are, welcome to the newest addition to the family. We are inside the brand new Mohegan Son Fandall Sportsbook here in Connecticut and you're watching Fandall Sportsbook's more ways to win March Madness style. We're so excited to be here, we're hitting the hardwood, we're breaking down the biggest tournament matchups ahead of us, we're giving you picks from round one all the way to the national championship and who's cutting down the nets in New Orleans. I'm your host Lisa Kearney, our gambling experts in house as well. Of course Dave Weaver, Ed Egros and Andrew Filiponi. These guys have been crunching all the numbers there ready to reveal their best bets for the big dance and you can take their information and play bets right from your phone. Just download the Fandall Sportsbook app, check out all the wagers we're talking about on this show and so much more and get this because it does get better. Fandall is giving new users an assist to get started, just sign up for an account bet $5 on the tourney, you're going to get $150 in sportsbook credit bonus, that's right sign up deposit money, bet $5 or more and you'll get that $150 in bonus sportsbook credit, you can do it right now. Alright let's get to it and bet these games. This first round is about to tip off and we are tipping things off with the top teams in each region here and we are starting in the west guys, here's a look at the entire bracket in the west is absolutely loaded, it features the number one seat of the entire tournament, the Gonzaga Bulldogs, looking for their first championship in school history. Bulldogs take on Georgia State who won the Sunbelt Conference Tournament to get that automatic bid to get in where they are. Dave and Ed, all these top seeds are going to have huge lines of course in the first round, we see it every year so the question is can they cover? Gonzaga is giving 23 and a half points in this first round, Dave which side are you taking in this one? I think they cover, you go back to last year, they want to make a statement here early, they beat Norfolk State with 16 seed by 43 points, they hung up 98, this is the number one ranked offense in the country, Georgia State offensive efficiency 126, this is just a huge match up for Georgia State to try to get inside against these bigs, it's not going to happen, their three leading scores are all guards, so what is that for? Make perimeter shots, it's going to get ugly Ed, I'm thinking 89-60, Gonzaga. 89-6, all right fine, I will mark this down on my tablet here and pay attention to that. Just because Gonzaga is a heavy favorite to win this national championship and that's the statement that I think they want to make, it's not so much what they're going to do in this first round, but I actually think that Georgia State can cover this number, I think this is going to be closer to a 20 maybe even a 19 point game in large part because I think Georgia State can do the things that will frustrate Gonzaga, especially when it comes to guard play, you think about Gonzaga, it's all about the front court, but it's the guard play that I think is a question mark here, you look at for Georgia State, Cain Williams, Nelson Phillips, they're going to frustrate it, offensive rebounding, Georgia State is not bad there, I think they will do the pesky things to keep this game a little bit closer than you would normally see in a first round game. Are you guys good stuff there? Let's get to the Midwest region now and my roots, a lot of championship contenders lurking in this bracket. Take a look here, the number one seed in this region, Kansas, who won the Big 12 conference tourney and they all face Texas Southern, who won their first four matchup on Tuesday. Dave and Pony, the J-Hawks Pony 21 point favorites here, they got a lot of pedigree coming into this tournament. Pony, how are you playing this one here in the first round? Well, it's a late start for Kansas fans, so they can go to bed at half time, because this game is going to be a blowout. I'm going to take the J-Hawks, you look at Texas Southern, they don't have a player that averages more than nine points a game, they got blown out by Louisiana Tech, 27 points, NIP team, BYU in Oregon, beat them by 17 points respectively. Dave, the Big 12 does well in tournaments, they've gone to the final four, four out of the last five years, and I think they get up to a good start with Kansas here, they cover. I'm going to take the dog in this one, and I'm on Gonzaga, but I'm going to say Kansas will not cover. Yeah, here's the thing, Texas Southern does play well as a dog, nine and two, their last 11 games in this situation, and Kansas, their last five games in the Big Dance have only covered once. Why? Because they're usually big favorites like this. Georgia Southern can rebound 28th in the country, so if they can clean up the glass a little bit, get some offensive put-backs, I think they can keep this one close enough. Cover, fine, just don't take them on the money line, boys and girls. All right, let's move on now and focus on the east. And here's a look at that bracket, a tough field, but none of the top four seeds won their conference tournament. Baylor, the number one seed, will start their title defense against Norfolk State, who won the MIAC Conference Championship, guys. Ed, Baylor's giving 21 and a half. Which side do you like in this matchup? If you take nothing else from my analysis here, just remember this. Injuries are overrated when it comes to college basketball. You look at Baylor, they don't have Sharpshooter L.J. Crier, they don't have big man Jonathan Chambuachua, but they've got a bunch of other great workhorses who can offensively overwhelm just about anybody in America. Offensive rebounding, I get it, took a little bit of a hit, but Flothaba is still there. Crier, I know he's one of the great three point shooters on this team, but they've got a lot of other great ones. To me, the depth of Baylor is why they're going to cover this number. Well, they don't lose in the non-conference. They went undefeated this year in November and December. I think the familiarity in the Big 12 wore them down. Teams knew how to play them. Now they're going back into very familiar territory the defending champions. Well, Norfolk State played one of the weakest schedules in college basketball. They played one tournament caliber team. That was Xavier, who's in the NIT, and they got pounded by 40 points. Baylor is going to blow them out. This is a rocking chair play. Take the Bears. All right, guys. As we wrap up our whip around the regions here, we're going to land in the south. Take a look here at this region. Arizona, the number one seed. They're taking on a first four winner. That game had not been played at the time of this show taping. So, hey, we're looking ahead. We're betting the number two seed, Villanova, the biggest tournament champion taken on at Delaware, a school just 45 miles away from Nova Dave. Villanova's giving 15 and a half a more respectable number coming out of those 20s. Can they cover that? They can. You know, this is where they're supposed to be in March. They thrive covering in the tournament. 14 and three against the spread as a favorite going back, obviously, you know, decades. But this is where they're supposed to be. Delaware, on the other hand, this is only their day tournament in 21 years. Villanova, the best free throw shooting team in the country at over 82%. So, if they get to the line, they're going to be making those shots and they will get to the line and they will outrebound this team by a big number. I don't think they keep it close. Villanova covers easy. Program history matters not. What matters is what's happening right here and right now. And right now, I feel like that Delaware can actually keep this game two within about 10 points apart because they have the 40th best effective field goal percentage shooting, top 70 in free throw rate. They get to the line, they make their freebies and Dylan Painter, six foot 10 senior post guy. Delaware's got a lot of good experience that could keep this game relatively close. Doesn't matter what the program has done over the course of the years. It matters what's happening right here, right now. And look, Villanova can get into some foul trouble. It's been one of the bigger problems that they have had all season long. Delaware knows this. They could put Villanova in some tricky spots. I think Delaware can keep this a little bit closer than the line at least. What have you done for me lately? I get it, Ed. All right, now that's a look at some of the top teams in the big dance and our experts picks of course. And a reminder for our new users, welcome. Excited to have you with us. Sign up for an account now. Bet $5 on the tournament. You'll get $150 in bonus sports book credit. That's right. You can deposit money, bet $5 or more, and you'll get that $150 bonus sports book credit. You can do it right now on the Fandall Sports Book app. And of course the tournament is all about upsets, as we know, and picking the right upsets could lead to a big payout. Now, as you know, underdogs are plus money. So let's get some guys. You know this is what I show up for. So let's bet the first round dogs here and see who our betting experts like to pull the upset here. Dave, you're going to start us off. Give me an underdog that's going to win outright. Who are your money line money makers here in this tournament? I'm going with the hottest team in the country and that is Colgate. Yes, Colgate has won 15 games in a row. I don't care who you're playing. When you win 15 in a row, you are legit. Wisconsin, the Big 10, I think it's down this year. I'm going to fade a lot of the Big 10 teams in this tournament. Colgate, the number two three-point shooting team in the country at 358 teams. They're second 40%. They're going to be bombing threes and pull off this upset. It's about time Dave used some Colgate for numbers for starters. But I like Vermont in this one. I think Vermont can pull off the upset against Arkansas. In the history of the tournament, teams that overwhelm, get those underdog upset wins, they shoot 5% better from three than they normally do. So you want to look for teams that are willing to shoot a lot of threes. And Vermont has one of the higher three-point shooting rates of any team in this tournament. Arkansas does not. And so if Vermont gets hot, watch out. I'm going to dedicate my upset special to the most famous Chattanooga Mock. And that is P.O. If you're watching this, my man, your mocks are taking down Illinois. I'm going to be at this game Friday night. Chattanooga, very good defensively. They hold opponents to 30% from three. And here's the thing. We know about Kofi Coburn for Illinois. Chattanooga has a Kansas transfer. Filvio DeSosa, he's 6'9", 250. They have the size to match up with Illinois' big. And they're going to pull off a plus 250 upset here, Lisa. An excellent player, Pony. I like to shout out. There are dozens of games and thousands of bets that you can make right now. So time now. I want you to focus on some other games on the board here, guys. We're going to have a little friendly competition, if you will. You each get 100 virtual dollars. Now with that money, you have to make one spread, one money line, and one total bet. And you get to decide how much to put on each. You only get 100 bucks. The person who makes the most profit wins. We will crown that champion on next week's show. We do this throughout the NFL season, so you guys know how to roll here. Let's get things started, Dave. Give me your winning picks. All right. I'm going to stay with my upset special on the spread. So I'm going to take Colgate with the points in here. Getting the seven and a half. Yes, I do think they'll win the game, but this is a pretty safe play to take them on the spread. That's $25. My money line play, I love Virginia Tech. Virginia Tech is a team that will out-shoot Texas from the threes, 39% to 32%. Texas is kind of spiraling right now. Lost three in a row. Virginia Tech's won four in a row. The strength of schedule has been better for VTech. So that's my money line play. That's almost a pick-and-game. I'm not going to make a ton, but that's my play for 50 bucks. And then the total, Houston UAB. Houston, you know, notoriously kind of a juggernaut defense. They had to set this line kind of low. But UAB, you look for their last five games that they've scored. 81, 87, 80, 102, and 82. And Houston average is about 75. That game's going over. That's my final 25 bucks. I'm going straight after Pony right between the eyes for my spread pick. I like Illinois to cover the seven and a half against Chattanooga. In large part because they've got some really good size to guard the post. Not to mention a top 50 effective field goal percentage offensively for my upset money line money maker pick. I'm going to go on $50 taking Davidson to upset Michigan State. I think Davidson has the third best offense among all mid majors behind obviously Gonzaga and Houston. Davidson going to be really good. And then lastly, I'm also taking the over in the Houston UAB game. Do not let the fact that Marcus Sasser isn't playing for the Cougars fool you. The data sample is more than supple enough for Houston to showcase an incredible offense. I feel like they can blow out UAB, score a ton of points, and get over that 136. All right, I'm going to start with a $50 wager on the Richmond spiders to keep it close against Iowa. They're a very experienced team, one of the most in the country, the oldest, and they take care of the ball. Great assists, very few turnovers, get a lot of steals. That's number one. My money line money maker, 25 on Marquette. Sorry, Vish. I'm going against your North Carolina Tar Heels. To have a defense, North Carolina's guards are very erratic. Jaco Smart's going to get a win at Marquette. And then my last one, $25 here on the under in Duke Fullerton. Duke, they couldn't shoot the ball against Virginia Tech for a 20 from three. Fullerton's got only two guys who can score. I'm going under for 25. Yeah, Pony, our producer, Vishal, just got in my ear and told me next time you pick against his team, he's just going to go ahead and cut your mic. You're done, you're done. Great stuff by you guys. Those bets are all available right now, of course, on the Fandall Sportsbook app. You can hit them up. And hey, you can tailor guys or make your own picks. I always say this on the show, you do you. And remember, new users, download the app, place a $5 wager to get $150 in sportsbook bonus credit. So make sure you take advantage of the special offer going on right now. Let's keep this thing going by taking a look at the tightest spread in each region. And having our guys pick that game. So let's get right to it. And let's start off in the West region for that, the 7 to 10 matchup. Guys, featuring Michigan State taking on Davidson, a 7-10 matchup, this one expected to be close. You see right here, Dave and Pony. Spartans are just a one point favorite. Dave, who do you like? Who do you like in this matchup? I'm not sure this game is really going to be close. I like Davidson. This is a team that does not turn the ball over. They can block shots. They can shoot the three. They have a great offense. They're averaging three and a half points more than Michigan State throughout the year. And as I said, I'm fading the big 10 pretty much in every spot that I can, Pony. I like Davidson. Well, Davidson to me is a poor man's Iowa. They're a great 3-point shooting team, 6th in America. They don't have great interior play. Well, Michigan State's not built like they have in the last few years. They don't have scores. They don't have a premier point guard like Cassius Winston. And so I think Davidson can shoot it from the outside. And I think Michigan State won't keep up. The closest team, like I said, was Iowa. And they drilled Michigan State by 26 this year. I think Davidson does get the win on with Dave. All right. This fighting Steph Currys, if you will. Hey, same drill for the South region now, guys. The closest spread in this bracket, the 7-10 matchup right there, Ohio State versus Chicago, Loyola. Guys, Ohio State, half-point favorite over these two. Pretty evenly matched teams, really. Ed, who do you like in this matchup with Chicago, Loyola? Well, the thing about Loyola Chicago, aside from the fact that Sister Jean is also a part of this situation, you know, she's still going strong here. But I like Loyola Chicago a lot. And in large part, because look, Porter Moser's gone. I get that. And they have perhaps the youngest head coach in division one college basketball. But coaching, yes, it matters. But you leave a program and then you come back and everything's going to be just fine. The program is in terrific shape. They were known for defense. The defense is still great. Defense of rebounding metrics are absolutely outstanding. A ton of great seniors, a ton of great leadership. How can you go against Loyola Chicago and Sister Jean? I agree. I think Ohio State's actually the worst power five program in the field. There are seven seed. They lost four or five down the stretch. They've got key injuries to big men. Kyle Young and Zed D. We don't know their status for this game. They got beat by Penn State convincingly in the big 10 tournament one and done. Ed just touched on it. Loyola great pedigree. They're going to win this game. I've got a little dyslexia, guys. Not Chicago, Loyola. Loyola Chicago, guys, I see you. All right. Let's get to the East region of this bracket. And it is the 6 11 matchup between Texas and Virginia Tech. That's the tightest spread in this region. Six seeded Texas giving just one point. I love these games, Dave. Two schools from major conferences going at it here. Which side are you backing? I'm Virginia Tech. I'm just not in love with teams that come in kind of limping to the tournament on losing streaks. And Texas has not looked good over their last three. So to me, the hotter team in here is Virginia Tech. They shoot the three a little bit better. You know, I just give them, give them the edge. Slight edge. I don't think this is going to be a blowout, but I think they get the job done. Conference tournament runs really don't matter to me very much. The ACC was absolutely weak. If there is a conference that you should be fading as far as a major conference is concerned, it's the ACC. Almost nobody looked good there. But here's the thing about this particular matchup. I get it's the national pastime to make fun of the University of Texas. But look, sometimes the AP preseason poll is absolutely correct. It just takes time for a team to sort of fulfill what the expectations are meant to be. Texas was ranked fifth at the start of this season. At some point, they are going to showcase the talent, the transfers in that front court, and Chris Beard showcasing what he can do defensively in terms of getting his fingerprints on this, on this team. To me, I think Texas Tech takes care, or Texas rather gets it done. All right, let's move on. Last but not least here, the Midwest region guys, odds makers think this 7-10 matchup between USC and Miami is going to be a tight one. Another close one here, the Trojans giving one and a half points to the Hurricanes. Dave, who do you have in this matchup? Well, neither of these teams are going anywhere. So whoever wins, I'll be betting against next time when they lose to Auburn. But I've watched a lot of USC here in Southern California and really haven't been that impressed with their entire body of work. So I'm going to go with Miami, but I really don't like either of these teams pony. I think it's going to be an ugly game with plenty of turnovers with Miami having the edge. I disagree with that. I don't get why USC is so discounted when compared to team the Pac-12 that everybody loved, Arizona and UCLA. USC shoots a better field goal percentage than UCLA. USC shoots a better from three than Arizona. They're a very good offensive team. I'm in an ACC market. Miami, two up and down. I think USC wins this game by double digits. Great stuff, guys. And plenty more coming up from our guys, including their final four picks and also their best value national champion at pick. You're going to want to stick around for that, of course. But I just want to take about 30 seconds to tell you about the spot that I am standing in right now. The Mohegan Sun Fandall Sportsbook. We're taking you inside here. This brand new space just debuted less than two weeks ago and it is absolutely gorgeous. The Fandall Sportsbook is in the middle of the Mohegan Sun Action. 11,000 square feet of space to enjoy two levels of self-bedding access, food, drink. There's a VIP lounge upstairs. Dozens of massive screens playing every single game that you need. So you can hang here with your friends, your family to enjoy the action while betting on your favorite teams and players. And if you're in Connecticut or, hey, traveling anywhere in the New England area, this is a must-see spot. You won't want to miss it. In less than two weeks, I have now been here twice already. You got to join us here at the Mohegan Sun Fandall Sportsbook Open seven days a week. This is your formal invitation to join us here. So let's get you set to place your bets here while you're here and back to basketball now to do that. We're handing out championship picks in just a second. But first, we've got to reveal which teams are going to make the final four. So guys, you're back in here. We're going to put the final four futures right there on your screen. Gonzaga, the odds-on favorite here to win their region. Baylor, the only number one seed not favored to win their part of the bracket. Guys, it's go time here. Give me your final four picks. Dave, you going off the board? You like something here? What do you think? I got one sort of semi-non-favorite team. But I'll start with Gonzaga. They're the heaviest favorite to make the final four at minus 135. They really don't have that tough of a schedule to do that. They're going through their bracket pretty easily. Yan on Gonzaga. Kentucky, you know, their talent rivals anybody's. When you look at Shibway, Taitai Washington, Wheeler, they've got some guys that can shoot the three. I think they're going to make a big run. This is their best offensive output that they've had in five years. When you go back to Malik Monk, the Aaron Fox, and Bam Atabayo, what team that was, by the way. And they didn't go all the way. But I think Kentucky gets through their bracket. Arizona plus 145. I know Ponies didn't sound like he likes that much. But boy, do they have some offensive scores. And then Iowa would kind of be my sleeper of a non-top team that's ranked, you know, outside the top four. They, to me, have the easiest path. That's my biggest price at plus 400. But I'm pretty chalky overall. Brace yourself, guys. I'm going to take Gonzaga to win the West in large part because, look, Chad Holmgren drew Timmy. That is the best front court in the country. I get that guard play matters in the tournament. But when you have a front court like that, it almost doesn't even matter. In the East, I'm also going to go with Kentucky. Second-best offensive rebounding rate because of Oscar Sheebley. Off-night shooting is not going to matter. They're going to get enough possessions to overwhelm just about anybody. In the South, I like the value play with Houston at plus 550. That second-best opponent effective field goals shooting percentage should mean they are at least favored to get to the sweet 16. Then they'll place in San Antonio, which is close to Helm. So not much distance traveled for Houston. So I like them there. And then the Midwest, I'm going to go with Chalk and Kansas at 2-1. Bill Self's high-low offense. It finally features some experience led by Occi Abachi. They finally have the personnel that I think can handle that high-low offense about as well as anybody. So Kansas makes the final four. Well, I'm going to try to give you guys value plays. These are things that I think can happen. Like Alabama here at 25-1. Nobody takes more threes than the Crimson Tide. So that's going to be my first pick here. They beat Gonzaga this year. I'm going with them 25-1 to go to the final four. Let's get the next one up here. Who do I got as my next team to get there? UCLA, the Pac-12. They brought four guys back from last year's final four team. I all played big minutes. I think UCLA can get there at six to one as a four seed. My third team in the final four. Dave, surprise. It's Arizona plus 145. They're a little Gonzaga. I like their path to get there. And my last pick to make it to the final four is Auburn. Jabari Smith, I think he comes alive in this tournament. He's probably the best player in college basketball. Here we go from the regional champion to the national champion. It's what everybody wants to know. Time to see which team our experts think will be cutting down those nets. So everybody back in here, guys. We're going to put the NCAA championship odds on your screen right there. Great stuff. You guys know what to do. Dave, let's hear your pick. I'm going with Kentucky. You know, I've liked them all year long. I think they have a really easy road to the final four. They're going to have to beat Gonzaga on their side. But if Kelly and Grady can get hot behind the arc, they have all the other pieces. I'll go with the cats. If you listen to more ways to win radio on Sunday, you heard me say that Gonzaga's value was there when it was close to four to one. But now at three to one, I don't like the value play. But I love it for Kansas at 11 to one. Look, there's so many things to like about Kansas here. You know, David McCormick, Remy Martin. There's enough depth there for Kansas to overwhelm just about any other opponent offensively. Somebody is going to step up for Kansas. I feel like they can get it done. I think the best value by far is Purdue. Kate and Ivy. I lived through it with a guy like Carmelo Anthony watching him win a national championship. He is good enough to carry the Boilermakers with three point shooting in Williams and the big seven for Edie inside 20 to one on the big 10 runner up to win it all. Great stuff, guys. Fandall is teaming up with Visible to help you win money just by watching March Madness and answering some questions about the games. Check it out. It's the Call Your Shot Pickham Contest presented by Visible, and it's free to enter. Just go to fandall.com slash free slash hub to lock in your answers for round one before the tournament games begin. If you get a certain number of questions right, you'll be eligible for a share of the $10,000 prize pool. Hey, and if you don't win during the first round, keep checking back before each round of games for a new set of questions and a new chance to win part of that prize pool. So go to fandall.com slash free slash hub this week and every week before the games start to enter the Call Your Shot Pickham Contest presented by Visible. Good luck and as always, have fun and thanks for playing with us. And before we let you go, we've got some breaking news here. Fandall Casino has a new offer for players 21 and older in New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Michigan, Connecticut, and West Virginia. The Casino 5 on 5 is here and you can score up to $25 in casino site credit. Here's how it works. Place a bet of $5 or more on the tournament. You're gonna get a $5 credit in your casino account. It is that easy. You can do that a total of five times during the NCAA tournament. Only one eligible bet is allowed per day. So make sure to come back each round and each matchup to continue to claim more. It is all there on the Fandall Casino app. All right, that is a wrap for that. Let's get to the women's. Let's get to the women's bracket as well, guys. Dave and Pony, come on in here. Let's get the women's odds on the screen as well because we are going to pick a women's championship that tournament underway as well. Dave, I'm gonna start with you. Who is winning for the women's side? Well, with the best player in the country, Caitlin Clark in Iowa, plus 4,000. I can see Baylor in South Carolina, but give me Maryland to get some value there. One seed usually wins. I'm gonna take the Louisville Cardinals. There you go. Give those ladies a little love. That's a wrap on the show. Let's March Madness begin, guys, for Dave, Ed and Pony. I'm Lisa Kearney. Thanks for hanging with us here. The Fandall sportsbook here at Mohican Sun. We're so excited to be in Connecticut. Tournament edition is underway, guys. We'll be back next week to get you ready for the Sweet 16. Catch our shows today and next week, leading you up to TIPA.