Memphis vs. Boise State Bracket Prediction: March Madness Odds
The good news is that the winner of the NCAA Tournament West Region matchup Thursday afternoon from Portland, Oregon, between No. 9 Memphis and No. 8 Boise State will advance to Round 2. The bad news: Almost surely against tournament favourite Gonzaga. Memphis is -2.5 on the college basketball odds for Thursday.
Memphis Tigers vs. Boise State Broncos NCAA Tournament Point Spread and Betting
Being seeded eighth or ninth is often the worst place to be in the Big Dance among the middle seeds because it means you have to face the region’s top seed in a quick turnaround in the second round.
Since 1985, No. 9 seeds are 73-71 all-time against No. 8 seeds. Last year, three No. 8s won, but in 2019 all four No. 9s did. The last time the 8s swept all four was in 2015. The last time they split the four matchups was in 2013.
To win the West Region, No. 8 Memphis is +2389 and No. 9 Boise State is +3384. We do have recent history go off between these two as they met in the 2021 NIT quarterfinals in Texas. Memphis won 59-56. There are several key players back on both sides.
Memphis Tigers (9)
Coach Penny Hardaway brought in the top-rated freshman recruiting Class of 2021 at Memphis (21-10), but one of those touted recruits, Emoni Bates, didn’t work out. He hasn’t played since Jan. 27 due to a back injury and didn’t look anywhere the hype when he did. Bates is not expected back in the NCAA Tournament.
Fellow freshman Jalen Duren has been excellent in averaging 12.2 points and 8.1 rebounds and should be an NBA lottery pick this summer. Memphis was 9-8 at one point and looked rudderless but has only lost twice since and had two wins over 2021 Final Four team Houston, although the Cougars got payback in the AAC Tournament title game. Memphis is making its 27th NCAA Tournament in school history and first since 2014. The Tigers are 10-3 ATS in their past 13 games.
Boise State Broncos (8)
Who says Boise State (27-7) is a football school? The Broncos won both the Mountain West regular-season and tournament titles, just the fifth team in Mountain West history to win the outright regular-season title and the conference tournament championship in the same season. It was also the Broncos’ first time winning both an outright conference title and a conference tournament championship since 1988 when they were in Big Sky. The 27 wins are a school record.
Forward Abu Kigab (14.7 ppg, 5.8 rpg) and guard Marcus Shaver Jr. (13.6 ppg) were each named second-team All-Mountain West, and forward Tyson Degenhart (9.9 ppg) was named the MW Freshman of the Year. Boise State has played in the NCAA Tournament seven times, last in 2015. It has yet to win a game in the Big Dance. The Broncos are 7-1 ATS in their past eight as underdogs.
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