Virginia Opens As Massive Favorite Over Wright State In First Round March Madness Matchup

The brackets are set and March Madness will commence this weekend.

Virginia earned the No. 3 seed in the Midwest Region and will open up NCAA Tournament play against the Horizon League Champions, the Wright State Raiders. Virginia is coming off of a near ACC Championship win over No. 1 overall seed Duke and hopes to build off the way they were playing in Charlotte when they head to Philadelphia this weekend.

The opening odds for this game are already set up as well. According to Fanduel Sportsbook, Virginia is going to be an 18.5-point favorite over the Raiders on Friday, and the total has been set at 145.5.

UVA will make its 27th overall NCAA Tournament appearance and first since earning a No. 10 seed and First Four berth in the 2024 NCAA Tournament.

The winner of the Virginia-Wright State first-round game will meet No. 6 seed Tennessee (22-11), No. 11 seed Miami (OH) (31-1) or No. 11 seed SMU (20-13).

Virginia has compiled a 35-25 all-time record in 26 NCAA Tournament appearances. The Cavaliers went 35-3 en route to the 2019 NCAA championship. UVA also advanced to the NCAA Final Four in 1981 and 1984.

Looking at the path

If Virginia is going to surprise and make a deep run to the Final Four, they are going to have to go through some really tough teams.

If they make it past Wright State on Friday, any of the opponents they could face on Sunday will be challenging. Tennessee was the No. 5 seed in the SEC Tournament and has one of the best defenses in the country, as well as one of the most talented freshmen in the country in Nate Ament. If it is indeed the Volunteers as the second round opponent, it will be a tough, grind it out type of game.

Assuming the Cavaliers face the highest possible seed in each round, then they will be facing No. 2 seed Iowa State in the Sweet Sixteen next week. Iowa State is the No. 6 team on KenPom and has the No. 4 defensive rating. This will be another tough, defensive matchup in the Midwest region, which is the theme of the entire region.

Anything is possible in March, but I think Virginia will likely face No. 1 seeded Michigan in the Elite Eight. Michigan had a disappointing result today against Purdue in the Big Ten Championship, but this team still has a frontcourt of Morez Johnson, Aday Mara, and Yaxel Lendeborg, all projected first-round picks in this year.

Virginia is not going to be a popular pick to make a deep run in this year's tournament, but they have the defense and the three point shooting to be a surprise team that reaches the Final Four.

Game odds refresh periodically and are subject to change.
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