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March Madness Predictions Today: Expert Picks & Exact Score for Every NCAA Tournament Game

C Jackson Cowart

Last Updated: March 20, 2025 10:21 PM EDT • 1 min 41 sec read.

March Madness Predictions Today: Thursday's Expert Picks & Exact Score for Every Game
Pictured: Texas Tech Red Raiders guard Elijah Hawkins (3) brings the ball up court. Photo by William Purnell / Imagn Images.

The wait is finally over! March Madness has arrived with the NCAA Tournament first-round games tipping off today at 12:15 p.m. ET and continuing until the clock strikes midnight.

We have you covered from every angle with our March Madness predictions today, including our best picks against the spread and exact score predictions for all 16 games to open the 2025 NCAA Tournament. Buckle up.

👉 Can't get enough March Madness action? Check out the rest of our March Madness first-round expert picks as part of our March Madness predictions.

💰 March Madness predictions, NCAA Tournament odds & expert picks today

📅 Check out the full March Madness first-round schedule & opening odds.

A custom graphic of our March Tourney Survivor contest with $1,000 cash to the winner!
A custom graphic of our March Tourney Survivor contest with $1,000 cash to the winner!

🏀 Texas Tech vs. UNC Wilmington prediction (10:42 p.m. ET, truTV)

✅ Texas Tech to cover the spread: -15.5 ⭐⭐⭐⭐
🎯 Score prediction: Texas Tech 82, UNC Wilmington 60

Here's why Isaiah Sirois is picking Texas Tech to cover the spread (+8.5):

"If you go into March Madness expecting every double-digit seed to compete, you will be disappointed. Some will -  but most will wilt against truly elite competition.

Texas Tech ranks a solid 54th in 3-point percentage since February 1, but, more importantly, they rank 12th in 3-point rate at 50.3%. More than half their shots come from beyond the arc. Through that same sample, UNC Wilmington ranks 310th in opponent 3-point rate—and 301st at opponent 3-point percentage."

👉 For more analysis, check out our Texas Tech vs. UNC Wilmington prediction.

📊 Texas Tech vs. UNC Wilmington odds

🏀 Best March Madness odds, predictions & expert picks today

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Written By:
C Jackson Cowart
C Jackson Cowart is a publishing editor and lead writer for Sportsbook Review. An award-winning writer, reporter, and editor with a decade of sports media experience, "C-Jax" has worked with ESPN, Forbes, theScore, and various daily newspapers before joining the Sportsbook Review team. He's a proud graduate of the University of North Carolina, where he served as a beat writer for the Tar Heels' championship run through the NCAA men's basketball tournament in 2017. Jackson has spent the last five years covering sports betting as a predictive analyst, features writer, and industry reporter. Since joining the team in 2023, he's played a key role in Sportsbook Review's coverage of the Super Bowl, March Madness, and NBA playoffs while serving as the lead writer for the growing WNBA and NASCAR betting scenes. Though he's cashed some big bets over the years -- including Lamar Jackson to win MVP (twice) -- he's still haunted by enough second-place bet slips to wallpaper his home office. While Jackson is a committed "process over results" bettor with a keen eye for advanced stats and subtle bias in futures markets, he also embraces sports betting as a vehicle for entertainment and personal investment. He's written about everything from hot dogs to groundhogs and still hasn't forgiven his "inside source" for a sabotaged bet on the Gatorade color in Super Bowl LV.