Preview: No. 7 Rhode Island (25-7) Vs. No. 10 Oklahoma (18-13)
When: Thursday, March 15 at 12:15 p.m. ET
Watch: CBS
Live Stream: March Madness Live
Point Spread: Rhode Island -2
Analysis And Pick: The 2018 NCAA Tournament tips off with an exciting matchup in the Midwest region between the No. 7 Rhode Island Rams and No. 10 Oklahoma Sooners. There was speculation that the latter team would not even make the Big Dance, only winning two of their 10 games since the calendar flipped to February. Regardless, star freshman guard Trae Young and his squad did enough to impress the committee within their new quadrants system of picking at-large schools to invite and now the Sooners have a chance to return to form during March Madness.
It won’t be easy, as the Rams are favored in this one for a reason. They are great at avoiding giveaways on offense—ranking within the top-20 in the nation—and creating turnovers defensively, averaging 7.5 steals per game. There are five seniors that see the court for this veteran group, all seeking to end their collegiate careers on a high note. It’s worth noting that Rhode Island can get cold from the three-point line at times and misses more than a quarter of their foul shots, two holes in its game that could come back to haunt the program at this time of year.
The Sooners’ hopes rest squarely on Young. He’s the NCAA’s leading scorer and set-up man, having averaged 27.4 points and 8.8 assists per game during the 2017-18 campaign. He’s sure to face a swarming defense that will send constant pressure his way as the Rams look to neutralize the only potent weapon on Oklahoma’s roster. If the freshman can successfully navigate that, OU should be well on its way to the second round.
Barstool Sports’ Big Cat believes Young will drop more than 30 points in a losing effort:
Trae Young is going to score 35 in a first round L
— Big Cat (@BarstoolBigCat) March 11, 2018
Getting a big game out of Young and winning has been easier said than done over the last month-and-a-half. It’s even more concerning if Young is rendered ineffective and can’t find the bottom of the net. No one else on this OU team has shown they can pick up the slack on a consistent basis. The team’s second-leading scorer, junior Christian James, averages a mere 12.1 points per game and won’t be able to generate enough buckets to will this side to victory. Freshman Brady Manek, 10.4 PPG, is the only other Sooner averaging double-digits during the 2017-18 campaign.
The key number here for Oklahoma is 85. The school is a sterling 15-0 when it scores that many points and an abysmal 3-13 when it doesn’t. Young is going to do everything in his power to get to that mark, but whether or not the Sooners attain it will come down to the performance of his teammates. If at least one of them of them can get hot and help out Young, who has only been averaging 21.2 points per game since February, they’ll actually have a legit shot at getting back on track.
Jon Price of SportsInformationTraders.com doesn’t think the Sooners will find that second star in March, putting the Rams through on his bracket. The Vegas expert believes that Young has been figured out and there’s enough tape on how to contain the prolific guard. Oklahoma was one of the best stories in the early portion of the campaign, but hasn’t shown up in months. The program went 4-11 to close the year and lost by double-digits to rival Oklahoma State in a critical Big 12 Tournament showdown. Bettors should lay the points with Rhode Island, which will dance into the weekend with a big win on Thursday.
Pick: URI -1.5
2018 NCAA Tournament First Round Schedule And Odds
| Time (ET) | Matchup (TV) | Odds |
| First Round (Round of 64) | ||
| Thursday, March 15 | ||
| 12:15 p.m. | No. 10 Oklahoma vs No. 7 Rhode Island (CBS) | URI -1.5 |
| 12:40 p.m. | No. 14 Wright State vs No. 3 Tennessee (truTV) | TENN -12 |
| 1:30 p.m. | No. 13 UNC Greensboro vs No. 4 Gonzaga (TNT) | GONZ -12.5 |
| 2 p.m. | No. 16 Penn vs No. 1 Kansas (TBS) | KU -14.5 |
| 2:45 p.m. | No. 15 Iona vs No. 2 Duke (CBS) | DUKE -20 |
| 3:10 p.m. | No. 11 Loyola Chicago vs No. 6 Miami (truTV) | MIA -3 |
| 4 p.m. | No. 12 South Dakota State vs No. 5 Ohio State (TNT) | OSU -7 |
| 4:20 p.m. | No. 9 NC State vs No. 8 Seton Hall (TBS) | HALL -2 |
| 6:50 p.m. | No. 16 Radford vs. No. 1 Villanova (TNT) | NOVA -20.5 |
| 7:10 p.m. | No. 12 Davidson vs No. 5 Kentucky (CBS) | UK -7 |
| 7:20 p.m. | No. 11 San Diego State vs No. 6 Houston (TBS) | HOU -3 |
| 7:27 p.m. | No. 14 Stephen F. Austin vs No. 3 Texas Tech (truTV) | TTU -11 |
| 9:20 p.m. | No. 9 Alabama vs No. 8 Virginia Tech (TNT) | VT -2 |
| 9:40 p.m. | No. 13 Buffalo vs No. 4 Arizona (CBS) | ARIZ -9 |
| 9:50 p.m. | No. 14 Montana vs No. 3 Michigan (TBS) | MICH -12 |
| 9:57 p.m. | No. 11 St. Bonaventure vs. No. 6 Florida (truTV) | UF -5.5 |
| Friday, March 16 | ||
| 12:15 p.m. | No. 10 Providence vs No. 7 Texas A&M (CBS) | TAMU -3 |
| 12:40 p.m. | No. 15 CS Fullerton vs No. 2 Purdue (truTV) | PUR -21 |
| 1:30 p.m. | No. 13 Marshall vs No. 4 Wichita State (TNT) | WICH -12.5 |
| 2 p.m. | No. 15 Georgia Stage vs No. 2 Cincinnati (TBS) | CIN -16.5 |
| 2:45 p.m. | No. 15 Lipscomb vs No. 2 North Carolina (CBS) | UNC -18 |
| 3:10 p.m. | No. 10 Butler vs No. 7 Arkansas (truTV) | ARK -1 |
| 4 p.m. | No. 12 Murray State vs No 5 West Virginia (TNT) | WVU -9 |
| 4:30 p.m. | No. 10 Texas vs No. 7 Nevada (TBS) | NEV -1 |
| 6:50 p.m. | No. 9 Kansas State vs No. 8 Creighton (TNT) | CREI -2 |
| 7:10 p.m. | No. 14 Bucknell vs No. 3 Michigan State (CBS) | MSU -13.5 |
| 7:20 p.m. | No. 16 Texas Southern vs. No. 1 Xavier (TBS) | TBD |
| 7:27 p.m. | No. 13 College of Charleston vs No. 4 Auburn (truTV) | AUB -11 |
| 9:20 p.m. | No. 16 UMBC vs No. 1 Virginia (TNT) | UVA -22.5 |
| 9:40 p.m. | No. 11 Syracuse vs. No. 6 TCU (CBS) | TBD |
| 9:50 p.m. | No. 9 Florida State vs. No. 8 Missouri (TBS) | MIZZ -1.5 |
| 9:57 p.m. | No. 12 New Mexico State vs No. 5 Clemson (truTV) | CLEM -4 |
All games streaming via March Madness Live
NCAA Tournament Odds Via BetDSI Sportsbook
2018 NCAA Tournament Bracket
Printable March Madness bracket can be found here
