March Madness is upon us! The 2025 NCAA Tournament officially began with the First Four games, but now we get to the fun part: 16 games on Thursday, 16 games on Friday, and this is where the madness occurs. 

Thursday’s action begins at 12:15 p.m. ET when Louisville takes on Creighton in an 8/9 seed showdown. The fun doesn’t stop until about 12 hours later at the conclusion of UNC Wilmington vs. Texas Tech (10:10 p.m. ET estimated start time). 

Bookies.com senior handicapper Adam Thompson has surveyed Thursday’s 16 games of action and has unearthed three matchups he’ll be parlaying and playing individually. The picks have already been posted at bookies+. 

First-Round Parlays

High Point at Purdue

Time: 12:40 p.m. ET

Pick: Purdue -7.5

Statistically and in terms of style, these teams are pretty similar. That’s not good news for High Point, which had the 209th-ranked schedule (Purdue’s was 11th). The Boilermakers have not been a good road team, and Providence is nowhere near West Lafayette. But I look for grit and talent to win out. Purdue has been a 4 seed or higher for seven straight years. It’s lost twice but all the wins were by double-figures, most blowout blowouts. 

VCU at BYU

Time: 4:05 p.m. ET

Pick: VCU +3.5

VCU whipped the Atlantic-10, suffering just two defeats since the turn of the new year. The Rams also beat Colorado State by 8. BYU struggled against the more tenacious defenses in the Big 12, going 1-5 vs. Houston, Cincinnati, and Texas Tech. Few teams are as frenetic on that side out of court as VCU. We’ll take the team favored by more than a long-distance shot.

Drake at Missouri

Time: 7:35 p.m. ET

Pick: Drake +7

Underestimating Drake has not paid off, as the Bulldogs are 6-0 ATS when getting points all season. The team hasn’t allowed over 61 points in eight straight games and has won 18 of 19 in the competitive Missouri Valley. No conference was as tough as the SEC, but Missouri comes in having lost four of five and was not the same team outside of Columbia. Fans tend to favor the underdogs in close games, and this game should be close.