🏀 Best March Madness Upset Picks Today: First Round Underdog Plays for Friday (March 20)

None of our college basketball experts are picking a moneyline underdog to win outright on Friday, but our March Madness upset picks today feature two lower seeds to advance in bracket upsets and six ATS underdogs worth backing to cover the spread. For more NCAA tournament coverage, check out all of our March Madness predictions.

We also broke down all of the best March Madness player props for the full Friday slate.

🔥 Best March Madness ATS underdog picks today

See all of our March Madness predictions today for odds and picks every game.

Cal Baptist +14.5 (-110) vs. No. 4 Kansas (9:45 p.m. ET, CBS) ⭐⭐⭐

Wood projects a five-point Kansas win, well inside the number, as two elite defensive teams meet in a glacial-paced game.

"My best Cal Baptist vs. Kansas prediction for the tilt at Viejas Arena in San Diego focuses on the defensive efficiency of both teams. Kansas is favored by 14.5, but in what I expect to be a low-scoring March Madness game, Cal Baptist is being undervalued by oddsmakers. Both of these teams rank in the top 50 in defensive efficiency, according to KenPom. And what makes this stat even more impactful is how slow both teams play. KenPom ranks Kansas 164th in adjusted tempo, while Cal Baptist is even worse, ranking 265th."

➡️ Full Cal Baptist vs. Kansas prediction

Furman +20.5 (-110) vs. No. 2 UConn (10:00 p.m. ET, TBS) ⭐⭐⭐

Wood's score projection (UConn 71, Furman 55) puts the Huskies well inside the number, and a 2-2 stretch run makes the spread hard to trust.

"The Huskies are the 20.5-point betting favorite, and while they should win this game easily, I'm worried about how close the final score will be after they were blown out in the Big East final. UConn is just 2-2 in its last four games, too inconsistent to trust covering a 20.5-point spread."

➡️ Full Furman vs. UConn prediction

🏀 More March Madness predictions today (Friday, March 20)