🏀 First Four Player Props: March Madness Prop Bets Today (March 17)

March Madness gets underway with tonight's two-game slate featuring UMBC-Howard and Texas-NC State in a First Four doubleheader.

I'm not here to tell you who will advance to Round 1 of the NCAA tournament, but I'm intent on setting the tone for a strong month with my First Four player props. I'm backing NC State forward Darrion Williams and fading Howard big man Cedric Taylor III as part of our March Madness predictions.

🏀 First Four player props today: March Madness (March 17)

See all of our experts' college basketball picks based on the latest college basketball odds; picks rated on a 1-to-5 star confidence scale based on betting value.

Total wagered: 2 units | Max profit: 2.14 units

💰 Best First Four player prop today

See all of our March Madness prop bets for the 2026 NCAA Tournament.

Cedric Taylor Under 16.5 points (+102)

Consider this a co-sign of Mike Spector's favorite player prop from his UMBC vs. Howard prediction.

The Retrievers have been a much better team since 6-foot-10 forward Jose Roberto Tanchyn joined the starting lineup in mid-January. They rank 26th in effective field goal percentage on defense, going 15-2 to finish the season.

With Tanchyn in the fold, UMBC should be able to slow down Howard big man Taylor, who hasn't cleared this scoring line in three straight contests. He's attempted more than 10 2-point shots just once in his previous nine outings.

This line is 15.5 at most of the best sports betting sites, so I love the +102 price at bet365 for Under 16.5 points.

🔥 More First Four prop bets today

See the latest March Madness odds for every team in the 2026 NCAA Tournament.

Darrion Williams Over 11.5 points (-120)

As mentioned in my Texas vs. NC State prediction, I bet on Williams to clear 11.5 points in Tuesday's First Four matchup.

Williams was held to 10 points on as many shots in the first meeting with Texas, but that was due to foul trouble. If he can avoid picking up cheap fouls in the rematch, I like his chances of burning the Longhorns' defense as a stretch big.

Williams has taken a team-best 26.8% of NC State's shots this season. He's scored at least 12 points in 18 of his 32 games. 

Darrion Williams Over 9.5 points & NC State ML (+140)

Given this is a small slate, I want to use the section for my final player prop to call out some special markets via our best sports betting apps during March Madness.

For example, FanDuel has alternate markets focused on parlaying two legs between a team to win and a player's alternate scoring line. These markets start at 15-plus points, but 20-plus and 25-plus point options are available.

In Williams' case, FanDuel offers a +320 value on him scoring 15-plus points in a win on Tuesday.

As tempting as that might be, a parlay of Williams scoring 10-plus points in an NC State victory is more attractive. The difference in implied probability between those two options is roughly 18%.

Williams has reached double figures in 65.6% of his games this season (vs. 40.6% for 15-plus points), so I'd rather target his floor than his ceiling in a game I like the Wolfpack to win.

🚀 Best First Four parlay picks today

My First Four parlay today focuses on Taylor and Williams, where I'm fading the former and backing the latter in the points market.

I've also added NC State moneyline to the parlay, given it's such a small slate, and that's the game I feel best about projecting the outcome. Either way, this parlay is only worth 0.1 units at FanDuel.

💡 How I'm betting the First Four today: March Madness strategy

Follow all of our college basketball analysis and expert predictions for March Madness.

I'm pacing myself for the tournament as there are so many college basketball games to bet on. That's why my approach is more reserved on Day 1. 

As a result, I'm only allocating two units between three plays, focusing on smaller players for plus-money props in hopes of maximizing my potential ROI, particularly when I think I have an edge.