2022 NCAA Tournament odds, lines, spreads, picks, predictions: Model backs Virginia Tech to cover in best bets

For the second consecutive year, the Gonzaga Bulldogs earned the top overall seed in the NCAA Tournament, but they remain in search of their first men’s basketball championship in program history. The Bulldogs grabbed the top seed in the West Region and will begin their quest in the 2022 NCAA Tournament on Friday at 4:15 p.m. ET when they take on the No. 16-seeded Georgia State Panthers at the Moda Center in Portland.

The Pac-12 champion Arizona Wildcats (31-3) are the No. 1 seed in the West Region and they start play Friday (7:27 p.m. ET) and will face No. 16 seed Wright State. Where are the best values in the 2022 NCAA Tournament odds for those matchups and others? Before locking in any college basketball picks, be sure to see the 2022 NCAA Tournament predictions from SportsLine’s proven computer model.

The SportsLine Projection Model simulates every Division I college basketball game 10,000 times. Over the past five-plus years, the proprietary computer model has generated an impressive profit of almost $1,500 for $100 players on its top-rated college basketball picks against the spread. Anyone who has followed it has seen massive returns.

Now, the model has locked in on the latest 2022 NCAA Tournament lines and released point-spread picks and over-under total selections for every first-round matchup. You can see those selections at SportsLine.

2022 NCAA Tournament first-round predictions

One of the model’s selections includes No. 11-seeded Virginia Tech Hokies (23-12) covering (+1) against the No. 6-seeded Texas Longhorns (21-11) in an East Regional first-round game Friday at 4:30 p.m. ET in Milwaukee. The model projects a 69-66 final score in favor of Virginia Tech.

The model knows the Hokies were firmly on the proverbial bubble last week heading into the ACC Tournament. But they finished it looking like one of the hottest teams in the country, winning four games in four days to capture their first conference tournament title and earn an automatic bid into the NCAA Tournament. They led wire-to-wire in an 82-67 victory over Duke in the title game.

The Longhorns started the season 12-2 but stumbled down the stretch with three consecutive losses heading into the NCAA Tournament. They were upset 65-60 by TCU in their first game in the Big 12 Tournament last week.

How to make 2022 NCAA Tournament picks

The model also has made the call on every other 2022 NCAA Tournament first-round game and its results include several outright upsets by team that could be headed toward memorable Cinderella runs. You can only get spread and total picks for every 2022 NCAA Tournament game at SportsLine.

So what 2022 NCAA Tournament first-round spread picks can you make with confidence? And which underdogs should you be all over? Check out the odds below, then visit SportsLine to see which teams win and cover the spread, all from a proven computer model that has returned over $1,500 in profit over the past five-plus seasons, and find out.