My bets for this weekend in Vegas

This weekend is the first weekend of March Madness, and I'm off to Vegas. Never been there on such a big betting weekend, but I'm coming prepared. I've done a lot of research the last couple days, read a lot of other people's locks, and put together a few locks of my own.

We're getting in Thursday night, so I'll miss Thursday's games, but here are my bets for Friday, and a little reasoning behind them.

Bet: (8) Michigan over (9) Tennessee straight up
Line: Tenn favored by 2 points

I think Michigan will win this game actually. But overall this season, and especially as underdogs, Michigan has done very well against the spread. It doesn't make sense to pick them to cover at +2, so I'll take them to win.

Bet: (2) Notre Dame over (15) Akron with the points
Line: ND favored by 13.5

Notre Dame is a very strong team that puts bad teams away by much more than 14. Plus, they're only traveling 96 miles to their first round game, the shortest distance of any team, meaning it will be all ND fans. Plus, Akron struggled with bad teams throughout their conference tournament, and Temple beat them by 35 earlier this year. Notre Dame wins easily, I say by 25.

Bet: (15) Long Island to cover against (2) North Carolina
Line: UNC favored by 17.5

This is a serious no brainer. They saw Duke blow out UNC, so they'll study that film. They are also 4th in the country in PPG (82.6). 17.5 points is way too high for a team that scores that well, so while UNC will win, it won't be by 18 or more. LIU to cover.

Bet: (13) Oakland to cover against (4) Texas
Line: Texas favored by 9.5

A lot of people are actually taking Oakland to upset Texas. While I don't think that will happen, I do think it will be close. Oakland is 2nd in the country in PPG (85.6) and FG% (.494), so they will get their points. They are also a very hot ATS team, which is usually a better indicator of how well they're playing lately. Oakland to cover.

Bet: (1) Kansas over (16) Boston U with the points
Line: Kansas favored by 22.5

Kansas went out early last year in a shocker. This year will be a statement. I have them winning it all, but for this specific matchup, I think they blow them out. Boston U is pretty good ATS, but Kentucky beat them by 35 earlier this season, which I feel this game will look like. Plus, in the past 4 tourneys, the average margin of victory for 1 seeds over 16 seeds is 29.3 points. Kansas with the points.

Bet: (8) UNLV over (9) Illinois with the points
Line: UNLV favored by 2

I wouldn't be surprised if Illinois gets blown out here. UNLV is great ATS, Illinois is terrible. These programs are headed 2 separate ways. UNLV is peaking and Illinois is plummeting. UNLV with the points all day.

Thos are the locks that I'll be throwing money on without hesitation. Some others I want to take are (8) George Mason over (9) Villanova with the points, (6) Xavier over (11) Marquette with the points, (11) USC/VCU to cover against (6) Georgetown, (12) Memphis to cover against (5) Arizona, and (14) St. Peters to cover against (3) Purdue. All these will be game time decisions. With 6 locks, I'm already putting a lot of money out there, and then there's always Saturday and Sunday games.

If you have any picks of your own or suggestions, let me know. Happy March Madness!