Virginia vs Furman NCAA Tournament Round 1: How to watch, odds and predictions for March Madness

The well-balanced Virginia Cavaliers (25-7) are coming off an ACC title game loss at the hands of Duke and have a first-round matchup against Furman Paladins (27-7), who will be making their first NCAA Tournament appearance since 1980 after capturing the Southern Conference championship.

This No. 4 vs No. 13 clash will feature the nation’s 11-best scoring offense in Furman (82.1 PPG) and the ninth-best scoring defense in Virginia (60.5 PPG allowed) in what’s likely to result in a lot of folks making this a popular upset pick on Thursday at 12:40 p.m. ET in Orlando, FL.

The Cavaliers have lost two of their last three Round of 64 games (No. 16 seed UMBC in 2018 and No. 13 seed Ohio in 2021), but they also ripped through one of the hardest conferences in the country and compiled a 15-5 record in ACC play with a tremendous defense anchored by Reece Beekman and Kadin Shedrick. Not to mention, a national title was sandwiched in between those two early tourney exits.

Furman shared the Southern Conference regular season title with Samford before its conference tournament victory. The Paladins’ out-of-conference schedule wasn’t exactly overwhelming, but Belmont, Penn State, South Carolina, App State and NC State offer NCAA Tournament-esque challenges. Plus, Furman has four players averaging 18, 15.7, 12 and 10.6 points per game. They’ll be ready to shoot no matter the defense they face.

How to watch Virginia vs Furman in the NCAA Tournament Round 1

Date: Thursday, March 16
Time: 12:40 pm ET
Channel: CBS
Streaming: NCAA March Madness Live, fuboTV
Announcers: Kevin Harlan, Matt Bonner, Stan Van Gundy and Lauren Shehadi

Virginia vs Furman NCAA Tournament Round 1 odds

According to FanDuel Sportsbook, Virginia is a 5.5 favorite (-110) and -240 on the moneyline. Furman at +5.5 is also -110 and their +195 figure on the moneyline nearly pays 2:1. The over/under checks in at 131.5, with the over at -115 and the under at -105.

Virginia vs Furman NCAA Tournament Round 1 prediction

Yes, Virginia’s track record in the ACC was impressive … but the conference, though always tough, only had two other teams ranked in the top 25 when the season ended (Duke and Miami), with others like UNC failing to meet expectations and Louisville being one of the worst in the entire country. UVA’s defense is very good, but they weren’t exactly challenged from start to finish.

We’ll join the upset bandwagon and pull for Furman’s first NCAA Tournament victory since the 1973-1974 season.

Furman 74, Virginia 72