The wait is over and March Madness is here!

While the Super Bowl is the biggest betting day in the United States, the NCAA Tournament is the most wagered on sporting event.

Bottom line: A lot of money will be bet on college basketball games over the next few weeks. 

One thing to keep in mind: This is the toughest time to bet on college basketball.

People like me who have been betting college hoops since November no longer have the same edges we did during the first few months.

When there are 100 games on a Tuesday featuring multiple conferences, it’s easier for bettors who follow the sport closely to find value in the numbers.

That’s no longer the case. 

Because the lines are so tight, remember there are more ways to be on these games than just sides and totals.

This time of year, I like to look at team totals, game props and player props to find edges.

Most of my strong leans on the spread are in Friday’s matchups, so for Thursday, I attacked one game a little differently. 

Here is one bet a little off the radar worth making: 

This is a bad draw for a Colgate team that likes to push the pace.

The other issue the Raiders have is they are an awful defensive team. 

Colgate’s defense enters Thursday’s matchup ranked a dismal 254th in effective field goal percentage, 241st in 3-point field goal percentage and 240th in two-point field goal percentage, according to KenPom.

Those numbers look even worse when you consider the Raiders played one of the easiest schedules in college basketball (Ranked 335 out of 363 on KenPom). 

The other thing to remember is the Patriot League was down this season.

Colgate’s defensive metrics are this bad, despite every Patriot League team ranking 200th or worse in offensive efficiency.

What do you think Texas is going to do? The answer is pretty much anything it wants. 

The key to hitting a high team total is getting easy buckets.

According to Haslametrics, Texas ranks 53rd in midrange field goal percentage and 24th in near-proximity (dunks, layups, tip-ins) field goal percentage.

Meanwhile, Colgate’s defense ranks 319th and 295th in those categories.

The Longhorns should dominate both in the paint and driving to the rim for easy baskets. 

Colgate went 0-2 against tournament teams, losing 73-72 to Vermont and 93-66 to Auburn. Auburn — a team built similar to Texas — shot a sizzling 55 percent in that game.

If the Tigers didn’t shoot 56 percent from the foul line, they would have topped 100 points for fun. 

In 2021, Colgate played Arkansas in the NCAA Tournament.

The Raiders got off to a strong start but eventually wore down in the second half, losing 85-68.

In that game, the Hogs put up 49 points after halftime.

Depth could be an issue once again for Colgate.

The Raiders rank just 307th in bench minutes, while the deeper Horns rank 112th. 

Finally, I like the team total over here because I think we get it regardless of how the game ends up.

If Texas blows out Colgate, we’re in good shape.

If the Raiders keep it close, it will almost certainly be a high- scoring game where they are shooting the lights out from 3.

Either way, we will be in position to cash Texas over 81.5 points.