First March Madness Game 2019: Matchups and Final Scores
The first games of the 2019 NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Tournament took place on March 19, 2019, across multiple venues in the United States. The tournament opened with four first-round matchups, including No. 16 seed Fairleigh Dickinson vs. No. 1 seed Purdue, No. 16 seed North Carolina Central vs. No. 1 seed Duke, No. 16 seed Gardner-Webb vs. No. 1 seed Virginia, and No. 16 seed UMBC vs. No. 1 seed Kansas. Final scores and results were reported by major sports outlets and the NCAA official site, with UMBC making history as the first No. 16 seed to defeat a No. 1 seed in tournament history. More details on the first round results can be found on the official NCAA tournament page at https://www.ncaa.com/basketball-men/d1.
Key First Round Results and Upsets
UMBC defeated Virginia 74-54 in the South Region, marking the first time a No. 16 seed beat a No. 1 seed in the men's tournament. In the Midwest Region, No. 11 seed Oregon defeated No. 6 seed Wisconsin 72-65, while No. 11 seed Ole Miss beat No. 6 seed Oklahoma 72-64. In the East Region, No. 11 seed UCF defeated No. 6 seed VCU 73-58, and No. 11 seed Arizona State lost to No. 6 seed Buffalo 89-68. The West Region saw No. 12 seed Oregon State upset No. 5 seed Tennessee 70-67 and No. 12 seed New Mexico State beat No. 5 seed Clemson 79-66. These results shaped early tournament betting lines and influenced point spread movements tracked by major sportsbooks and data providers such as ESPN, which reported detailed first round odds and results at https://www.espn.com/ncaa/basketball/.
Betting Lines, Odds, and Market Impact for the First Games
Pre-game betting lines for the first March Madness games in 2019 reflected heavy favorites in the No. 1 vs. No. 16 matchups, with Virginia favored by 11.5 points over UMBC and Purdue favored by 9.5 points over Fairleigh Dickinson. Sportsbooks including DraftKings and FanDuel posted initial lines that shifted slightly after injury reports and recent performance data, with UMBC's upset causing significant payout adjustments across platforms. The first round produced multiple upsets and cover results that affected over-under totals and parlay cards, leading to increased betting volume on later rounds. For a broader view of how early results influenced sports betting markets, Forbes covered the financial impact of March Madness upsets and betting trends at https://www.forbes.com/sites/.
Spread Movement and Public Betting Trends
Public betting percentages in the first round skewed heavily toward favored teams, but sharp money moved toward underdogs such as UMBC and Oregon State before tip-off. Line movements on major platforms showed Virginia's spread tightening from 11.5 to 10.5 points as late injury news emerged, while Kansas opened as a 16.5-point favorite against UMBC before adjusting slightly. Sportsbooks tracked handle and hold percentages closely, with parlay tickets including first-round upsets generating higher payouts and increased secondary market interest