Best March Madness Survivor Pool Picks Today: Ranking Every NCAA Tournament Team on Day 2
The first day of March Madness is over, but there's so much more potential for jaw-dropping outcomes as we head into Day 2, which is why selecting a survivor pick carefully is so important.
Although there aren't quite as many obvious teams to back as yesterday, our best March Madness survivor pool picks today target a No. 4 seed with a future NBA lottery pick and a No. 3 seed that was viewed as an NCAA tournament championship contender not long ago.
👉 Want to win your March Madness survivor pool? We broke down the survivor pool basics and offered our best survivor pool tips & strategy.
🎯 Best March Madness survivor pool picks today: NCAA Tournament Day 2
| Ranking | Team (seed) | Matchup (seed) |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Maryland (4) | vs. Grand Canyon (14) |
| 2 | Iowa State (3) | vs. Lipscomb (14) |
| 3 | Kentucky (3) | vs. Troy (14) |
| 4 | Arizona (4) | vs. Akron (13) |
| 5 | Oregon (5) | vs. Liberty (12) |
| 6 | Illinois (6) | vs. Xavier (6) |
| 7 | Saint Mary's (7) | vs. Vanderbilt (10) |
| 8 | Michigan State (2) | vs. Bryant (15) |
| 9 | Alabama (2) | vs. Robert Morris (15) |
| 10 | Florida (1) | vs. Norfolk State (16) |
| 11 | Duke (1) | vs. Mount St. Mary's (16) |
| 12 | UConn (8) | vs. Oklahoma (9) |
| 13 | Ole Miss (6) | vs. North Carolina (11) |
| 14 | Memphis (5) | vs. Colorado State (12) |
| 15 | Baylor (9) | vs. Mississippi State (8) |
| 16 | New Mexico (10) | vs. Marquette (7) |
👉 Looking for more March Madness action? Check out the rest of our March Madness first-round expert picks as part of our March Madness predictions.
✅ Best survivor pool pick today: Maryland
In a similar vein to our top survivor pick option on Day 1 of March Madness, Wisconsin, who beat Montana by 19, Maryland is an ideal candidate to target today because they have such an obvious size and skill advantage. They also aren't a team we need to worry about saving for too long, with them likely to face Florida in the Sweet 16.
Led by Derik Queen, one of the top March Madness NBA draft prospects, the Terapins had a strong argument to be a No. 3 seed. Even with rumors swirling that head coach Kevin Willard may leave for Villanova, his Terps are among these eight teams that will win the NCAA Tournament because of their ability on both ends.
Grand Canyon just doesn't have anyone capable of slowing Queen, nor the guard combo of Ja'Kobi Gillespie and Rodney Rice. The Terps are rated No. 12 by KenPom while Grand Canyon is No. 95.
📊 Maryland's odds to beat Grand Canyon: -556 via Caesars | Implied probability: 84.76%
🛡️ Safest survivor pool pick today: Iowa State
The biggest reason Iowa State is a slightly safer play than Maryland, despite playing a better low-major, is because most of this Iowa State team has been here before after reaching the Sweet 16 in TJ Otzelberger's third season with the program last year.
Something else to consider when taking the Cyclones is the fact that Keshon Gilbert is done for the season and Tamin Lipsey is banged up with his availability for the NCAA Tournament in question. That makes an already volatile team too risky to back after the first round, so there's no reason to be worried about burning Iowa State early.
Even with the injuries to Gilbert and Lipsey, Iowa State should expose a Lipscomb defense that's 101st in adjusted efficiency while shutting down the Bisons explosive offense - the Cyclones are ninth in adjusted defensive efficiency.
📊 Iowa State's odds to beat Lipscomb: -1400 via bet365 | Implied probability: 93.33%
⚠️ Riskiest survivor pool pick today: Saint Mary's
I'm going back to the West Coast Conference well today for my riskiest survivor pool pick by taking a WCC team I think should beat an SEC program, but isn't the most obvious choice simply do to the seeding. On Day 1, I went with No. 8 seed Gonzaga over No. 9 seed Georgia, and Mark Few's team won 89-68.
Saint Mary's likely won't trounce Vanderbilt nearly as badly, but getting away with using a No. 8 and No. 7 seed on the first two days of a March Madness survivor pool would put you in a best-case scenario situation. The Gaels will likely play Alabama in the second round too, so it's not like you need to save them for later.
With a ferocious defense, a talented lead guard in Augustas Marciulionis, and plenty of length between Mitchell Saxen and Paulius Murauskas, Vanderbilt should struggle. The Commodores' defense is an issue and Mark Byington's team lacks size.
📊 Saint Mary's odds to beat Vanderbilt: -184 via FanDuel | Implied probability: 64.79%
🚫 Popular March Madness survivor pool picks to avoid today
| Ranking | Team (seed) | Matchup (seed) |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Duke (1) | vs. Mount St. Mary's (16) |
| 2 | Florida (1) | vs. Norfolk State (16) |
| 3 | Alabama (2) | vs. Robert Morris (2) |
| 4 | UConn (8) | vs. Oklahoma (9) |
| 5 | Marquette (7) | vs. New Mexico (10) |
❌ Worst survivor pool pick today: Duke
Duke is going to beat Mount St. Mary's today, likely by a significant margin. So while the Blue Devils aren't a pick that will knock you out of the survivor pool, they are a wasted one that will haunt you in the coming weekends of the NCAA Tournament.
The Blue Devils are the most talented team in the country and the March Madness odds favorites. So why waste them now when there's plenty of solid options out there that will advance you while not hurting your long-run prospects?
Cooper Flagg is set to return today, and the Wooden Award odds favorite should have Duke cruising to the Final Four at worst. You're going to need to back Jon Scheyer's team much later in March Madness if you're going to win your survivor pool.
📊 Duke's odds to beat Mount St. Mary's: -10000 via BetMGM | Implied probability: 99.01%
⛔ Other survivor pool picks to avoid today
- It's pretty much the exact same thought process with Florida as it is with Duke; these teams are way too good to be wasting now
- Although Alabama isn't on the same level as the Blue Devils and Gators when it comes to consistency, they Crimson Tide shouldn't be touched until at least the second round
- Given that UConn has won back-to-back NCAA Tournament titles, the Huskies might be a popular pick early for those trying to set themselves up well, but UConn is too risky with its sketchy defense
- Despite Kam Jones being one of the most dynamic scorers in the country, I'm weary about Marquette's chances against Richard Pitino's hungry New Mexico defense
🏀 Best March Madness odds, predictions & expert picks today
Here are our best March Madness picks for Friday's first-round action:
- March Madness odds & schedule today
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- March Madness survivor pool picks today
- March Madness predictions today
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🔮 March Madness predictions for every game today
- Mississippi State vs. Baylor prediction
- Alabama vs. Robert Morris prediction
- Iowa State vs. Lipscomb prediction
- Memphis vs. Colorado State prediction
- Duke vs. Mount St. Mary's prediction
- Saint Mary's vs. Vanderbilt prediction
- Ole Miss vs. North Carolina prediction
- Maryland vs. Grand Canyon prediction
- Florida vs. Norfolk State prediction
- Kentucky vs. Troy prediction
- Marquette vs. New Mexico prediction
- Arizona vs. Akron prediction
- UConn vs. Oklahoma prediction
- Illinois vs. Xavier prediction
- Michigan State vs. Bryant prediction
- Oregon vs. Liberty prediction
💰 March Madness betting odds pages
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