5 best bets for the Round of 64

The NCAA Tournament is the most electric week for sports gambling, but you don't need to bet on every game.

Instead of relying on volume to satisfy our appetite for action, we're dialing in on five strong plays for the first round, and then coming back Friday night to hand out five more for the second.

Here's where our biggest edges lie for Thursday and Friday's Round of 64.

Seton Hall vs. Wofford over 142

We were only half-joking when we said the over was an automatic play once No. 7 Wofford drew No. 10 Seton Hall on Selection Sunday. The total opened up soon after, and it's one we feel comfortable with.

Wofford's offense is for real. Fletcher Magee is the team's leading scorer at 20.5 points per game and recently passed J.J. Reddick for the second-most 3-pointers in D-I history. He's not the only threat, though, as the Terriers feature three other players shooting better than 40 percent from downtown for the nation's second-ranked 3-point team. Overall, KenPom tabs Wofford as the No. 12 adjusted offense in the country.

Meanwhile, Seton Hall's more top-heavy in the scoring department. Myles Powell has paced the Pirates with 22.9 points per game, nearly 13 more than their next leading scorer. As a whole, Seton Hall was just No. 134 in the nation in scoring this season (73.9 points per contest), but ranks 74th in KenPom's adjusted efficiency. We think the Pirates will hit shots against their offense-first opponent out of the SoCon.

Marquette -4 (vs. Murray State)

This is another matchup that features a pair of dynamic scorers in Murray State's Ja Morant and Marquette's Markus Howard. We just feel the No. 12 Racers are getting too much love in this spot.

Outside of Morant, it's tough to get excited anywhere else. Murray State isn't top 40 in the country in either adjusted offense or defense, and ranks in the mid-200s when adjusting for strength of schedule, opponents' offensive efficiency, and opponents' defensive efficiency.

Iowa +3.5 (vs. Cincinnati)

We consider No. 10 Iowa to be a pick 'em against No. 7 Cincinnati on a neutral court, so we'll take the 3.5 points on Friday afternoon.

Cincinnati's Achilles' heel this season has been giving up the three, which could be a problem against a Hawkeyes rotation that includes four players shooting better than 38 percent from deep. And while the Bearcats are tough to score on in general - they allowed 62.2 points per game this season, good for No. 12 in the country - Iowa's offense ranked No. 18 overall when adjusting for opponents' defensive efficiency. We don't think they'll be fazed.

Old Dominion vs. Purdue under 129

If you ever need a break from the madness and want to turn your attention elsewhere, we suggest doing so when No. 3 Purdue meets No. 14 Old Dominion.

This game will likely involve limited field-goal attempts while being played at a snail's pace, as the Boilermakers and Monarchs rank No. 276 and No. 325, respectively, in adjusted tempo. Meanwhile, Old Dominion is the second-worst team in the tournament in adjusted offensive efficiency, which is complemented by the squad's top-50 defense.

Most of the games this week should be fun! Probably not this one, though.

Virginia -23.5 (vs. Gardner-Webb)

Remember when Virginia was the first team to lose as a No. 1 seed last season? That was awesome. OK, now on to some insight.

It's true that the Cavaliers haven't been great when it matters. Not only did they earn a spot in college basketball lore for all the wrong reasons last year, but they've seen their fair share of early exits while their vaunted defense has given up nearly 70 points per game in their last six tournament contests.

Still, while Virginia doesn't play at a frenetic pace that would necessarily inspire confidence in a 24-point win, this team is the No. 1 KenPom darling with an even better offense than defense despite leading the nation in points allowed this season.

We think Virginia gets the bad taste from last year out of its mouth with a resounding win.

Alex Kolodziej is theScore's betting writer. He's a graduate of Eastern Illinois who has been involved in the sports betting industry for 11 years. He can quote every line from "Rounders" and appreciates franchises that regularly wear alternate jerseys. Find him on Twitter @AlexKoIodziej.