The wait is over. College basketball’s opening day starts before noon and doesn’t let up until late Monday night, with a full mid-major marathon in the morning and a ranked SEC-ACC showdown in primetime. Fanatics Sportsbook is offering new users promo code FOXNEWS350 to bet $20 and get $350 in FanCash on any opening day game.
The Field of 68 is reviving the all-day opening marathon, the same idea ESPN ran for nine years before shelving it in 2017. Sixteen mid-major programs play eight games back to back. Murray State and Tennessee State tip it off at 11:30 a.m. ET in Sioux Falls, and Furman and Bethune-Cookman close it out at 8 p.m. ET in Rock Hill. These are the games where sharp bettors hunt for value, since the books have less information on mid-majors than anyone in November.
Most top programs open with a buy game. Florida and Miami decided to skip that step. The two meet at 6 p.m. ET on ESPN2 in the marquee game of the day, with Florida opening as one of the top teams in the country and Miami ranked as well. A game this early comes with real uncertainty, from new rotations to transfers playing their first meaningful minutes together, and that’s exactly what makes it fun to bet.
Duke and Oklahoma will be big favorites at home, while Dayton gets a first-ever meeting with an NJIT team that went 16-17 last season. On the women’s side, Maryland vs. South Carolina and Arizona vs. Stanford headline a stacked opening day.
From the first tip in the morning to the last whistle at night, there’s no shortage of options. New users can bet $20 on any opening day college basketball game and get $350 in FanCash with Fanatics Sportsbook promo code FOXNEWS350.