NCAA Tournament 2017: MTSU first 12 seed since 1999 to be favored over a 5

The Blue Raiders of Middle Tennessee are favored to defeat fifth-seeded Minnesota on Thursday

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For the first time since 1999, a No. 12 seed is a betting favorite over a No. 5 seed in the NCAA Tournament.

As SportsLine points out, 12 seed Middle Tennessee State is currently a 1-point favorite over No. 5 seed Minnesota in Round of 64 action of the Big Dance. In 1999, the last time it happened, Lamar Odom and Rhode Island were favored over No. 5 seed Charlotte -- a game that ended in an 11-point loss.

But don’t let that one bit of history fool you. According to SportsLine, respected Vegas Insiders are all over the Blue Raiders in the betting lines. They opened as a 2-point underdog, and the line, which is still at 1 point in favor of MTSU, likely won’t see too much of a change, if any, before the 4 p.m. ET Thursday tip.

Every year, we see experts make their picks for potential upsets, and the 5/12 games draw a lot of intrigue. It seems MTSU over Minnesota is clearly not only the sexy sleeper pick, but also the smart pick in Vegas.