Tag: March Madness Sweet 16 betting

March Madness Sweet 16: Outright and ATS Picks and Predictions

Posted on by Online Betting Pro

There are four highly anticipated Sweet 16 games taking place on Friday as March Madness rages on, and there looks to be plenty of value on offer. Here we run through the four games and offer predictions on each.

Butler v North Carolina

Chris Holtmann taking Butler to the Sweet 16 is a tremendous achievement. He has fostered a versatile and balanced team, and they will not be intimidated by the Tar Heels here. They can slow the pace down and make life very difficult for them. North Carolina can win it, but it will be a tall order to cover the 7.5-point spread set by Vegas. UNC failed to cover an 11.5-point spread against Arkansas in its last game and was really pushed to the brink. The Bulldogs could well do the same here, as they are savvy and disciplined. North Carolina is joint-favourite for the tournament and should win this against a Butler team punching above its weight, but the best prices – 5/17 at Bet365, 2/7 at SkyBet – are not particularly appealing. You could see North Carolina win by four or five points, so Butler against the spread looks interesting at 19/20 with Coral.

South Carolina v Baylor

The east is a mess and Baylor will fancy its chances of progressing to the final four now. Seventh seed South Carolina pulled off one of the biggest shocks of the tournament in the last round by beating second-seeded Duke, pre-season favourite and many experts’ pick to win the tournament, thanks to a strong defence and a great performance from Sindarius Thornwell. But this could be a step too far. Baylor is now the highest remaining seed in the east after Villanova also crashed out, and has a clear route to the Final Four. All it has to do is beat a team that was 2-5 in its seven games before the tournament. Baylor has won its last three games against South Carolina, a team that is 3-7 against the spread versus winning teams. Baylor -3.5 at 10/11 with Bet365, William Hill and Ladbrokes looks good.

UCLA v Kentucky

The third and second seeds in the south face each other in what should be a fantastic game. It is the closest in the betting – Kentucky is 10/11 at William Hill and UCLA is 20/21 at Ladbrokes – and the spread is just -1 for Kentucky. It should be very close, but UCLA is such an exciting team at present and the slight underdogs can pull off a victory thanks to the superb form of Lonzo Ball, who is surely the best player in the tournament. Back him to lead UCLA to the next round.

Florida v Wisconsin

Fourth seed Florida plays eighth seed Wisconsin, giant killers of Villanova, in the final game. Wisconsin has gone this far thanks to its strong defence and will have momentum after toppling Nova, while Florida’s leading scorer KeVaughn Allen is struggling, so Wisconsin +2 with William Hill and Ladbrokes looks a good bet.

March Madness: Sweet 16 is Set and Betting Frenzy Continues

Posted on by Online Betting Pro

We are now into the second week of March Madness and the Sweet 16 is set, with only the NCAA’s top teams left standing. They are now just four games away from winning the NCAA Championship and enjoying hero status in their respective hometowns. But this year’s tournament is ferociously competitive, and the eventual winner will have to fight every inch of the way.

Futures Update

Three-quarters of the teams have been eliminated from March Madness and only the strongest are left. There have been some huge upsets along the way, particularly in the East, where defending champion Villanova and pre-season favourite Duke have both already been knocked out. Wisconsin, Florida, and South Carolina are now fighting it out there, and it now looks the weakest region. In the other three regions the big guns have made it through: Kansas is still standing in the Midwest, in the West the prospect of Gonzaga and Arizona meeting in the Elite Eight looks a distinct possibility still, and North Carolina, UCLA and Kentucky are all through in the South.

Despite having the hardest run to the Big Dance (for the uninitiated it goes First Round, Second Round, Sweet 16, Elite Eight, Final Four and the Big Dance), North Carolina is still the favourite at 6/1 with Ladbrokes. At those odds, it looks risky. The Tar Heels should beat fourth-seeded Butler but then will face either UCLA or Kentucky, both of whom could easily knock them out. Gonzaga is second favourite, 7/1 with Sky Bet, but it too has a nightmare road to the final, with the Arizona Wildcats (8/1 with Ladbrokes) in the way. The winner is unlikely to come from the East, where the best-priced team is Baylor, trading up to 33/1. A shrewd bet could be Kansas, 11/2 with Bet365, which has arguably the easiest run. Purdue is a strong team but beatable, and then they would have to overcome Oregon or Michigan to make the Final Four. You can also go each-way and get half the odds if they make the final. An interesting long-shot could be UCLA, 16/1 with Bet Victor, which has an incredible offence and could be dangerous in the West.

Upcoming Games

The first four Sweet 16 games take place on Friday and feature the two favourites in Kansas and Gonzaga. Both face tough games. Gonzaga is up against the strongest fourth seed, West Virginia, which annihilated Notre Dame with its pressing defence. It is likely to be a close encounter, but the Zags should scrape it (13/20 with Bet Victor). Kansas plays Purdue, a dark horse for the tournament thanks to its formidable front court and the form of Caleb Swanigan. The Jayhawks should get the job done (4/9 with Bet365) but Purdue -5 looks an interesting spread at 20/21 with Ladbrokes. Arizona should beat Xavier (2/7 with Bet365), so a treble of Arizona-Kansas-Gonzaga looks good, but Michigan v Oregon looks too close to call so is probably best avoided.