The Sweet 16 is upon us, with the first slate of games taking place on Thursday March 28th. This is where March Madness really kicks into gear and if you’re looking for some betting picks for this round of the tournament, you’ve come to the right place.
Best Sweet 16 betting offers
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Alabama vs North Carolina
Spread: Alabama +4 | North Carolina -4
Moneyline: Alabama +154| North Carolina -185
Total: Over/Under 173.5
This Sweet 16 contest promises to be a real clash of the titans. North Carolina has been running rampant so far. Their defense is as dominant as it ever has been, and the offense continues to shine. The Crimson Tide, on the other hand, were sloppy against Grand Canyon and gave up way too many looks from the charity stripe.
Alabama’s upside is really exciting. They were underdogs in last year’s tournament and performed solidly, and have done well to make it this far. But with players like Seniors RJ Davis, Harrison Ingram, and Armando Bacot all boasting more experience in games of this magnitude, it’s hard to envision the Tar Heels folding and committing the same kind of errors that Bama has up to this point. A well-oiled machine should roll over a Bama team that could well be in a position to win a game like this next year, but hasn’t given us enough conviction to bet them against North Carolina.
Betting pick: North Carolina -4
Clemson vs Arizona
Spread: Clemson +7.5 | Arizona -7.5
Moneyline: Clemson +250 | Arizona -310
Total: Over/Under 151.5
It’s hard not to fall in love with Clemson from a betting perspective. After upsetting Baylor last time out, they now face an equally tough opponent in the sweet 16 against the Wildcats, who have had a wobbly recent history in the NCAA tournament.
The worrying part is that a surprisingly dominant victory almost turned into a bitter defeat, with Baylor mounting a 20-5 run in the dying embers to draw close. PJ Hall continues to get into foul trouble which cannot happen against a Wildcats team boasting the third-best scoring mark in the nation along with a stout defense.
Arizona is playing with a chip on its shoulder and as impressive as Clemson have been, they might not be able to contain the highly efficient Wildcat offense. The Tigers seemed to luck out in their opening games given how poorly their opponents shot the ball, and Arizona comes into this game with a 37.3% mark when shooting 3-pointers. If the Wildcats get hot early, I don’t know if the Tigers are going to be able to slow them down, given they weren’t presented that challenge in their earlier wins this tournament.
Betting pick: Arizona -7.5
San Diego State vs UConn
Spread: San Diego State +11 | UConn -11
Moneyline: San Diego State +455 | UConn -625
Total: Over/Under 135.5
The #1 seeded UConn takes on the #5 seed SDSU in this sweet 16 matchup and it’s not hard to see why UConn are such heavy favorites. The Huskies have been dominant so far in the NCAA Tournament despite lacking consistency from beyond the arc. With huge wins over Northwestern and Stetsonm they’re yet to really be challenged and it is tough to see the 123rd ranked scoring offense in the nation being able to do that.
This is a rematch of the 2023 National Championship where the Huskies won 76-59, so you could definitely make the case for San Diego State playing with an extra incentive to avenge last year’s defeat.
For the Aztecs, they’ll need Jaedon LeDee to be at his very best in this sweet 16 matchup. He leads the team in scoring, but, as we mentioned, the team ranks 123rd in the nation in that metric. SDSU narrowly avoided an upset in the opening round before a much stronger outing against Yale on Sunday. The Cinderella sparkle has somewhat vanished from this team, but they’ll need to find that magic again if they are to somehow upset arguably the most dominant team in the country.
UConn simply have too much power to handle. This game will be closer than the betting line suggests, and SDSU’s ability to bounceback from what could’ve been an early exit was impressive. If they can keep UConn cold from beyond the arc, they might have a chance of pushing the pace and forcing those riskier looks. The Huskies should win outright, but this is a juicy number given that they lost by 16 last year and feel like a better team now.
Betting pick: SDSU +11
Illinois vs Iowa Sate
Spread: Illinois +1.5 | Iowa State -1.5
Moneyline: Illinois +102 | Iowa State -122
Total: Over/Under 146
This is as close to a coin flip as you’ll find in the sweet 16. Both teams have enjoyed strong starts to the Tournament, with Illinois beating Duquesne 89-63 last time out, and Iowa State closing strong against Washington State to secure their spot in the Sweet 16.
KemPom actually grades the Cyclones D as the best in the nation, and coming off of a tough big 12 schedule that included wins over Houston, they are playing with a lot of confidence when the going gets tough. That could be the difference on Thursday night considering that Illinois boasts KemPom’s #1 ranke offense.
When all is said and done in a Fire meets Ice matchup, track record counts for a lot. The fact that Iowa State have shown out against some of the Juggernauts on their schedule inspires confidence that they can get over the line and not overreact when Illinois inevitably get hot offensively.
Betting pick: Iowa State -1.5
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AP Photo/George Walker IV
