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The NCAA tournament might not be quite as chalky as last season, when all four No. 1 seeds made the Final Four, but it’s close.
There have been some upsets this year but as we enter the Elite Eight, it’s still possible we get three No. 1 seeds in the Final Four. All three are favored to win this weekend. We’ll see if there’s more chaos, or more predictability.
Yaxel Lendeborg of the Michigan Wolverines celebrates a win over the Alabama Crimson Tide in the Sweet 16. (Photo by Jamie Schwaberow/NCAA Photos via Getty Images)
Jamie Schwaberow via Getty Images
Here are the Elite Eight picks, with odds from BetMGM:
Illinois’ prize for beating Houston, the No. 2 seed in the region, is a date against the No. 9 seed for the school’s first Final Four trip since 2005. It’s not like Illinois didn’t deserve to be in a great spot. It’s a team that easily could have been a No. 2 seed and maybe even a No. 1 with a little more luck. They had four overtime losses in their first nine games before the NCAA tournament. It’s a huge, well-coached team that has a tremendously efficient offense and a potential NBA lottery pick in freshman guard Keaton Wagler. They’re not a normal No. 3 seed.
Iowa is tough for a No. 9 seed though. They’re also very well coached and have a NBA first-round pick at guard in Bennett Stirtz. Iowa beat Florida and came back from an early deficit to beat Nebraska in the Sweet 16 already so the Hawkeyes won’t be intimidated. But when these teams faced off this season, in Iowa City, the Illini won 75-69. That might be a preview. The Illini’s size was a factor in that game, hitting 62.1% of their field-goal attempts inside the 3-point line. Iowa has had a great run but Illinois is the far better team.
There has been no more impressive team in the NCAA tournament than Arizona. They’ve won by 34, 12 and 21 points. The Sweet 16 blowout of Arkansas was impressive. Arizona is pummeling teams in the paint. The Wildcats were 37-of-58 (64%) from the field against Arkansas. This could be a problem for Purdue.
Purdue was the smallest team in the Sweet 16. Against the top 20 tallest teams in the country via KenPom that the Boilermakers faced, they played under expectation. Purdue lost to Illinois, split with Wisconsin, beat Penn State at home but only by eight points (they were favored by 22.5), beat USC by five (they were favored by 8.5) and beat Oregon by four (they were favored by 18.5).
Arizona is a great team with a dominant frontcourt, and that’s going to make a big difference against Purdue.
Michigan has gotten into a habit in some games of starting slow and then pulling away. That’s what happened in the Sweet 16, with Michigan finally coming through for those who took them as a 9.5-point favorite. Michigan is clearly the better team in this game. But Tennessee is on a nice run too.
The Volunteers looked great in knocking off Iowa State, the No. 2 seed, in the Sweet 16. Senior guard Ja'Kobi Gillespie continues his stellar play and freshman forward Nate Ament, one of the top recruits from this year’s class, can match some of Michigan’s fantastic forwards. The Wolverines seem likely to win, but it won’t be easy.
Duke got a scare in the Sweet 16, and hasn’t been great all tournament. Maybe they’re ripe for an upset. Dan Hurley and UConn are used to big NCAA tournament games. But UConn wasn’t great in February and early March, bringing into question if the Huskies are a true title contender.
There’s no question about Duke’s status as a title contender. Caleb Foster returned from a foot injury in the Sweet 16 and looked surprisingly good, which makes the Blue Devils even stronger. UConn is one of the few teams that can match up with Duke in the frontcourt, but the Blue Devils are the superior team. They shouldn’t have a problem advancing to another Final Four.
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There have been some upsets this year but as we enter the Elite Eight, it’s still possible we get three No. 1 seeds in the Final Four. All three are favored to win this weekend. We’ll see if there’s more chaos, or more predictability.
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Yaxel Lendeborg of the Michigan Wolverines celebrates a win over the Alabama Crimson Tide in the Sweet 16. (Photo by Jamie Schwaberow/NCAA Photos via Getty Images)
Jamie Schwaberow via Getty Images
Here are the Elite Eight picks, with odds from BetMGM:
Best bets for Friday's Sweet 16 games
Illinois (-6.5) over Iowa
Illinois’ prize for beating Houston, the No. 2 seed in the region, is a date against the No. 9 seed for the school’s first Final Four trip since 2005. It’s not like Illinois didn’t deserve to be in a great spot. It’s a team that easily could have been a No. 2 seed and maybe even a No. 1 with a little more luck. They had four overtime losses in their first nine games before the NCAA tournament. It’s a huge, well-coached team that has a tremendously efficient offense and a potential NBA lottery pick in freshman guard Keaton Wagler. They’re not a normal No. 3 seed.
Iowa is tough for a No. 9 seed though. They’re also very well coached and have a NBA first-round pick at guard in Bennett Stirtz. Iowa beat Florida and came back from an early deficit to beat Nebraska in the Sweet 16 already so the Hawkeyes won’t be intimidated. But when these teams faced off this season, in Iowa City, the Illini won 75-69. That might be a preview. The Illini’s size was a factor in that game, hitting 62.1% of their field-goal attempts inside the 3-point line. Iowa has had a great run but Illinois is the far better team.
Arizona (-6.5) over Purdue
There has been no more impressive team in the NCAA tournament than Arizona. They’ve won by 34, 12 and 21 points. The Sweet 16 blowout of Arkansas was impressive. Arizona is pummeling teams in the paint. The Wildcats were 37-of-58 (64%) from the field against Arkansas. This could be a problem for Purdue.
Purdue was the smallest team in the Sweet 16. Against the top 20 tallest teams in the country via KenPom that the Boilermakers faced, they played under expectation. Purdue lost to Illinois, split with Wisconsin, beat Penn State at home but only by eight points (they were favored by 22.5), beat USC by five (they were favored by 8.5) and beat Oregon by four (they were favored by 18.5).
Arizona is a great team with a dominant frontcourt, and that’s going to make a big difference against Purdue.
Tennessee (+7.5) over Michigan
Michigan has gotten into a habit in some games of starting slow and then pulling away. That’s what happened in the Sweet 16, with Michigan finally coming through for those who took them as a 9.5-point favorite. Michigan is clearly the better team in this game. But Tennessee is on a nice run too.
The Volunteers looked great in knocking off Iowa State, the No. 2 seed, in the Sweet 16. Senior guard Ja'Kobi Gillespie continues his stellar play and freshman forward Nate Ament, one of the top recruits from this year’s class, can match some of Michigan’s fantastic forwards. The Wolverines seem likely to win, but it won’t be easy.
Duke (-5.5) over UConn
Duke got a scare in the Sweet 16, and hasn’t been great all tournament. Maybe they’re ripe for an upset. Dan Hurley and UConn are used to big NCAA tournament games. But UConn wasn’t great in February and early March, bringing into question if the Huskies are a true title contender.
There’s no question about Duke’s status as a title contender. Caleb Foster returned from a foot injury in the Sweet 16 and looked surprisingly good, which makes the Blue Devils even stronger. UConn is one of the few teams that can match up with Duke in the frontcourt, but the Blue Devils are the superior team. They shouldn’t have a problem advancing to another Final Four.
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