After another round full of upsets, March Madness – along with March Madness betting – is gearing up for a big weekend.
The Sweet 16 is all set, and you’ve got until Thursday to get your bets in.
Here’s how the teams in the Round of 32 did compared against their pre-game odds (utter embarrassments emphasized in humiliating red):
NCAA March Madness Second Round Results
8 North Carolina 93, 1 Baylor 86
- Baylor (-240) -5.5
- North Carolina (+195)
1 Kansas 79, 9 Creighton 72
- Kansas (-510) -9.5
- Creighton (+375)
11 Michigan 76, 3 Tennessee 68
- Tennessee (-235) -5.5
- Michigan (+190)
4 Providence 79, 12 Richmond 51
- Providence (-135) -2.0
- Richmond (+115)
4 UCLA 72, 5 St. Mary’s 56
- UCLA (-165) -3.0
- Mary’s (+145)
15 St. Peter’s 70, 7 Murray State 60
- Murray State (-425) -8.5
- Peter’s (+330)
4 Arkansas 53, 12 New Mexico State 48
- Arkansas (-280) -6.5
- New Mexico State (+225)
1 Gonzaga 82, 9 Memphis 78
- Gonzaga (-760) -11.5
- Memphis (+525)
5 Houston 68, 4 Illinois 53
- Houston (-190) -4.5
- Illinois (+160)
2 Villanova 71, 7 Ohio State 61
- Villanova (-310) -7.5
- Ohio State (+245)
2 Duke 85, 7 Michigan State 76
- Duke (-265) -6.5
- Michigan State (+215)
11 Iowa State 54, 3 Wisconsin 49
- Wisconsin (-165) -3.0
- Iowa State (+145)
3 Texas Tech 59, 11 Notre Dame 53
- Texas Tech (-365) -8.0
- Notre Dame (+280)
10 Miami FL 79, 2 Auburn 61
- Auburn (-310), -7.0
- Miami FL (+245)
3 Purdue 81, 6 Texas 71
- Purdue (-190) -4.0
- Texas (+160)
1 Arizona 85, 9 TCU 80
- Arizona (-450) -9.5
- TCU (+340)
With all the above upsets, it should surprise absolutely nobody that there are no more perfect brackets. (Ours was busted back in the first round, so excuse our schadenfreude.)
That said, you can still enter various March Madness bracket challenges, as at least one major online sports betting site – BetUS Sportsbook – has different bracket contests for each leg of the NCAA men’s basketball tournament.
There’s still time to mull over your picks, too, as BetUS Sweet 16 bracket challenge entry submission is restricted to Thursday between 1:59 PM and tipoff of the first Round 3 game at 7:09 PM.
Of course, if you’re less interested in bracket contests and want to wager on individual games – or, conversely, create huge parlays instead of brackets for even more cash if you win – you can do that, too.
With the third round ready to go and the matchups finalized, here’s how the current Sweet 16 odds look three days before everyone gets back to the Big Dance floor at their very sensible and logical tip-off times (via Bovada Sportsbook):
NCAA Sweet 16 Odds – Thursday Games (March 24)
1 Gonzaga vs. 4 Arkansas (7:09 PM, CBS)
- Gonzaga (-380) -8.5
- Arkansas (+290)
- Total: 154.5
2 Villanova vs. 11 Michigan (7:29 PM, TBS)
- Villanova (-210) -5.0
- Michigan (+175)
- Total: 135.5
2 Duke vs. 3 Texas Tech (9:39 PM, CBS)
- Texas Tech (-115) -1.0
- Duke (-105)
- Total: 137.0
1 Arizona vs. 5 Houston (9:59 PM, TBS)
- Arizona (-135) -2.0
- Houston (+115)
- Total: 145.0
NCAA Sweet 16 Odds – Friday Games (March 25)
3 Purdue vs. 15 Saint Peter’s (7:09 PM, CBS)
- Purdue (-1000) -12.5
- Saint Peter’s (+625)
- Total: 136.0
1 Kansas vs. 4 Providence (7:29 PM, TBS)
- Kansas (-360) -7.5
- Providence (+280)
- Total: 141.5
4 UCLA vs. 8 North Carolina (9:39 PM, CBS)
- UCLA (-135) -2.0
- North Carolina +115
- Total: 142.0
10 Miami FL vs. 11 Iowa State (9:59 PM, TBS)
- Miami FL (-140) -2.5
- Iowa State +120
- Total: 133.5
We’d love to tout an upset for you, but after this weekend, we’re not confident enough to do that. And that’s really saying something.
You’re on your own.
