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Once March Madness gets rolling, the action is typically fast and furious, and this year’s proceedings have certainly been no exception. After four days of clashes, we’re down to 16 teams from an original field of 68. The squads still in the running will now get some valuable down time before Sweet 16 games tip off Thursday.
Top teams that remain in contention for the Division I Men’s Basketball Championship include Dan Hurley’s UConn Huskies, the high-scoring Arizona Wildcats, the Houston Cougars and their elite defense, and the No. 1-overall-seeded Duke Blue Devils.
There will be no shortage of star players taking the floor, including Duke’s Cameron Boozer, UConn’s Tarris Reed Jr., Michigan’s Yaxel Lendeborg and Arizona’s Brayden Burries.
Here’s a closer look at all eight Sweet 16 games:
Sweet 16 Locations & Schedule
Below is a list of Sweet 16 games sorted by location, tip-off time, and tv channel.
Games at SAP Center – West Region (San Jose, California)
- Texas vs. Purdue – Thursday, March 26, 7:10 p.m. ET (CBS) |
- Arkansas vs. Arizona- Thursday, March 26, 9:45 p.m. ET (CBS) |
Games at Toyota Center – South Region (Houston, Texas)
- Iowa vs. Nebraska – Thursday, March 26, 7:30 p.m. ET (TBS, truTV) |
- Illinois vs. Houston – Thursday, March 26, 10:05 p.m. ET (TBS, truTV) |
Games at Capital One Arena – East Region (Washington, DC)
- St. John’s vs. Duke – Friday, March 27, 7:10 p.m. ET (CBS) |
- Michigan State vs. UConn – Friday, March 27, 9:45 p.m. ET (CBS) |
Games at United Center – Midwest Region (Chicago, Illinois)
- Alabama vs. Michigan – Friday, March 27, 7:35 p.m. ET (TBS, truTV) |
- Tennessee vs. Iowa State – Friday, March 27, 10:10 p.m. ET (TBS, truTV) |
Texas vs. Purdue Game Odds & Notes
Game Note: The Boilermakers were eight wins better than the Longhorns during the regular season, but this is still projected to be a reasonably competitive game where an upset is certainly within the range of outcomes. Texas has been impressive while working its way through the First Four with a win over NC State, then upending AJ Dybantsa and BYU before upsetting Gonzaga, 74-68, in the second round. Meanwhile, Purdue, which does have a defensive edge on paper, counts a comfortable 104-71 thumping of Queens College in the first round and a gritty 79-69 victory over the resurgent Miami Hurricanes in the second as their steppingstones to this matchup.
Arkansas vs. Arizona Game Odds & Notes
Game Note: The Razorbacks came into the tournament running hot and haven’t let up, notching 97-78 and 94-88 victories over Hawai’i and High Point, respectively. The latter win was especially hard-fought against a Panthers team that was thought to be one of the more dangerous underdogs coming in, with star guard Darius Acuff Jr. leading the way with a massive 36-point performance. Meanwhile, the Wildcats have now recorded nine consecutive victories in their own right, most recently routing Long Island in the first round by a 92-58 score before grinding a bit more in a 78-66 victory against Utah State.
Iowa vs. Nebraska Game Odds & Notes
Game Note: The Hawkeyes have had to work for every point on the way to the Sweet 16, as they edged Clemson by a 67-61 score in the first round before a thriller of an upset against the No. 1-seeded Gators on Saturday. Tavion Banks led Iowa with 20 points, but it was forward Alvaro Folgueiras’ three in the final seconds that sealed the victory. The Cornhuskers, who are favored by just 2.5 points in this matchup, had a predictably easy time in the first round against Troy, trouncing the Trojans by a 76-47 score before getting through their own barn-burner against Vanderbilt, 74-72. Both teams are very closely matched on paper, but Nebraska does have a significant rebounding edge.
Illinois vs. Houston Game Odds & Notes
Game Note: The Fighting Illini have validated their No. 3 seeding over the first two games of the tournament, disposing of Penn by a 105-70 score in the opening salvo before handling Virginia Commonwealth, 76-55, with similar ease. Brad Underwood’s squad came into the tournament with a well-earned reputation for prolific offense, and given the results of the first two games, it appears they could certainly prove to be a challenge even for a Cougars defense that’s given up only 62.3 points per game. Houston has proven dominant on both ends of the floor through the first two games, however, recording 78-47 and 88-57 victories against Idaho and Texas A & M.
St. John’s vs. Duke Game Odds & Notes
Game Note: The Red Storm is notably a modest 6.5-point underdog to the Blue Devils, underscoring how impressive Rick Pitino’s squad has been since the start of the regular season. St. John’s followed up a 30-6 regular season with a 79-53 win over Northern Iowa in the first round with a thrilling 67-65 victory over Darryn Peterson and Kansas by virtue of Dylan Darling’s buzzer-beater. Meanwhile, Cameron Boozer and his Duke teammates actually had more trouble in their first-round matchup against Siena, needing a second-half comeback to emerge with a 71-65 win before putting together a much more complete performance against TCU in an 81-58 second-round victory.
Alabama vs. Michigan Game Odds & Notes
Game Note: The Crimson Tide became the final Sweet 16 qualifier with a laugher of a 90-65 win over Texas Tech on Sunday night, one in which Latrell Wrightsell poured in a team-high 24 points. Alabama had been about as impressive in the first round, when it put 90 on the board as well while limiting Hofstra to 70 points. The Wolverines are still 10.5-point favorites for this matchup, however, as Michigan has lit up the scoreboard in its own right with respective 101-80 and 95-72 wins against Howard and Saint Louis.
Michigan State vs. UConn Game Odds & Notes
Game Note: The Spartans have had a pair of contrasting games in the first two rounds of the tournament. The opening salvo was a predictably comfortable 92-67 victory against North Dakota State, while Michigan State then punched its Sweet 16 ticket with a 77-69 victory over Louisville that was spearheaded by a 21-point, 10-rebound double-double from junior forward Coen Carr. Then, the Huskies actually had a more difficult time with first-round opponent Furman — who trailed by only a 40-36 margin at halftime of an eventual 82-71 loss — than they did in a 73-57 thumping of a talented UCLA squad in the second round. Despite UConn’s championship pedigree, they’re only 1.5-point favorites.
Tennessee vs. Iowa State Game Odds & Notes
Game Note: The Volunteers came out swinging in the opening round with a 78-56 trouncing of Miami of Ohio, one in which Tennessee compiled 51 first-half points. Rick Barnes’ crew then toughed out a 79-72 victory against Virginia Tech on Sunday to qualify for the Sweet 16, with senior guard Ja’Kobi Gillespie leading the charge with 21 points. Meanwhile, the Cyclones have had a hot hand themselves in their first two games, recording a 108-74 win over Tennessee State in the opening round before toppling Kentucky, 82-63, on Sunday behind Tamin Lipsey (26 points, 10 assists) and Milan Momcilovic (20 points). Iowa State remains just a 3.5-point favorite, with that number having been bet down a point since the open.
Men’s Sweet 16 Best Bet
The Fighting Illini have continued their season-long trend of prolific offense over the first two games of the tournament, but now they run into their stiffest defensive challenge yet. The Cougars rank second in the country with just 62.3 points per game allowed and 11th with 39.5% shooting surrendered. However, Houston isn’t necessarily elite at creating turnovers (7.6 SPG, 85th in the country) or rejecting shots (3.9 BPG, 96th in the country), and Illinois is also the 10th-best rebounding team in the country (41.0 RPG).
The Fighting Illini is 61st in points per game allowed (69.4), and they could have some trouble slowing down the Cougars’ dynamic guard duo of Kingston Flemings (16.2 PPG, 47.8% shooting, incl. 38.8% from three-point range) and Emanuel Sharp (15.4 PPG, 37.5% from behind the arc). The combined per-game scoring average of these two teams — 162.2 points per game — is well above the 139.5-point number available at some sportsbooks. Both defenses are formidable to varying degree but have their vulnerabilities, and even in a rout of Texas A & M in the second round, the Cougars and Aggies still put up 145 combined points.
The Over is also 7-4 in the Cougars’ neutral-site games since the start of the regular season, and these two teams have plenty of offensive talent to vault over this low total in a game where both should be highly aggressive in their approach.
Best Bet: Over 139.5 points
Photo Credit: AP/John Raoux
