As the March Madness Vegas betting odds trickle in for the Sweet 16 beginning Thursday, fans can look to make more picks. Naturally, at VegasBetting, we have a few questions regarding our 2022 NCAA Men’s March Madness Sweet 16 Picks. Will there be another upset or two? Who will advance to the Elite Eight?
| NCAAB March Madness Sweet 16 Odds |  |  |
|---|---|---|
| Michigan | +170 | +170 |
| Villanova | -200 | -200 |
| Arkansas | +300 | +290 |
| Gonzaga | -380 | -380 |
| North Carolina | +120 | +120 |
| UCLA | -140 | -140 |
| Providence | +285 | +280 |
| Kansas | -355 | -360 |
The Michigan Wolverines wound up in the South region as an 11th seed. Their March Madness Sweet 16 opponent is the second-seeded Villanova Wildcats. So, an early bad start and rallying against Tennessee put Michigan here. Fortunately, the Wolverines, who went 19-14 in the regular season, are getting timely second half shooting. That has led to two victories and a shot at advancing to the Elite Eight over the weekend.
Currently, Michigan and Villanova expect to be one of the early game on Thursday evening. Tipoff is still technically TBA. It looks like Villanova has been listed as an opening 4 1/2 point favorite. This Sweet 16 matchup will take place in San Antonio, Texas from the AT&T Center. The game will be televised on TBS at 7:15 pm ET.
The oddities with this coincidence is itself something else. No one could honestly make this up if they tried. It is pretty rare that the men’s and women’s team play the same teams in a tournament at any point. At the very least, it gives fans of both colleges a little more to talk about.
The fact that Michigan is a 4 1/2 point underdog on Thursday night is not too much of a surprise. What may be surprising is that the Wolverines beat arguably a better third-seeded Tennessee team by eight points to advance to the Sweet 16.
Now, with the NCAA March Madness Sweet 16 Picks, one still has to think the Michigan Wolverines can win this game outright. The Wolverines are athletic enough to cause the Villanova Wildcats a ton of issues. The guard play for Villanova, led by Justin Moore and Collin Gillespie, could counter well enough. This will make it an intriguing chess match of sorts.
Unfortunately, the concern for Villanova also is this. Hunter Dickinson and Eli Brooks have been excellent during the first two rounds of the tournament. Dickinson, in particular, combined for 48 points. That included 27 points versus Tennessee. What most forget is that the Michigan centre can hit a multitude of shots including from three-point range. Between that and Michigan forwards, they may wear down Villanova late.
This will be a back and forth game between the two schools. Expect Michigan to steal one in the end to advance.
Our second matchup could be intriguing too. The top-seeded Gonzaga Bulldogs and fourth-seeded Arkansas Razorbacks rumble from the West region on Thursday night. This game will be televised on CBS at 7:00 PM ET coming from Chase Center in San Francisco, California. It is a March Madness Sweet 16 game that has a decent moneyline pick. Perhaps, it is because of one constant.
Yes, Gonzaga struggled mightily in the first half against Georgia State. Then, the game was still close early in the second half. That is when Drew Timme took over and put the Bulldogs on his back. He did it again late against Memphis. Without Timme, there is little doubt that Gonzaga would be home. Between him and Chet Holmgren, their frontcourt combined with the guards will cause Arkansas headaches.
The Arkansas Razorbacks have struggled in both rounds of the tournament. They just barely got by the Vermont Catamounts. Then, Arkansas won an ugly war against New Mexico State where the Razorbacks barely managed 50 points. The team has struggled to shoot from the perimeter (9 for 37 from three-point range). If that happens against Gonzaga, Arkansas will not advance and it could get ugly.
It is that higher level of play and timely winning that has Gonzaga in a good position. They have not been convincing so far this tournament. However, our March Madness Sweet 16 pick is Gonzaga again seeing the weekend. Another option is taking a tiny wager with the Bulldogs at -8 1/2 (-110).
North Carolina and UCLA is an incredible way to end the March Madness Sweet 16 Picks. Why? Tipoff will be from the Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania at 9:30 PM ET (CBS) on Friday night.
UCLA stumbled out of the gate in their first round matchup with Akron. Their transition and perimeter game could not get going and they squeaked out a four-point win. The second round was a demolition of an accomplished St. Mary’s team. The Bruins easily won by 16 points going away. Now, which team is UCLA? Are they both? One thing is a given. They are far from dull.
Then, there is North Carolina. The Tar Heels stomped Marquette by 32 points. A second-round affair with Baylor was not quite as easy but the key is this. North Carolina won in overtime and got past Baylor. They combined for 188 points in these two games. If their pace stays elevated, UCLA may struggle to keep up with North Carolina. So, if UCLA keeps the pace manageable, they win. If not, and Carolina’s guards shoot well, then the Tar Heels win.
This figures to be close. Our pick is North Carolina over UCLA.
The March Madness Sweet 16 expects to be thrilling. Here is some help.
MyBookie, an excellent online betting site, jumped early on the opening numbers. Come examine our top sportsbooks below and see our Vegas Online Betting News and Picks too.
