Duke and Houston Favored Over Arkansas and Villanova in Elite Eight
Saturday's Elite Eight Matchups and Point Spread
WEST
Point Spread: No. 2 Duke (-4) vs No. 4 Arkansas
Moneyline: Duke -180, Arkansas +110
Game Total: 147
SOUTH
Point Spread: No. 5 Houston (-2) vs No. 2 Villanova
Moneyline: Houston -130, Villanova +110
Game Total: 128
The NCAA men’s Sweet 16 action lived up to its moniker - “March Madness” - in a big way on Thursday night! After the Sweet 16, only one No. 1 seed remains in the tournament after both Gonzaga and Arizona lost. The lone remaining No. 1 seed Kansas is the overall betting favorite on the futures market by oddsmakers.
Sweet 16 Thursday Recap
Kelley L Cox/USA TODAY Sports
The previous top betting favorite on SI Sportsbook to win the National Championship was No. 1 overall seed Gonzaga with odds of +230. But the Bulldogs will have to wait another year in their quest to attain the program's first NCAA national championship after being upset 74-68 by Arkansas as 9.5-point favorites. The Razorbacks, who were +420 on the moneyline, saw their odds in the futures market sliced from +5500 down to +1200 after the victory.
Scott Wachter/USA TODAY Sports
In the South Region, No. 2 seed Villanova advanced to their third Elite Eight in the last six tournaments after beating No. 11 seed Michigan 63-55 as 4.5-point favorites. Senior Jermaine Samuels played one of his best games of the season, scoring a game-high 22 points but more importantly enabled Jay Wright’s squad to control the boards and limit the production of Wolverines star center Hunter Dickenson.
Geoff Burke/USA TODAY Sports
In the nightcap, another No. 1 seed went down when Arizona (-1.5) was upset by No. 5 Houston, 72-60. The Cougars used a suffocating defense to hold the Wildcast’s high octane offense, which was averaging 84.7 points per game, to their second-lowest output of the season.
No. 2 seed Duke overcame a four-point halftime deficit to beat No. 3 seed Texas Tech, 78-73. The Blue Devils helped Coach Mike Krzyzewski reach the Elite Eight for the 17th time in his final season on the sidelines. Duke received a tremendous performance from freshman Paolo Banchero who scored a game-high 21 points. In a close game down the stretch, the Blue Devils sealed the victory thanks to tremendous free throw shooting, converting 15 of 17 (87.5%) as a team.
As we continue to stress, simply having the ‘perceived’ easiest paths does not always lead to success for the top seeds. In fact, only one No. 1 seed, Kansas, two No. 2 seeds, Villanova and Duke and one No. 4 seed, Arkansas remain in the field. Among the top 16 seeded teams in the tournament, only four remain.
FUTURES ODDS TO WIN 2022 NCAA CHAMPIONSHIP
Kansas +250
Houston +350
Duke +400
Villanova +600
North Carolina +600
Arkansas +900
Miami +3000
St. Peter’s +5000
Check the Latest Odds at SI Sportsbook
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Frankie Taddeo is a successful high-stakes fantasy football player who created the first-ever DFS program ever offered in a Las Vegas sportsbook. Frankie is SI Betting's Senior Analyst and provides his significant experience and resources in the sports betting scene. You can follow Frankie on Twitter @Frankie_Fantasy for his latest betting and fantasy insights from Las Vegas.
