NCAA Tournament Odds: Sweet Sixteen lines released for second week of March Madness

The four-day marathon of rounds one and two to kick off March Madness is officially behind us as we round into the second weekend of the NCAA Tournament, where just sixteen teams remain to battle it out on Thursday and Friday. We still have a No. 15 seed in the mix and just two remaining No. 1 seeds, including title favorites Alabama and Houston, both of which had star players dealing with injuries this past weekend but who now seem to be healthy.

So, with a good blend of favorites and Cinderella’s left in the field, take a look at the point spreads for each of the eight Sweet Sixteen games coming up this Thursday and Friday, per Vegas Insider:

Thursday, March 23

East Region — New York City

(3) Kansas State vs. (7) Michigan State (-1.5)

(4) Tennessee (-5.5) vs. (8) FAU

West Region — Las Vegas

(4) Connecticut (-3.5) vs. (8) Arkansas

(2) UCLA (-1.5) vs. (3) Gonzaga

Friday, March 24

South Region — Louisville

(1) Alabama (-6.5) vs. (5) San Diego State

(6) Creighton (-9.5) vs. (15) Princeton

Midwest Region — Kansas City

(1) Houston (-6.5) vs. (5) Miami

(2) Texas (-4.5) vs. (3) Xavier

Recapping Sweet 16 odds

There you have it. The higher seeded teams are favored in every game except the Kansas State-Michigan State matchup, where Vegas likes the No. 7 Spartans over the No. 3 Wildcats, who just vanquished sixth-seeded Kentucky on Sunday.

Elsewhere, Alabama is just a 6.5-point favorite over San Diego State. The Aztecs had trouble fending off Charleston in round one but sailed past No. 13 seeded Furman to book their first trip to the second weekend since 2014.

The biggest spread of the next round comes in Louisville, where the Creighton Blue Jays are nearly 10-point favorites over the Princeton Tigers, who outlasted No. 2 seed Arizona in round one before handing Missouri a beatdown in round two to book a surprise trip to the Derby City to potentially play for a Final Four. However, the sharps seem to think the clock will strike midnight against Greg McDermott’s club.

Outside of the 9.5 points the sportsbooks are spotting Princeton, the other spreads are all less than seven points. It’s getting to that time in the tournament where you’ve got mostly great teams left playing each other. Even the other lower seeded clubs besides Princeton have real pedigree. FAU has one of the best records in the country despite being a No. 9 seed. And few teams match the raw talent and none match the athleticism of No. 8 seed Arkansas.

So, 16 terrific ball clubs prepared to do more NCAA Tournament battle just a few days from now. Gamble accordingly.