March Madness 2024 - Sweet 16 Predictions, Odds & Best Bets

The brackets are set and these are the games we have to look forward to in the coming days:

* Number in brackets represents the seed of the team. 

As you can see there are some tasty games lined up for us in the Sweet 16 round and there is some potential for some underdogs to continue their journeys.

Today we are gonna be breaking down the Sweet 16 and going through some of the odds and picks that we feel have good value. So if you’re looking for some tips and information on what to expect, then you have come to the right place.

Without further ado, let’s get right into it.

What Underdogs Are Left in March Madness?

The Sweet 16 tips off very soon and there are some interesting stories that haven’t yet been concluded. All of the number one and two seeds qualified, as expected by many.

These being:

• UConn
• Purdue
• Houston
• North Carolina
• Arizona
• Iowa
• Marquette
• Tennessee

These teams are the sportsbooks favorites to go on and win the whole competition but the time isn’t up for some of our lower seeded survivors just yet. NC State are the lowest seed to still remain in contention, they were an 11 seed.

We would say that all of the teams that aren’t a 1 or 2 seed are categorically underdogs at this stage. With eight of sixteen teams being top 2 seeds that leaves half of the potential winners in the underdog bracket.

Here are the odds for each underdog to win the whole competition as of today:

• Duke & Creighton: +2500 (Bet $100 to win $2,500)
• Gonzaga: +2700 (Bet $100 to win $2,700)
• Illinois: +3500 (Bet $100 to win $3,500)
• Alabama: +4000 (Bet $100 to win $4,000)
• San Diego State: +8000 (Bet $100 to win $8,000)
• Clemson: +10000 (Bet $100 to win $10,000)
• NC State: +12000 (Bet $100 to win $12,000)

Duke & Creighton have been a very impressive outfit so far and could be one of the sides worth punting on, they are the favorites of the underdogs despite 3 seed Illinois still being in contention.

If you’re thinking of having a go with an underdog, we suggest going with a smaller stake. The odds are already high enough so you will still bank a decent return even from a smaller stake. This reminds us actually…

Sweet 16 Predictions

You may be wondering, how do you think the Sweet 16 is gonna pan out? Let’s go through each game, look at some odds and share our predictions of how we think the games will go.

The odds we will cover are the moneyline, spread and totals. We will be using the American odds format too. Here is a quick rundown of each of these betting types:

Right, let’s go. 

Arizona v Clemson Odds

Clemson has already beaten the odds once this March Madness, beating 3 seed Baylor 72-64 in the second round. This is what brought them to the Sweet 16 round where they’ll face 2 seed Arizona.

AZ are favorites by a distance as expected but I don't think it’ll be plain sailing for them. Clemson have been strong in defense allowing less than 40% from the field against both New Mexico and Baylor so far.

Chase Hunter has been a surprise to some this tournament, hitting 21 and 20 points in the opening two games.

But Arizona will likely be too much for them, they are one of the most well balanced teams in March Madness and they have some qualities that I don’t see Clemson having an answer for.

Prediction: Arizona 78, Clemson 70

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UConn v San Diego Odds

UConn are the favorites to win the whole thing this year and it’s easy to see why. They have barely made it out of second gear to make it to the Sweet 16 this year. They won their opener against Steson by 39 points (91-52) and followed it up by beating North Western 75-58.

They have breezed through so far and pretty much everyone expects them to do the same again.

San Diego scraped past 12 seed UAB by four points in their opener, but they put it right by destroying Yale 85-57. They scored well and defended well and seemed to have found their groove. They slightly fell off in the second quarter, they also lost the second quarter against UAB.

Special Pick: San Diego half-time moneyline: +260 at DraftKings.

The odds are very kind to the underdogs and whilst we don’t see San Diego winning at +500, the idea of them coming off the blocks strong and taking a half time lead is something we like. At +260, we will be having a small punt on this.

Prediction: UConn 70, San Diego 58

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North Carolina v Alabama Odds

This one could be a high scoring game and the odds reflect this. North Carolina are one of the 1 seeds that remain and they are tasked with halting Alabama’s prolific offense.

UNC have defeated Wagner and Michigan so far in the tournament, holding both teams to below 70 points. This game is a much greater challenge though. The 2017 champs will certainly have their work cut out.

Alabama scored hugely in the opening game, with a 109-96 win. It’s easy to get carried away with how much they scored on paper, but defensively they were not amazing, giving up 96 points to 13 seed Charleston.

It is tempting to back the upset, but we would steer towards North Carolina with this one.

Prediction: North Carolina 92, Alabama 78

Iowa v Illinois Odds

Second seed Iowa will be looking to halt the advances of an impressive Illinois offense in this Sweet 16 match. It’s the battle of the I’s some may say.

Iowa beat South Dakota State and Washington State  to book their place in the Sweet 16 for the second time in the last three years. Whilst Fighting Illini defeated Morehead and Duquesne to find themselves at this stage for the first time in almost a decade.

They scored 85 and 89 in their opening two, holding less than 70 in each of these games. Iowa State is a different ball game though, the second seed time won’t roll their backs to this impressive offense.

Iowa haven't given up many points so far and I think the same will be true in their next game. I can’t see a high scorer but I do think that the marginal underdogs will take this one.

Prediction: Iowa 62, Illinois 64

Marquette v NC State Odds

NC State is the highest seed that remains in the 2024 March Madness edition. They beat out 6 seed Texas Tch in the first round and went on to beat Oakland in the second. The Sweet 16 will bring them their toughest test yet.

Marquette are one of the second seed teams to have made it this far, but they haven’t made it look easy. They beat out 10 seed Colorado by just four points in the second round. A game that will make NC State feel they have a real chance.

The Golden Eagles will be looking to get back on track and prove why they are a 2 seed. This one looks like it’ll be raining points, however, the under is a good place to be on the points totals market. As for the moneyline, we like the look of NC State, so we’re backing the underdog this time.

Prediction: Marquette: 72, NC State 76

Purdue v Gonzaga Odds

1 seed Purdue face Gonzaga in their Sweet 16 round. It’s fair to say that both of these teams have enjoyed happy starts to their 2-24 March Madness campaigns.

They both won their opening two games by more than 20 points. Gonzaga still come into this one as the underdogs. Purdue is a +5 favorite on the spread.

The last time the two sides faced off it was Purdue who came out on top. They dispatched their opponents by 10 points at the Maui Invitational.

If you’re looking for a ‘banker’ pick to add to a parlay, we suggest going for the over on the points totals. As for our prediction, this game is one of the toughest to call, but we’re gonna edge it to the Bulldogs.

Prediction: Purdue 78, Gonzaga 83

Houston v Duke Odds

Now this one is an opinion splitter. Duke has been a strange team so far, they had a slow start beating Vermont by scoring just 64 points in their opener. This was followed by a humongous 93-55 win over James Madison.

Vermont and James Madison are 13 and 12 seeds respectively so it’s gonna be a jump in class when they face top seeded Houston in the Sweet 16.

Houston has been nothing short of incredible offensively in the 2024 March Madness. They have scored 186 points in two games, beating Texas A&M with a ton. This is perhaps the most mouthwatering fixture of the Sweet 16 round.

It’s a very tough one to call, but based on what we’ve seen so far we expect there to be a high quality of basketball in both defense and offense. It’s easy to look at this fixture and think it will be point heavy but the two teams have held opponents to less than 50 once this March Madness.

We can see this one hitting the over point mark but we’re nor expecting as many points as Houston’s last game…

Prediction: Houston 80, Duke 74

Also make sure to check our final four betting page out to be prepared.

Tennessee v Creighton Odds

Last but not least we have Tennessee v Creighton. Creighton are a team who have a lot going for them. They made the Elite Eight last year and many are tipping them to do it again despite them being the underdogs.

They have scored well so far, with 77 and 86 in their opening two games, the second being after double overtime.

It was a thrilling game between Creighton and Oregon and impressive character was shown by the Bluejays as after being inseparable for the game and one round of overtime they finished with a 13 point lead. They clutched up when it mattered.

Tennessee just about squeezed past the Texas Longhorns in their second round game, but we think it could be the end of the road for them at the Sweet 16 stage.

The Bluejays have the fight and will be desperate to make it to the Elite Eight and eventually, their first ever Final Four.

Prediction: Tennessee 68, Creighton, 74

Final Thoughts

Final thoughts, that sounds a little like Final Four… Okay, too much coffee.

Anyway, we are very excited for the 2024 Sweet 16, there are some great games in there between some of the best college teams as well as some lower seeded teams with a chip on their shoulder. If our predictions are true, the Elite Eight will look like this:

• UConn (1) v (3) Illinois
• Arizona (2) v (1) North Carolina
• Duke (4) v (11) NC State
• Gonzaga (5) v (3) Creighton

Some great match-ups in there and you best believe we will be covering the march madness elite 8 betting regardless of what the games are.

Take look at the college basketball betting page to keep up to date and be sure to let us know your thoughts on our predictions and some of your own over on our socials, don’t be shy, tell us how wrong you think we are…

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