THE SWEET 16 IS HERE 🍿

After a three day break that felt like a week, we're back with four Sweet 16 games. Thanks to Arkansas and FDU, no one seed is suiting up tonight, so it's anyone's ball game. This Gonzaga vs. UCLA rematch is about to be insane 🏀 (3 min read)

Author

Will Gendron
March 23, 2023

Photo by Kevin Sabitus/Getty Images

March Madness Returns

After an explosive first weekend of the NCAA tournament, over the next four days 16 teams are left to battle for a ticket to the Final Four in Houston. While there might not be a world-beater standing head and shoulders above the competition — Alabama looks like the best team left, considering they boast the top player in the tournament in Brandon Miller. All of the games taking place tonight should be hard fought, let's get into it 🏀

Michigan State will look to stifle another elite guard when they play Kansas State, having slowed down Marquette's Tyler Kolek last weekend 🗜

  • Kentucky, despite having Cason Wallace (one of the best guard defenders in the country), was not able to keep Markquis Nowell in check, as he dropped 27 pts & 9 asts

  • Nowell will face off against Michigan State's Tyson Walker in a battle of East Coast guard play...at MSG

Tennessee was able to knock off Duke, with tough, physical play. The Volunteers put out a jumbo line-up, with four of their starting five measuring at least 6'6. Florida Atlantic (FAU), on the other hand, is perimeter-focused with no guard on their team measuring above 6'4 👀

  • Expect the Volunteers to win the rebounding battle over the course of the night. A staunch Tennessee defense might wall off the paint and force FAU into tough threes

Tonight's Sweet 16 matchups are pretty damn close from a betting pov, with no games featuring anyone favored by more than 5 pts. Both the Michigan State (-1.5) and UCLA (-1.5) games are essentially a toss-up, the only game I feel confident enough to call would be Tennessee and FAU. I see the Vols dominating this game with their physicality - give me Tennessee -4.5 🟠

Photo by AAron Ontiveroz/MediaNews Group/The Denver Post via Getty Images

Games To Watch

While we have four very exciting games tonight, the two matchups in the bottom right of the bracket should be outstanding. It's good to see UConn back in the Sweet 16 after nearly a decade, and Gonzaga/UCLA gave us an electric Final Four battle in 2021, when Jalen Suggs hit a shot you might remember 😵‍💫

📍 No. 8 Arkansas vs. No. 4 Connecticut

The Razorbacks are gelling at the right time and roster a number of NBA talents. Anthony Black, who was able to limit Grady Dick in their win against Kansas, will look to wreak havoc against a UConn backcourt that features elite scorers in Jordan Hawkins and Andre Jackson 😮‍💨

  • Hawkins is proficient from deep (37.8% on the season) and will need to hit shots to keep the Arkansas defense honest. Look for Adama Sanogo to keep possessions alive for the Huskies and extend their offensive trips — the UConn big man is averaging 10.5 RPG through two games

  • Expect a fast-paced game, considering UConn likes to get into transition and push whenever they get an opportunity

  • Spread: UConn -4.5

  • Moneyline: UConn -184 (bet $184, win $100), Arkansas +152 (bet $100, win $152)

  • O/U: 139.5 total points

📍 No. 3 Gonzaga vs. No. 2 UCLA

There's a decent amount of familiarity between these two squads, considering some of the players from 2021's Final Four matchup are still around, including Drew Timme, Jaime Jaquez Jr. and Tyger Campbell 🤝

  • Speaking of Timme, the Gonzaga forward has put up 49 total points through his first two tournament games, but UCLA will be able to throw a lot of length at him

  • A diverse offensive punch that starts with Jaquez Jr. and extends out to Amari Bailey and Tyger Campbell might be enough to put UCLA over the top

  • Spread: UCLA -1.5

  • Moneyline: UCLA -120, Gonzaga +100

  • O/U: 145.5 total points

Trivia Question: KSU's Markquis Nowell is the first player to accumulate 25 pts and 20 asts across his first two NCAA tournament games since 1993. Who was the last player to match him?

Photo by Jacob Kupferman/Getty Images

For My Parlay Gurus

As mentioned earlier, I think Tennessee looks to out-rebound and out-defend FAU due to an athletic advantage. I also think Arkansas' tendency to be careless with the ball will fuel a potent UConn transition offense. I'm not touching the Gonzaga vs. UCLA game, give me both of the other spreads 👇

  • UConn -4.5 vs. Arkansas: -105

  • Tennessee -4.5 vs. FAU: -118

$100 on this bet would win you $261 — if we hit, make sure you email [email protected] for a chance to win up to $100*. Many will enter, only some will win 😉

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Trivia Answer: Jason Kidd was able to match this output while playing at the University of California, Berkeley

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