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March Madness Lines for the South Region Bracket: Sweet 16 Betting Prediction

MyBookie College Basketball Betting & Expert Analysis | 2024 NCAA Men’s Basketball March Madness

The opening two rounds of March Madness are in the books, with the surviving teams now getting a few days off before the action begins again on Thursday. When it does return, we will be into the Sweet 16, where those remaining teams will be starting to seriously consider a run that taken them to the National Championship. While many of you will have your brackets filled and have an idea of who you believe will be moving on into the Elite 8, It think it’s still worth taking a look at the upcoming games, if only to give them one more look before making a decision on how to wager in this round. We are going to do that now, starting with the 2 upcoming games in the South Region, so let’s get right to it.

#1 Houston Cougars Vs #4 Duke Blue Devils

NCAAB Lines: Houston -4 (total 134)
Friday, March 29, 9:39 PM EST | CBS

Given that Houston came into the tournament as one of the favorites to win it all, as well as being a #1 seed to boot, it is no real surprise to see them here. They cruised through the opening round, beating Longwood 86-46, but things got a little trickier in Round 2. In that one, they were forced to go to OT to get past Texas A&M, eventually running out 100-95 winners in a total shootout. Despite that one being a close call, Houston is still favored in the Sweet 16 and are a 3 ½ point favorite over Duke.

You can’t talk about March Madness without invoking the name of the Duke Blue Devils, especially in the Coach K era. They are not quite the powerhouse they were back then, but make no mistake about it, this is still a very dangerous team. Duke blew past Vermont in Round 1, winning 64-47 before totally steamrolling James Madison in the second round with a convincing 93-55 win. This, though, will be their toughest test by far.

The Round 2 scare might just wake up the Cougars, so look for them to win and move on in this one. I think they cover, too.

March Madness Money Line to Win Houston vs Duke
Las Vegas Odds NCAA Basketball Tournament

#11 NC State Wolfpack Vs #2 Marquette Golden Eagles

NCAAB Lines: Marquette -6.5 (total 150.5)
Friday, March 29, 7:09 PM EST | CBS

The Wolfpack are proving to be the Cinderella story of the tournament and are now the lowest seeded team remaining in March Madness. They got things rolling with an upset of Texas Tech (80-67) in the opening round, but they then needed OT to get past #14 seeded Oakland in the previous round. Given all of that, it is no real surprise that they come into the Sweet 16 as a 6 ½ point underdog.

The Golden Eagles had a comfortable passage through Round 1, beating Western Kentucky by a score of 87-69. They did not have it quite so easy in Round 2, though, allowing Colorado to hang around before sealing the 81-77 win. Not the most convincing victory, to be sure, but it’s all about surviving and moving on at this point.

It has been fun to watch NC State get to this point, but all good things come to an end at one time or another. I like Marquette to pick up the pace and dispatch the Wolfpack, and I would not be surprised if it was a double-digit margin of victory.

March Madness Money Line to Win NC State vs Marquette
Las Vegas Odds NCAA Basketball Tournament

Odds to Win South Region Bracket

Houston Cougars +105
Marquette Golden Eagles +220
Duke Blue Devils +350
NC State Wolfpack +1300

2024 NCAA Division I Men’s Basketball Tournament | 2024 March Madness Calendar

Round	City	Venue	Dates	Host
East Regional	Boston	TD Garden	March 28 – 30	Boston College
South Regional	Dallas	American Airlines Center	March 29 -31	Big 12 Conference
Midwest Regional	Detroit	Little Caesars Arena	March 29 – 31	University of Detroit Mercy / Oakland University
West Regional	Los Angeles	Crypto.com Arena	March 28 – 30	Pepperdine University

South Region Bracket Teams Betting Lines to Win
College Basketball Vegas Odds

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2024 South Region Bracket, 1st Round

March Madness Betting Predictions for the South Region Bracket

MyBookie College Basketball Betting & Expert Analysis | 2024 NCAA Men’s Basketball March Madness.

Is the South the toughest region in the 2024 NCAA Tournament? While top-seeded Houston has never won a national title, it has come close a few times. Meanwhile, the schools seeded second through fifth are all past champs in Marquette, Kentucky, Duke and Wisconsin. And No. 7 Florida was the last school to repeat as national champions.

First Round Games

Mar 21, 7:10 pm, CBS – Kentucky vs Oakland

Mar 21, 9:40 pm, CBS – Texas Tech vs NC State

Mar 22, 2:00 pm, TBS – Marquete vs W Kentucky

Mar 22, 4:30 pm, TBS – Florida vs Colorado/Boise State

Mar 22, 6:50 pm, TNT – Nebraska vs Texas A&M

Mar 22, 7:10 pm, CBS – Duke vs Vermont

Mar 22, 9:20 pm, TNT – Houston vs Longwood

Mar 22, 9:40 pm, CBS – Wisconsin vs James Madison

I don’t see top-seeded Houston (+140 favorite) having any trouble getting to the Sweet 16 as it should hammer Longwood and then either Texas A&M or Nebraska. Led by Big 12 Player of the Year Jamal Shead, the Cougars captured the Big 12 regular-season championship with a 15-3 mark during their first year in the league. UH is the seventh team in school history to reach 30 wins in a single season and the fourth under Kelvin Sampson. With three straight 30-win seasons, Houston also owns the nation’s longest active streak in that category.

Known as one of the nation’s elite defensive programs, the Cougars top the country in scoring defense (57.0 ppg), field goal percentage defense (37.9) and turnover margin (+7.1) and stand among the Top 10 in scoring margin (+16.1, 3rd), winning percentage (88.2), steals per game (10.0, 7th), offensive rebounds per game (13.7, 10th).

I expect Houston to face No. 4 Duke (+650 to win the region) in the Sweet 16 but will take the Blue Devils to advance to the Elite Eight. Duke is 119-40 (.748) all-time in the NCAA Tournament, marking the best winning percentage in tournament history by a team with a minimum of 20 games played. Duke’s 119 wins are also third-most in the event’s history. The Blue Devils have now been selected to the South Region nine times – last in 2015 – and hold a 25-6 record when playing out of the South Region.

The shine has come off Duke after back-to-back losses to NC State and North Carolina, but Duke has been the eighth-best team in college basketball since Feb. 1, per Bart Torvik. This is one of college basketball’s most-talented rosters.

The big question on the bottom half of the bracket involves No. 2 Marquette (+550) as All-American point guard Tyle Kolek has been sidelined a few weeks with an oblique injury but expected to be ready for Round 1 vs. Western Kentucky. Marquette lost just three games that Kolek has played this season and he averaged six points on 3-for-28 shooting in those. They went 1-2 to close the regular season without him, and he did not play in the Big East Tournament.

“The plan is for him to play,” Coach Shaka Smart said of Kolek. “But he’s got to go through a progression this week. And so once we get back on the practice court, we’ll be able to continue that progression.”

In addition, MU big man Oso Ighodaro didn’t play the final 7 minutes of the Big East championship game after banging his left knee. And guard Stevie Mitchell played through a painful injury to his left shoulder.

The Golden Eagles earned the No. 2 seed for the first time in school history in 2022-23 and defeated Vermont, 78-61, before falling to 10th-seeded Michigan State, 69-60, in Columbus. I have Marquette only getting to the Sweet 16 and then losing to No. 3 Kentucky. The Wildcats have as much talent as anyone in the country, but haven’t always lived up to that this season.

Kentucky (+700) scored more than 100 points six times in the regular season and Alabama is the only high-major program that plays at a faster tempo. With 7-foot-2 Croatian Zvonimir Ivisic and Justin Edwards hitting their stride this group’s offensive firepower is unmatched in college basketball.

The Cats own a 130-54 all-time record in NCAA action, with their .707 winning percentage ranking fourth-best in NCAA history (min. 20 games). In addition to most appearances, Kentucky holds the NCAA Tournament records for most games played (184), while it ranks second all-time in NCAA Tournament wins with 130. This is the fourth time that Kentucky has earned a 3 seed in the NCAA Tournament and the first time since 1999 when it got to the Elite Eight.

If you are looking for a sleeper to win the region, it would be No. 9 Texas A&M (+3500). The Aggies beat Kentucky twice, Tennessee, Iowa State and Florida and gave Houston a great game, so high-end winning potential is there. And A&M leads the nation in offensive rebounding percentage (40 percent). Coach Buzz Williams has a stellar backcourt of Wade Taylor IV and Tyrece Radford.

South Region Bracket Expert Prediction

#3 Kentucky beats #4 Duke for South Region title

2022 South Region Bracket Betting Analysis

The college basketball regular season and conference tournaments are all over with now, which means it’s time to look ahead to March Madness. We will have 4 play-in games over the next couple of days before we get to the tournament proper, so we still have some time to break things down as we all try to win some money and create the perfect bracket. As always, the tournament is split into 4 distinct regions, which means no less than 4 #1 seeds looking to make a deep run and win it all. We will cover as much ground as possible throughout the course of the tournament, but let’s get things rolling by taking a closer look at the South Region so you can place your bets against the March Madness Betting Odds.

Top South Region Bracket Betting Predictions for the Upcoming Games

South Region Favorites

The Arizona Wildcats had themselves a great season, winning the PAC 12 regular season crown as well as the conference tournament. They are more than deserving of the #1 seed in the South Region and are the favorites to get out of what looks to be a very tough region. Their toughest test might not come until the Sweet 16, when they could potentially face #5 Houston, although you never really know how things might play out along the way.

The Villanova Wildcats won the tournament in 2016 and 2018 and are once again looking to make another deep run. This team certainly looks equipped to make a run after winning the Big East without breaking too much of a sweat. Their tournament begins with a game versus Delaware, after which they could potentially face Ohio State, although we will have more on that in a minute. With their pedigree, it’s tough to bet against Villanova.

Potential Dark Horses and Upset Specials

There are some who think that the Tennessee Volunteers are ranked a little too high in the #3 spot, but they finished the season on a tear and ended up closing things out as the SEC champion. They have a pretty manageable path ahead of them, although you do have to say that their opening round game against Winthrop has the potential to be a tricky one. They should get past that game, though, and move on to Round 2.

It’s always fun to try and pick out the bracket busters before the ball gets rolling, and we certainly have one of those in the South Region. Loyola Chicago has very much become a fan favorite of the last couple of years and have won at least 2 games in each of their last 2 tournament appearances. They are in as the #10 seed in the South Region and will open against #7 Ohio State. Given what Loyola Chicago has done in the past, it would not be a big surprise to see them knock off the Buckeyes.

Who Wins the South Region?

This is going to be a tough region to get out of, but one teams appears to have what it takes to do it. I am talking about #2 Villanova, who I like to survive and move on to the Final Four 4.