The first weekend of the NCAA Basketball Tournament was full of exciting moments: From our favorites fulfilling our expectations and winning their games to some crazy upsets –sorry Villanova!– But today, we are looking at the winners, the teams that managed to make it to the Sweet Sixteen round. How did they get here? Who are the playing for a spot on the next round? What are their NCAA Basketball odds to win the tournament? Lets find out:
For the fourth straight season, the Louisville Cardinals made it to the Sweet 16 after beating UC-Irvine and Northern Iowa in the first and second rounds.
Next game: Louisville will face ACC rival, the NC State Wolfpack on Friday in Syracuse. The only time the two teams met this season, NC State scored a 74-65 victory at Louisville on Feb. 14.
NCAAB Odds to win: +1500
The No. 5 seed Mountaineers are in the Sweet 16 after beating Buffalo 68-62 on Friday and then the Maryland Terrapins in a 69-59 on Sunday night.
Next Game: The Mountaineers will face No.1 ranked and undefeated Kentucky Wildcats in Cleveland on Friday.
NCAAB Odds to win: +6500
After an easy 86-72 win over Coastal Carolina in the round of 64, the top-seeded Wisconsin Badgers had no trouble beating eighth-seeded Oregon Ducks 72-65 on Sunday at the CenturyLink Center in Omaha, clinching their fourth ticket to the Sweet 16 in the past five seasons.
Next Game: Wisconsin will face North Carolina at CenturyLink Center Omaha, Omaha, Nebraska on Friday.
NCAAB Odds to win: +650
With a 86-76 win over North Dakota St Bison in the round of 64 and a 87-68 win over the Iowa Hawkeyes on Sunday in the NCAA tournament’s round of 32, the Gonzaga Bulldogs made it to the Sweet 16 for the first time since 2009.
Next Game: Gonzaga will face UCLA on Friday in the Sweet 16 at KeyArena, Seattle, Washington.
NCAAB Odds to win: +1000
The first round of action went as expected for the Oklahoma Sooners, who notched a 69-60 win against No. 14 seed Albany in the Round of 64. With the win, the 3-seed Sooners moved to the Round of 32, outlasting the 11-seed Dayton Flyers 72-66 on Sunday afternoon.
Next game: Oklahoma faces Michigan State in the Sweet 16 on Friday in Syracuse.
NCAAB Odds to win: +1500
Wichita State shocked fans and bettors after beating the Indiana Hoosiers 81-76 in the round of 64. The Shockers secured their spot in the NCAA tournament regional semifinal round for the sixth time in school history with a stunning 78-65 victory over the Kansas Jayhawks on Sunday in Omaha.
Next game: The Shockers will play Notre Dame in Cleveland on Thursday, March 26th.
NCAAB Odds to win: +2500
Thanks to a devastating 85-56 victory over Robert Morris, the Duke Blue Devils advanced to the Sweet 16 on the strength of their powerful combination of defense and offense, running past the San Diego State Aztecs 68-49 on Sunday.
Next Game: The top-seeded Blue Devils will meet No. 5 seed Utah Utes in Houston in the South Region semifinal.
NCAAB Odds to win: +400
For the seventh time in the past eight seasons, the Michigan State Spartans won two tournament games to reach the Sweet 16. For the second straight year, it came at the expense of the Virginia Cavaliers, who were a No. 2 seed this season after being bumped by Michigan State as a No. 1 last season.
Next game: Against Oklahoma on Friday in Syracuse.
NCAAB Odds to win: +800
For the first time since 2003, the Notre Dame is heading to the Sweet 16 thanks to wins over Northeastern (69-65) and an Overtime victory over the Butler Bulldogs (67-64) on Saturday.
Next Game: Third-seeded Notre Dame now heads to Cleveland, where it will face the Wichita State Shockers in the Midwest Regional semifinal.
NCAAB Odds to win: +2000
With the close 67-55 win over Harvard in the first round of the tournament, the expectations on the North Carolina Tar Heels to make it to the next round of action lowered. But unlike their first game, the Tar Heels did not have to sweat out a last-second victory, pulling away a 87-78 win over the Arkansas Razorbacks on Saturday afternoon.
Next game: North Carolina faces No. 1 seed Wisconsin in Los Angeles
NCAAB Odds to win: +2500
The NC State Wolfpack arrival in the Sweet 16 is truly unexpected. However, the two wins over LSU and Villanova in the College Basketball Championship proved that this team is capable of getting to the regional semifinal. Against all odds, NC State is back in the Sweet 16 after stunning Villanova 71-68 on Saturday night. The Wolfpack went wild as the final horn sounded and danced around the court in celebration.
Next game: NC State will play Louisville in Syracuse on Friday. The Wolfpack faced the Cardinals during ACC play, winning on the road 74-65.
NCAAB Odds to win: +3000
Utah’s win over Stephen F. Austin in the round of 64 was somehow predictable, but what many college basketball bettors failed to see was Utah’s 75-64 win over the Georgetown Hoyas on Saturday. With the victory, the Utes are heading to the NCAA tournament’s Sweet 16 for the first time since 2005.
Next game: Utah heads to Houston to take on Duke, which beat San Diego State on Sunday.
NCAAB Odds to win: +1500
Xavier’s run has been much easier than expected. After a 76-57 win over the Ole Miss Rebels in the round of 64, the Musketeers ended Georgia State’s March Madness dream with a 75-67 win on Saturday night to make their fifth Sweet 16 appearance since 2008.
Next game: The Musketeers are ready for what seems as their toughest game in weeks when they play the Arizona Wildcats on Tuesday at the Staples Center, Los Angeles, California.
NCAAB Odds to win: +8000
While Arizona had a few defensive issues in its first game of the NCAA tournament against Texas Southern; the round of 32 games against the Ohio State Buckeyes was a completely different story. The Buckeyes, who eliminated Arizona in the regional semifinals two years ago, were unable to stop Arizona’s pounding offense, losing the game 73-58 on Saturday. Gabe York and T.J. McConnell turned in a terrific all-around performance, helping second-seeded Arizona to advance to the Sweet 16 for the third straight year.
Next game: The Wildcats will face the sixth-seeded Xavier in the West Regional semifinals Thursday in Los Angeles.
NCAAB Odds to win: +380
While the Kentucky Wildcats had slow starts in their first two NCAA tournament games, their 23-point win over Hampton and a 13-point victory over Cincinnati on Saturday were enough to send the team to the Sweet 16.
Next game: The 36-0 Wildcats will move to Cleveland for their Sweet 16 game against the West Virginia Mountaineers in the Midwest Region semifinals.
NCAAB Odds to win: -190
UCLA’s March Madness run is one of the biggest surprises in the bracket so far. Just a week after waiting and praying for a berth in the NCAA tournament, the UCLA has quieted their doubters, becoming the first team to advance to a regional semifinal. Their first test was a tough one. The Bruins gave up a late 19-0 run and fell behind SMU in the Round of 64, however, the Bruins, led by Norman Powell, who had 19 points, were able to recover and claim a stunning 60-59 win over the Mustangs. Then 11th-seeded UCLA was able to beat 14th-seeded UAB 92-75 on Saturday to advance to its second straight Sweet 16.
Next game: The Bruins head to Houston in the South Regional, where it will take on Gonzaga, which beat UCLA 87-74 in December
NCAAB Odds to win: +8000
Our Sweet Sixteen Betting Picks And Their Odds To Win It All
Why each team in the South region will or won’t make the Final Four http://t.co/0L9kjiVihu pic.twitter.com/oDxahejOJT
— Sports Illustrated (@SInow) March 24, 2015
Louisville Cardinals (26-8, 12-6 ACC)
WV Mountaineers (25-9, 11-7 Big 12)
Wisconsin Badgers (33-3, 16-2 Big Ten)
Gonzaga Bulldogs (34-2, 17-1 WCC)
Oklahoma Sooners (24-10, 12-6 Big 12)
Wichita State Shockers (30-4, 17-1 MVC)
Duke Blue Devils (31-4, 15-3 ACC)
Michigan State Spartans (25-11, 12-6 Big Ten)
Notre Dame Fighting Irish (31-5, 14-4 ACC)
North Carolina Tarheels (26-11, 11-7 ACC)
NC State Wolfpack (22-13, 10-8 ACC)
Utah Utes (26-8, 13-5 Pac-12)
Xavier Musketeers (23-13, 9-9 Big East)
Arizona Wildcats (33-3, 16-2 Pac-12)
Kentucky Wildcats (36-0, 18-0 SEC)
UCLA Bruins (22-13, 11-7 Pac-12)