Best Bets to Win Sweet 16 Games (2019 March Madness)

The madness began over the weekend, and we’re officially staring down the round of 16. With four games on Thursday and four more on Friday, there are plenty of opportunities to place bets on your favorite teams and values. We’ve asked our writers to provide their best bets of the Sweet 16. Here’s what they had to say.

Thursday 3/28

Gonzaga: -6.5 vs. Florida State
“Florida State has looked great through two games so far, but let’s not forget that over a course of the full season, Florida State was barely a top-20 team in the country while you could make the case that Gonzaga was the best team. In fact, had they finished off Saint Mary’s in the WCC championship, they would have been in the top left corner of your brackets without a question. While Florida St. certainly has a shot to keep it close or even pull out a win, Gonzaga is still the heavy favorite.”
– Bobby Sylvester (@bobbyfantasypro)

Oregon: +8.5 vs. Virginia
“I absolutely love Oregon here. They are playing as well — if not better — than anyone right now, and tactically, their shooting and slashing is going to break Virginia’s Pack Line Defense. With that solid regular season scheme, shooters make them extend, which erases the actual ‘pack line’ and creates passing and cutting lanes. I would take Oregon on the ML for 1/2 unit to go with Oregon +8.5 for 2-3 units.”
– Jared Still (@jaredstill)

Florida State: +7 vs. Gonzaga
“Surprisingly, most of the early money is coming in on Gonzaga despite Florida State winning in this exact spot a year ago. Sure, Brandon Clarke and Killie Tillie weren’t available in that game, but the Seminoles have almost the exact same roster and are arguably better. FSU’s athleticism is something Gonzaga hasn’t seen since the Duke game. Christ Koumadje and Mfiondu Kabengale present viable opposition to Rui Hachimura and Clarke in the frontcourt, while the Seminoles have a slew of options in the backcourt led by Terance Mann, who had 18 points in last year’s meeting. These teams are much closer than the spread suggests.”
– Adam Zdroik (@RotoZdroik)

Friday 3/29

Houston: +2.5 vs. Kentucky
“Houston should be favored in my opinion. Kentucky is not at full-strength without P.J. Washington, who happens to also be their best player. Kentucky was lucky to skate past Wofford, mostly because Fletcher Magee shot 0-12 from three-point range, an incredibly uncharacteristic shooting performance for arguably the best three-point shooter to ever play college basketball.”
– Shane Davies (@sbdavies7)

“If P.J. Washington is out, this line should drop because he’s Kentucky’s leading scorer and rebounder. Replacements E.J. Montgomery and Nick Richards are almost the oppposite of Washington in that neither is an offensive threat or able to stretch the floor. The Cougars have a great defense, but they also have a deeper team that has more attacking options than Kentucky if Washington doesn’t play. To boot, Houston also has multiple bigs to thwart whatever Reid Travis tries to do in the paint.”
– Adam Zdroik (@RotoZdroik)

Auburn: +5.5 vs. North Carolina
“This line opened up at +5.5 but has already come down to +4.5 on multiple sites. If you are able to get your hands on +5.5 or even +5, you’ve got to do it. In fact, +4.5 is still a good bet, as Auburn is playing as well as any team in the country over the last month. They have rattled off 10 straight wins including an SEC tournament title, and their three-point shooting is as good as any other team in the country. As if that wasn’t enough, consider that they played Duke tight on a neutral court and force over 20 turnovers per game which leads the nation. Auburn could have very easily been a No. 3 seed and they figure to keep it close against the worst No. 1 seed in the tournament.”
– Bobby Sylvester (@bobbyfantasypro)

LSU: +6.5 vs. Michigan State
“Headed into the second weekend, LSU has been battle tested this tournament, beating the efficient Yale and athletic Maryland. The Spartans, on the other hand, played Bradley and Minnesota and still struggled to play well for the full 40 minutes. Michigan State is better coached but less talented (outside of Winston) and have been careless with the basketball. They have a total of 31 turnovers (20 coming against Minnesota), while LSU has just 23 total turnovers. LSU’s length and athleticism will be a problem for the Spartans, as will the guard play from Tremont Waters.”
– Zach Brunner (@FantasyFlurry)