To say we had “madness” in Friday’s opening round games is an understatement, as underdogs made quick work of busting brackets. There was no more significant upset than Oral Roberts over Ohio State, as the Golden Eagles became the ninth No. 15 seed ever to beat a No. 2 seed. On Sunday, they will attempt to become the second No. 15 seed to ever advance to the Sweet 16, following Florida Gulf Coast in 2013. ESPN’s Chris Fallica beautifully summed on Friday’s madness on Twitter.
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1st time since 2013 3 teams 12th or lower won on the 1st day of the Tournament.
1st time since 2010 2 teams 13th or lower won on the 1st day of the Tournament.
1st time since 2015 3 OT games on the 1st day of the Tournament.
Afte last year we deserve every bit of it!
— Chris Fallica (@chrisfallica) March 20, 2021
Sunday’s action features four games each from the South and Midwest regions.
Here are our picks for Sunday's second-round NCAA tournament action.
All odds via BettingPros consensus
Check out our Survivor Guide for Sunday’s Round 2 games >>
#8 Loyola Chicago vs. #1 Illinois (-7): 12:10 PM ET
Loyola Chicago caught a break against Georgia Tech with ACC Player of the Year, Moses Wright, was ruled out after testing positive for COVID-19. However, do not let that detract from the Ramblers’ dominant performance. Loyola Chicago won by 11 despite allowing the Yellow Jackets to shoot 57.4% from the field. Their big victory was primarily because they out-rebounded Georgia Tech 30-17, securing seemingly every loose ball. The Ramblers were the much more aggressive team despite facing a zone defense most of the game, as they shot 15 free throws to Georgia Tech’s five. Illinois is one of the two hottest teams in the country now, but to think they are going to steamroll a formidable Ramblers team is naive.
Most metrics suggest this year’s Loyola Chicago team is better than the squad that made the Final Four in 2018. They match up very well with Illinois, as the stifling defense of Braden Norris can frustrate Illinois’s Ayo Dosunmu. The Illini have an advantage over most teams with the brute force and physicality of Kofi Cockburn. However, Ramblers big man Cameron Krutwig is up to the challenge. Krutwig does a great job of staying out of foul trouble, as he has not committed more than three fouls in any game this season. Look for Loyola Chicago head coach Porter Moses to quickly double Cockburn every time he touches the ball and rely on their outstanding defensive rotations to get back to three-point shooters.
Loyola Chicago has covered each of their last four games, so they are not the only ones riding a wave of momentum in this matchup.
#9 Wisconsin vs. #1 Baylor (-6): 2:40 PM ET
The Wisconsin Badgers played a near-perfect game in their 85-62 victory over the North Carolina Tar Heels. They shot better than 50% from the field and out-rebounded North Carolina 37-34, which was an area where most thought they would be vulnerable. It would be easy to evaluate this game in isolation and suggest that they cover this six-point spread against Baylor. However, when assessing the whole season, their trends suggest otherwise.
The Badgers feasted on the Big Ten’s weaker competition but struggled against the top teams. Wisconsin was a combined 0-9 SU against the top five teams in the conference, losing those games by an average of 10.1 PPG. They have not lost a game by more than five points in over a month, but none of those losses came against a team the caliber of Baylor.
The Bears sleepwalked their way to a 24-point opening-round victory over Hartford, failing to cover as 25.5-point favorites. Baylor is now just 1-4 ATS in their last five games. However, after Wisconsin’s dominating performance, they should have Baylor’s full attention.
Check out our best NCAA Tournament prop bets for Sunday >>
#11 Syracuse vs. #3 West Virginia (-3.5): 5:15 PM ET
Stop me if you have heard this before. The Syracuse Orange are squarely on the bubble entering the ACC tournament. They need at least one or two wins to be assured of an at-large berth in the NCAA tournament. They secure said at-large berth as a double-digit seed, and their menacing 2-3 zone leads them to upset after upset. That was precisely the same script they followed in their Final Four run in 2016 as a No. 10 seed, and this year’s NCAA tournament run has started the same way.
https://twitter.com/NicoleAuerbach/status/1373099882442063875
Syracuse’s 2-3 zone was active and disruptive against San Diego State, holding the Aztecs to 11-for-40 (27.5%) from three-point range. Though the zone typically leaves the Orange vulnerable on the backboards, they out-rebounded San Diego State 34-33. Any time the Aztecs got the ball down low, Marek Dolezaj, Kadary Richmond, and company was there to alter shots, blocking eight in total. West Virginia has just one day to prepare for Syracuses’s unorthodox defense, and that is not an enviable position to be in.
The Mountaineers are 0-4 ATS in their last four games, while Syracuse is a perfect 4-0 ATS in their previous four. Look for those trends to continue, as Syracuse will once again ride their March wave of momentum.
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Mike Spector is a featured writer at BettingPros. For more from Mike, check out his archive and follow him @MikeSpector01.