Follow @SBTSportBetting [Get Exclusive Tips on our Patreon, Ad-Free]
Tonight begins the Sweet 16 of the NCAA tournament and it is mostly chalk. Gonzaga vs. West Virginia and Kansas vs. Purdue are both #1 vs. #4 match-ups. Arizona is a #2 and Oregon is a #3. The only two “surprise” teams playing tonight are Michigan, the #7 seed who beat #2 Louisville in the last round, and #11 Xavier. Xavier is the closest to a Cinderella story left in this tournament and it’ll be interesting to see what they can do against Arizona tonight.
NCAA Betting Tips:
Just before the tournament Oregon lost Chris Boucher who was a big part of their defense. This hasn’t been big for them as they came out scoring big in the first two rounds and had the fortune of playing low seeds. They won’t be so lucky tonight when they play the Michigan Wolverines. Michigan is red hot right now and this will be the first game that the Ducks feel the loss of Boucher. I think that won’t hurt them too much on offense, but it will kill their defense allowing Michigan +1 to advance.
Gonzaga is on quite a roll as of late. They only lost one game all season and have won five straight since. Even better they are 8-0 straight up against teams that made the tournament. There was a scare against Northwestern, but they had a huge lead in that game and maybe rested on it a bit in the second half. I think they come into this one more prepared. West Virginia had one of their best shooting performances of the year to beat Notre Dame and it’s hard to see that repeating. Gonzaga -3.5 should find their way back to the Elite 8 with a win here.
NBA Betting Tips:
The Miami Heat have had an amazing turnaround this year. From bottom dwellers to a 13-game win streak to a seemingly likely playoff berth, the Miami Heat have to be one of the best stories of the 2017 season. Give big credit to Erik Spoelstra who should be in line for Coach of the Year votes for the job he has done this year with this roster.
The Heat get a nice match-up tonight as they host the Toronto Raptors at home. The Raps are still without Kyle Lowry and will also miss Serge Ibaka who decided to throw a punch at Robin Lopez. That is not what the Raptors need right now, but is exactly the kind of break that the Heat -4 could use as they vie for a playoff berth. The fifth seed and a match-up against these Raptors is not out of the question.
The Clippers have had tons of injury woes this season, but are finally healthy and finally putting it together. They are making a serious run at the Jazz for the #4 seed and that will be a great series either way. They face Dallas tonight who is not a playoff team. They play hard and are tough to beat, but they aren’t on the Clips level. This should be an easy one for the Clippers -4.5 to put the pressure on the Jazz.
