Intriguing Sweet 16 Betting Lines

In our series Tipico Edge, we work with both our internal analysts and external experts to provide you with betting insights and tips on key games or tournaments.

By Sasha Yodashkin, Rotowire

Many brackets have been busted after a wild first two rounds of the NCAA Tournament, but you still have a chance to cash in, even if all of your bracket pool or Calcutta auction hopes have been dashed.

Tipico Sportsbook has numerous offerings related to the NCAA Tournament, such as single-game moneyline, spread and point total bets, as well as parlays, same game parlays, props and futures. Below are some of the best betting possibilities available heading into the Sweet 16 Thursday and Friday.

Alabama (-300) is a safe bet to beat San Diego State on Friday. The top overall seed in the NCAA Tournament has lived up to that moniker by blowing out its first two opponents by more than 20 points. Despite playing a tough SEC schedule, Alabama has gone 30-5 in 2023, including an SEC Tournament championship.

Meanwhile, San Diego State is still largely unproven. The No. 5 seed benefited from a fortuitous draw, beating No. 12 seed Charleston followed by No. 13 seed Furman. The Aztecs come from the suspect Mountain West Conference, which had lost 10 consecutive NCAA Tournament games heading into the 2023 edition and got zero wins out of its three other entrants besides San Diego State this year.

Bet the Tourney: In Ohio | Colorado | New Jersey | Iowa

Odds, Lines, Spread, Trends Info for All Games

In addition to its superior on-court resume, Alabama will also be the beneficiary of one key off-court factor: travel. The South region Sweet 16 and Elite Eight games will be played in Louisville, Ky., which is far closer to Alabama than San Diego.

Alabama’s in good position to cover the 7.5-point spread as well, but you can play it safer by betting on the Crimson Tide moneyline, especially if you plan to parlay that pick with some of the other best betting possibilities from Tipico Sportsbook.

For the biggest Alabama believers, Tipico Sportsbook offers the “Crimson is Color of Power” boost, which ups the odds of Alabama to score 78-plus points and win by at least 10 points from +310 to +370.

UCONN LOOKING DOMINANT

Another favorite that’s likely to avoid an upset in the Sweet 16 is UConn. The No. 4 seed in the West region has been almost as dominant as Alabama in the South, beating its first two opponents by at least 14 points apiece.

Rather than having to face No. 1 seed Kansas in the Sweet 16, UConn will instead take on No. 8 seed Arkansas, which knocked off Kansas 72-71 in the second round. Connecticut is a -175 moneyline favorite and a 3.5-point spread favorite for Thursday’s game against the Razorbacks.

Bet the Tourney: In Ohio | Colorado | New Jersey | Iowa

Odds, Lines, Spread, Trends Info for All Games

Look for the Huskies to cover the spread by pressing their rebounding advantage against a guard-oriented opponent. Big man Adama Sanogo has been unstoppable inside for UConn thus far in the NCAA Tournament, averaging 26.0 PPG and 10.5 RPG through two rounds. He isn’t the only Connecticut player capable of crashing the glass, as UConn’s 38.1 offensive rebounding percentage is the top mark in the entire country.

CHECK OUT TEXAS-XAVIER O/U

Another one of the best betting possibilities on Tipico Sportsbook is under 147.5 combined points in the matchup between No. 2 seed Texas and No. 3 seed Xavier in the Midwest region.

The combined point total in Texas’ last six games has ranged from 108 to 142. Xavier has played some more up-tempo games recently, but four of the Musketeers’ last six games have finished with fewer than 147.5 combined points.

With both defenses giving maximum effort for 40 minutes and nerves adding a layer of difficulty to even the easiest of shots at this stage, reaching the lofty total of 147.5 points won’t be easy for these two teams Friday.

Tipico Sportsbook users can wager on any of these offerings on their own or combine multiple bets into a single parlay wager.

Bet the Tourney: In Ohio | Colorado | New Jersey | Iowa

Odds, Lines, Spread, Trends Info for All Games

A three-leg parlay consisting of the Alabama moneyline (-300) against San Diego State, Uconn -3.5 points (-115) against Arkansas, and under 147.5 total points (-110) in Texas-Xavier works out to +375 odds. A winning $100 wager on that three-leg parlay would pay out an additional $375.89 at Tipico Sportsbook for a total of $475.89.