Thursday Sweet 16 Betting Preview

The Madness returns on Thursday with the first batch of Sweet 16 games featuring the West and South regions.

In the West, the first game on tap is the No. 1 seed Gonzaga Bulldogs vs the No. 4 Florida State Seminoles. At Bovada Sportsbook, the Bulldogs are a 7-point favorite.

Gonzaga has gone 1-1 against the spread so far in the tournament and its wins in the first two rounds have improved the Bulldogs’ recent tournament record to 9-1 straight up and 4-6 ATS in their last 10. They have never been a great bet in the tournament at 2-5 ATS in their last seven and 3-8-1 ATS in their last 12.

Florida State is also 1-1 ATS in the tournament so far and heads into the Sweet 16 with an 8-1 SU record and 3-6 ATS mark in its last nine. The Seminoles have been surprisingly strong as an underdog in the tournament at 5-1 SU and 6-0 ATS in their last six.

The Bulldogs and Seminoles met up in the Sweet 16 last year and Florida State upset Gonzaga 75-60 as a 6-point underdog.

Michigan has won 15 straight in tourney as favorite

In the other West Region matchup, the No. 2 Michigan Wolverines face the No. 3 Texas Tech Red Raiders as a 2-point favorite.

Michigan is 2-0 ATS through the tournament so far and is 4-1 SU and ATS in its last five games. As a favorite in the tournament, the Wolverines have won 15 straight at 11-3-1 ATS.

Texas Tech is also 2-0 ATS in the tournament, and 11-1 SU and 10-2 ATS in its last 12. In the tournament, the Red Raiders are 5-1 SU and 4-2 ATS in their last six, but as an underdog they’re 3-5 SU and 4-4 ATS in their last eight.

Volunteers favored by 2 over Boilermakers

In the South Region, the first matchup is the No. 2 Tennessee Volunteers vs the No. 3 Purdue Boilermakers as a 2-point favorite.

Tennessee is 0-2 ATS in the tournament and a lousy 3-8 ATS in its last 11 games as a favorite. The Volunteers have a lackluster history in the Sweet 16 at 1-4 SU and 2-2-1 ATS in their last five.

Purdue has covered in both its games in the tournament and in its last 10 is 8-2 SU and 5-5 ATS. As an underdog in the tournament, the Boilermakers are 3-7 SU and 6-4 ATS in their last 10, while in the Sweet 16 they’re 1-6 SU and ATS in their last seven.

Ducks 7-1 ATS in last 8 as Madness underdog

Our last matchup in the South is the No. 1 Virginia Cavaliers vs the No. 12 Oregon Ducks as an 8.5-point favorite.

Virginia is 11-1 SU and 8-4 ATS in its last 12, including going 1-1 ATS in the tournament. The Cavaliers have disappointed bettors in the tournament lately, going 1-5 ATS in their last six and 3-8 ATS in their last 11.

Oregon is on a 10-game winning streak both SU and ATS. The Ducks have also been a great bet in the tournament at 6-1 ATS in their last seven, and 7-1 ATS in their last eight as an underdog.

Virginia is 2-0 SU and ATS in its last two matchups against Oregon. The teams last met up in 2011 and Virginia won 67-54 as a 2.5-point favorite.