NCAA Tournament Sweet 16 Picks for Thursday (Archive)
The Gonzaga Bulldogs rank first in effective field goal percentage on the offensive and defensive end this season. Teams are shooting just a 43% effective field goal percentage while Gonzaga shoots a 59.3% effective field goal percentage. Take a look below to see the best ones and start making your NCAAB picks.
Arkansas Razorbacks vs. Gonzaga Bulldogs
Thursday, March 24, 2022 – 07:09 PM EDT at Chase Center
It’s hard to beat a team like Gonzaga when they’re putting up those numbers. But we’ve seen many teams start to play a little bit uncharacteristically. Gonzaga has already been threatened by multiple teams in the Tournament but Arkansas really hasn’t.
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Arkansas, outside of high fouling, has played exceptional defense this season, holding teams to 32.6% from deep and 46.4% from inside the arc. Arkansas is no pushover but on the offensive end, the Razorbacks will need to do better than their season averages of 30.5% from deep and 50.3% from inside the arc.
The Razorbacks will get shots up but scoring will still be tough. Give me Gonzaga for my best bets.
NCAAB Pick: Gonzaga -9.5 (-110) with BetOnline (visit our BetOnline Review)
Michigan Wolverines vs. Villanova Wildcats
Thursday, March 24, 2022 – 07:29 EDT at AT&T Center
The Michigan Wolverines made it to the Sweet 16 as an 11-seed. We weren’t really blindsided to it because Michigan was supposed to be this good at the start of the season. Michigan has the talent to beat any team in the nation.
However, Villanova will present challenges. Michigan is shooting 33.9% from three and will rarely take three-point shots. Therefore, the Wolverines will look to score inside where they are 53.3% on the season.
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Meanwhile, Villanova is holding teams to 30.6% from deep and 48.6% from inside the arc while limiting fouls and forcing 18.8% turnovers. Villanova will shoot much better from the floor, hitting 36.2% from deep and 50.5% from inside. Plus, Villanova is 82.6% from the foul line. Meanwhile, Michigan can’t even earn a decent amount of turnovers.
NCAAB Pick: Villanova -5 (-110) with BetOnline
Texas Tech Red Raiders vs. Duke Blue Devils
Thursday, March 24, 2022 – 09:39 PM EDT at Chase Center
I’ve been going back and forth with this game all week. Texas Tech has turned the ball over 20% of the time but Duke isn’t really a threat to force turnovers at that high of a rate. Also, the
Red Raiders have struggled from deep and will need to score at a high rate inside the arc. Texas Tech is hitting 32.2% from deep and 55% from inside the arc.
However, Duke is holding teams to 31.9% from three and 46.4% from inside the arc. Duke is also limiting teams from getting to the foul line and are in the top five in FTA/FGA defensively. On the other hand, Duke’s offense won’t have it all that easy against Texas Tech’s defense.
The Red Raiders are the top team in the nation defensively and are holding teams to 31.4% from deep along with 44% from inside the arc. I like the defense for both teams to step up in tonight’s game.
NCAAB Pick: Under 137 (-110) with BetOnline
Houston Cougars vs. Arizona Wildcats
Thursday, March 24, 2022 – 09:59 PM EDT at AT&T Center
We might see another big-time defensive game between Houston and Arizona. After all, both teams are in the top 20 in adjusted efficiency on the offensive and defensive end, so it’s hard to know exactly what we’re going to get here.
Houston and Arizona should both be able to destroy the offensive glass and earn second chances. However, Houston’s going to foul a whole lot more and that should send Arizona to the line for more freebies.
With Houston shooting just 66.7% from the foul line this season, I’d be more comfortable backing Arizona in what should be a back-and-forth battle.
NCAAB Pick: Arizona (-120) with BetOnline
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