The wackiness continued in the South Region in the Sweet Sixteen, as two lower seeds once again came away with victories to set up an unlikely Elight Eight. The No. 9 seed Kansas Wildcats will face off against the No. 11 Loyola-Chicago Ramblers next time out with a berth in the FInal Four on the line.
Kansas State is the higher seed, but Loyola-Chicago is on a magical small-school run. The Ramblers have upset three straight teams to get to this point and would love to pull out another win to survive the weekend and become the South Region champions.
A region which started with teams like Virginia, Arizona, Kentucky and Cincinnati as the favorites has been whittled down to two low seeds both vying for a place in the national semifinals in college basketball odds.
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We'll have NCAA odds at BookMaker.eu available for this and every game on the NCAA Saturday schedule.
Odds Analysis
This one could be a very entertaining game as the oddsmakers have instituted it as a pick ‘em on the March Madness betting spread. Kansas State is currently garnering about 62 percent of the vote so the betting public feels like the Wildcats are the slightly better choice. The scoring total is set at 127 and both the “over” and the “under” are getting about 50 percent of the action.
Loyola-Chicago is 31-5 straight up and 24-10 against the spread. The Ramblers have covered in seven of eight contests at neutral sites this season, including all three in the NCAA Tournament. Loyola-Chicago is 7-1 against the spread as the underdog on the season.
Kansas State is 25-11 straight up and 16-17 against the spread. The Wildcats have gone 3-6 against the spread at neutral sites. They are 7-9 against the spread as the favorite. The line may shift to make them ever-so-slight favorites before the Elite Eight.
Last Time Out
Loyola-Chicago’s penchant for memorable wins in the NCAA Tournament continued in the Sweet Sixteen as Marques Towns nailed a three-pointer with 6.3 seconds remaining to clinch a 69-68 win over Nevada. It was the Ramblers’ third straight win by two points or fewer in the tournament. They knocked off Miami 64-62 in the opener, Tennessee 63-62 in the second round before downing the Wolf Pack.
Loyola-Chicago shot a sparkling 55.8 percent from the field in the contest, and if it shoots that well again it will have a great chance to beat Kansas State and make a Cinderella run to the Final Four.
Kansas State got here by hanging on for a 61-58 win over Kentucky in the Sweet Sixteen. Barry Brown had the decisive shot, slithering into the lane and scoring in the final minute to break a 58-58 tie. Kentucky had a chance to tie or take the lead but couldn’t convert. Kansas State held Kentucky to just 38 percent shooting in the contest.
Key Stat
0. That’s the number of times before this that a No. 9 seed has met a No. 11 in the Elite Eight. One of these teams is going to make the Final Four, putting the finishing touches on a region that has gone unexpectedly throughout.
Virginia became the first No. 1 seed to lose to a No. 16 while fellow top-four seeds Arizona, Cincinnati and Tennessee were all finished on the opening weekend. Loyola-Chicago and Kansas State have shown great perseverance and now they are here with their championship dreams still alive.
Free NCAA ATS Picks
Kansas State’s defense was able to dictate the action against Kentucky and should be able to do the same in this one. The Ramblers have had a great run but look for it to come to an end here. The pick is the Wildcats to win a defensive slugfest in the Elite Eight and move along to the Final Four in NCAA basketball betting lines.
NCAA Odds: Kansas State 67, Loyola-Chicago 63
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