So how’s the Midwest Region of your bracket looking? It looks like hot garbage if you’re like me and penciled Illinois all the way into the Final Four! You can blame it all on Porter Moser and his Loyola-Chicago Ramblers who pulled a wire-to-wire job of the Fighting Illini in the Round of 32. I wanted to propel Cameron Krutwig and his mates deep into my bracket, but a Round of 32 tilt against the B1G champs gave me pause. Shame on the selection committee for installing the Ramblers a No. 8 seed! Evidently they’re not and I’d go as far as stating they should’ve been at the very worst a No. 5 and matched up with the great story that’s turned into the Oregon State Beavers in the Round of 64. Instead, online sportsbooks now must offer up lines, totals and everything in between for a highly unforeseen 8/12 Sweet Sixteen matchup. Though not a bout between perennial bluebloods, it still brings with it a major dose of intrigue. Loyola is out to become only the fourth No. 8 seed to reach the Elite Eight and first since 2004, while the Beavers will be looking to become only the second No. 12 seed to advance into the quarterfinals!
Tune into CBS to take this battle in live at 2:40 p.m. ET from Bankers Life Fieldhouse on Saturday, March 27, 2021. We'll have NCAA basketball odds at BookMaker.eu available for this and every game set to go down for Saturday’s Sweet Sixteen NCAA Tournament slate.
College Basketball Odds at BookMaker.eu
Oregon State Beavers +6.5
Loyola Chicago Ramblers -6.5
Total 125.5
Odds Analysis
What would you say if I told you that it was possible to snag the Ramblers at 300-1 to win the Big Dance back in September? How about 200-1 in January? You’d be kicking yourself just like me! The futures markets caught onto Loyola-Chicago in mid-January which saw them enter their Round 1 tilt against GTECH at 46-1. Now that they disposed of the Ramblin’ Wreck and Illini, Moser’s kids clock in at 16-1 and they’re +156 to win the Midwest Region behind only Houston +114. With that, it comes with little surprise to see them installed 6.5-point favorites to defeat Oregon State with the total lined at 125.5. But as well the Beavers have played at both ends of the court over the last two weeks, the betting markets scooped the +7 opener and also hit the under lowering it a full point from the initial offering.
Oregon State Beavers
Where the heck did this level of play come from? Oregon State managed a 14-12 overall record that saw it finish Pac-12 play a lone game over .500 at 11-10. Though it went on to win four of its final six regular season games, the dubs came against Utah twice, Cal and Stanford. The two defeats came against tourney teams Oregon and Colorado. Nothing to see right? Wrong! It took UCLA down in overtime in the quarters of the Pac-12 tourney, and then avenged both end of season losses to the Ducks and Buffaloes to miraculously punch its ticket to the dance. From there, the betting markets faded them big time in their Round of 64 tilt against Tennessee of whom they handled with ease. Then they took Cade Cunningham and the OK-State Cowboys to school to advance into the Sweet 16 for the first time since 1982. Nobody respects what Wayne Tinkle’s kids are doing right now, but I got a sense they feed off that disrespect and make it personal.
Loyola Chicago Ramblers
The Ramblers were far and away the best team in the Missouri Valley this season. Drake likely would’ve had something to say about that if they remained healthy, but they didn’t so they can’t. The 2017-18 team more or less skated past its opponents to reach the Final Four. That’s not the case with this year’s installment. While Georgia Tech made things interesting throughout, Loyola-Chicago still went on to win the game by a 71-60 final count and cover the closing 5-point spread with ease. Then it flat-out dominated the region’s No. 1 seed making a mockery of Illinois’ potent offense by holding it to just 58 points while forcing 17 turnovers. This team plays a nasty brand of defensive basketball as evidenced by its No. 1 ranking in defensive efficiency at KenPom. Three years ago, they were the hunted. This time around, they’re the hunters with it installed favorites to win a NCAA Tournament game for the second time in three tries. It’ll be interesting to see how they deal with that pressure on a stage they once thrived in as underdogs. Personally, I believe that all to be hot noise. This is a very good team that stands a very high percentage chance of cutting down the nets. Currently, a 5.88 percent chance to be exact and I think that’s still to low!
Oregon State vs. Loyola Chicago Prediction
ORST seemingly had a field day in the paint against both the Vols and Cowboys. Tennessee was without its defensive enforcer and second leading rebounder in John Fulkerson. Oklahoma State didn’t have anyone on the roster that could prevent Warith Alatishe or Roman Silva from eating the glass. The end result was a +21 rebounding advantage. If the Beavers are to have any shot in this game with Loyola slowing the pace to a crawl, it’s going to need to shoot like it did against Tennessee 48% as opposed to Oklahoma State 41%. If it doesn’t, it won’t win or cover the game with the Ramblers ranking out as the fourth best defensive rebounding team in the country. There won’t be many second chance scoring opportunities with Krutwig and company vacuuming in all the misses. I question Oregon State’s ability to routinely knock shots down against the nation’s most efficient defense. Because of it, I recommend laying the points with Sister Jean and also banking on Oregon State failing to surpass its team total of around 60 points.
BookMaker offers play-by-play betting odds for live sporting events every day! The user-friendly wagering interface on your smartphone provides an easy way to place bets on the go. Mobile betting lines are updated by the minute, so click here to start gambling on thrilling live action at BookMaker Sportsbook!
