2025 NCAA Tournament Sweet 16 Betting
The 2025 NCAA Sweet Sixteen is full of teams from power conferences, as for the first time in Sweet 16 history, all of the teams are from Power Five conferences. The only double-digit seed to make it to this year’s Sweet Sixteen is John Calipari’s Arkansas Razorbacks who are a No. 10 seed. The SEC has a record seven teams in the Sweet Sixteen. The 2025 NCAA Tournament Sweet Sixteen takes place on Thursday, March 27 with games in New Jersey and San Francisco and Friday, March 28 with regional games in Atlanta and Indianapolis. All four No. 1 seeds are still alive and they are the top four teams in March Madness futures to win the NCAA title. The Duke Blue Devils are the favorite and they are followed by the Florida Gators, Auburn Tigers and Houston Cougars. Those are the only teams listed at single-digit odds, as the remaining 12 teams are all considered longshots to win the NCAA Championship.
NCAA Basketball Betting Lines
2025 NCAA Tournament Regional Semifinals/Sweet 16
Thursday, March 27
(2) Alabama vs. (6) BYU, 7:09 PM | CBS, (Alabama -4.5, O/U 175.5)
(1) Florida vs. (4) Maryland, 7:39 PM | TBS, (Florida -6.5, O/U 155.5)
(1) Duke vs. (4) Arizona, 9:39 PM | CBS, (Duke -9, O/U 153.5)
(3) Texas Tech vs. (10) Arkansas, 10:09 PM | TBS, (Texas Tech -5.5, O/U 147.5)
Friday, March 28
(2) Michigan State vs. (6) Ole Miss, 7:09 PM | CBS, (Michigan State -3.5, O/U 144.5)
(2) Tennessee vs. (3) Kentucky, 7:39 PM | TBS, (Tennessee -4.5, O/U 146.5)
(1) Auburn vs. (5) Michigan, 9:39 PM | CBS, (Auburn -8, O/U 153)
(1) Houston vs. (4) Purdue, 10:09 PM | TBS, (Houston -8, O/U 133.5)
Duke is listed as the biggest favorite in the Sweet Sixteen, as they are laying 9 points to No. 4 seed Arizona on Thursday. The second-biggest favorite is Houston who is laying 8 points to No. 4 seed Purdue on Friday. The other matchups for the top seeds have Florida taking on No. 4 seed Maryland on Thursday and Auburn playing No. 5 seed Michigan on Friday. The other four games that don’t involve top seeds have BYU taking on Alabama Thursday in what should be a very high scoring game. Alabama led the country in scoring, averaging over 91 points per game and BYU is not afraid to play a high scoring game, as they averaged over 81 points per game this season. The late game on Thursday has Arkansas looking for another upset, as they face third-seeded Texas Tech. The other two games on Friday have No. 6 seed Mississippi playing second-seeded Michigan State and No. 3 Kentucky taking on No. 2 Tennessee.
No. 1 seeds have done well in the Sweet 16, winning 21 of their last 27 games. Last season, two of the top seeds won in the Sweet 16. This year will see all four top seeds in the Sweet 16 once again. Despite the fact that top seeds have done well overall in the Sweet 16, keep in mind that at least one team seeded No. 7 through No. 11 has reached the Final Four every year since 2011 except in 2012 and 2019. Last season it was No. 11 NC State who made the Final Four. The matchup between No. 2 and No. 3 seeds in the Sweet Sixteen has seen the No. 2 seeds holding a 33-19 record all-time against the No. 3 seeds.
This is the weekend that separates the men from the boys as anyone can win one or two games in the NCAA Tournament. At this point, teams have actually been able to do some scouting for upcoming opponents and that hurts the smaller programs that can no longer sneak up on their opponents.
NCAA Tournament Sweet 16 Format
The Sweet Sixteen often serves as midnight striking for Cinderella in the NCAA Tournament. With a handful of exceptions, the darlings of the first two rounds find that they don’t have enough to make it to the Elite Eight. All of the winners in the Sweet 16 will play in the Elite Eight two days later, and that's where the nets get cut down for teams that are headed to college basketball's version of Mecca, the Final Four.
One double-digit seed advanced out of the Sweet Sixteen last season with No. 11 NC State beating No. 2 seed Marquette and then it was the Wolfpack beating No. 4 seed Duke in the Elite Eight to make the Final Four. When you are considering the most successful double-digit seeds in recent NCAA Tournament history, nearly all of the big wins have come from No. 10 or No. 11 seeds. Before Saint Peter’s made it to the Elite Eight two years ago, only two teams that were between a No. 12 seed and a No. 16 seed made it to that point. Both were No. 12 seeds as Missouri made history in 2002 and Oregon State did it in 2021. The latter NCAA Tournament was full of history for double-digit seeds as Oral Roberts made the Sweet Sixteen as a No. 15 seed, and UCLA made the Final Four as a No. 11 seed.
No. 1 and No. 2 seeds have lived up to their billing here. Teams that are on the top two lines in their regional are significantly more likely to move on than any other seed, and the difference is massive. We have seen No. 8 seeds play very well too, as they have virtually always beaten a No. 1 seed to get to this point.
2024 NCAA Tournament Regional Semifinals/Sweet 16 Results
March 29 - East Regional - Boston, Massachusetts:
(1) UConn 82, (5) San Diego State 52
(3) Illinois 72, (2) Iowa State 69
March 29 - West Regional - Los Angeles, California:
(1) North Carolina 87, (4) Alabama 89
(6) Clemson 77, (2) Arizona 72
March 29 - South Regional - Dallas, Texas:
(1) Houston 51, (4) Duke 54
(11) NC State 67, (2) Marquette 58
March 29 - Midwest Regional - Detroit, Michigan:
(1) Purdue 80, (5) Gonzaga 68
(3) Creighton 75, (2) Tennessee 82
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