NCAA Tournament 2021 Odds: Opening Lines, Over/Unders for Every Sweet 16 Game
Photo by Justin Casterline/Getty Images. Pictured: Juwan Howard, Michigan Basketball
- Opening lines are out for the 2021 NCAA Tournament Sweet 16 games, which begin Saturday, March 27.
- There are a few big spreads for the Sweet 16, including Gonzaga against Creighton and Arkansas against Oral Roberts, plus a few tight matchups projected like USC vs. Oregon and Florida State vs. Michigan.
- March Madness action runs through Tuesday, when the Final Four will be set.
NCAA Tournament Sweet 16 Odds
Saturday, March 27
Odds via DraftKings
| Underdog | Favorite | Spread | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| Villanova | Baylor | -6.5 | 140 |
| Oregon State | Loyola | -7 | 127 |
| Oral Roberts | Arkansas | -10.5 | 159.5 |
| Syracuse | Houston | -6 | 140 |
Perhaps Loyola-Chicago snuck up on the general public before Sunday’s win over Illinois in the second round of the NCAA Tournament. But the Ramblers are underdogs no more as they sit as 7-point favorites at DraftKings in the Sweet 16 against Oregon State.
This will actually be the second time in three games that Loyola is favored. The Ramblers were 2.5-point favorites against Georgia Tech in the first round, closing as 5.5-point favorites when it was announced Moses Wright wouldn’t play for the Yellow Jackets. But a team that felt disrespected with an 8-seed will now play the role of favorite against the Beavers.
Arkansas is also back in the favorite role after closing as an underdog to Texas Tech in the second round despite holding the higher seed. The No. 3 Razorbacks beat the No. 6 Red Raiders 68-66 as a 2-point underdog, but will be the biggest favorite in Saturday’s Sweet 16 game against this year’s Cinderella, Oral Roberts.
Arkansas opened at -13, but has since moved to -10.5. The Golden Eagles are riding the duo of Max Abmas and Kevin Obanor, who led the team to wins over Ohio State and Florida.
The No. 15 seed is the second all-time to reach the Sweet 16 along with Florida Gulf Coast back in 2013. FGC lost to Florida that year, 62-50.
Baylor is a 6.5-point favorite over Jay Wright’s Villanova Wildcats, who are playing without star point guard Collin Gillespie.
Houston survived an upset scare in the second round against Rutgers to move on as a 6-point favorite versus Syracuse. With Illinois’ loss, Houston is the top seed remaining in the region.
Sunday, March 28
Odds via DraftKings
| Underdog | Favorite | Spread | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| Creighton | Gonzaga | -13.5 | 158.5 |
| Florida State | Michigan | -3 | 145 |
| UCLA | Alabama | -5.5 | 142.5 |
| Oregon | USC | -1.5 | 140 |
Odds via DraftKings as of March 23
The Michigan Wolverines are the lone Big Ten team left and they’ll have their hands full in the Sweet 16 as a short favorite against Florida State.
The Wolverines are 3-point favorites against the ACC regular season champion Seminoles when the teams meet on Sunday.
That’s not the shortest spread of the day, though. That belongs to the Pac-12 matchup between Oregon and USC which has the Trojans favored by 1.5 points. The winner of that game will advance to the Elite 8 to take on the winner of Gonzaga and Creighton. It’s no surprise that Gonzaga is the biggest favorite of the weekend at -13.5.
Finally, UCLA looks to continue its tournament run as a 5.5-point underdog against Alabama.
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