Duke and Houston Favored Over Arkansas and Villanova in Elite Eight

The Blue Devils are set to play the Razorbacks and the Cougars will take on Wildcats in the Elite Eight on Saturday.

Saturday's Elite Eight  Matchups and Point Spread

WEST

Point Spread: No. 2 Duke (-4) vs No. 4 Arkansas 

Moneyline: Duke -180, Arkansas +110

Game Total: 147

SOUTH

Point Spread: No. 5 Houston (-2) vs No. 2 Villanova 

Moneyline: Houston -130, Villanova +110

Game Total:  128

The NCAA men’s Sweet 16 action lived up to its moniker - “March Madness” - in a big way on Thursday night! After the first four games of the Sweet 16,  only one No. 1 seed remains in the tournament after both Gonzaga and Arizona lost. The lone remaining No. 1 seed Kansas was immediately installed as the new overall betting favorite on the futures market by oddsmakers.

The previous top betting favorite on SI Sportsbook to win the National Championship was No. 1 overall seed Gonzaga with odds of +230. But the Bulldogs will have to wait another year in their quest to attain the program's first NCAA national championship after being upset 74-68 by Arkansas as 9.5-point favorites. The Razorbacks, who were +420 on the moneyline, saw their odds in the futures market sliced from +5500 down to +1200 after the victory.

In the South Region, No. 2 seed Villanova advanced to their third Elite Eight in the last six tournaments after beating No. 11 seed Michigan 63-55 as 4.5-point favorites. Senior Jermaine Samuels played one of his best games of the season, scoring a game-high 22 points but more importantly enabled Jay Wright’s squad to control the boards and limit the production of Wolverines star center Hunter Dickenson.

In the nightcap, another No. 1 seed went down when Arizona (-1.5) was upset by No. 5 Houston, 72-60. The Cougars used a suffocating defense to hold the Wildcast’s high octane offense, which was averaging 84.7 points per game, to their second-lowest output of the season.

No. 2 seed Duke overcame a four-point halftime deficit to beat No. 3 seed Texas Tech, 78-73. The Blue Devils helped Coach Mike Krzyzewski reach the Elite Eight for the 17th time in his final season on the sidelines. Duke received a tremendous performance from freshman Paolo Banchero who scored a game-high 21 points. In a close game down the stretch, the Blue Devils sealed the victory thanks to tremendous free throw shooting, converting 15 of 17 (87.5%) as a team.

As we continue to stress, simply having the ‘perceived’ easiest paths does not always lead to success for the top seeds. In fact, only one No. 1 seed, Kansas, two No. 2 seeds, Villanova and Duke, one No. 3 seed, Purdue and two No. 4 seeds, UCLA and Providence remain in the field. Among the top 16 seeded teams in the tournament, only six remain.

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FUTURES ODDS TO WIN 2022 NCAA CHAMPIONSHIP

Kansas +350

Houston +450

Duke +600

Purdue +600

Villanova +800

UCLA +900

Arkansas +1200

North Carolina +2200

Providence +7000

Miami+7000

Iowa State +10000

St. Peter’s +30000

Check the Latest Odds at SI Sportsbook

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Frankie Taddeo is a successful high-stakes fantasy football player who created the first-ever DFS program ever offered in a Las Vegas sportsbook. Frankie is SI Betting's Senior Analyst and provides his significant experience and resources in the sports betting scene. You can follow Frankie on Twitter @Frankie_Fantasy for his latest betting and fantasy insights from Las Vegas.