Now that the West Regional has been previewed, there is just one region left—the Southwest. Kansas is the clear favorite for this region.
Kansas (32-2) leads the odds to win the Southwest Regional with Notre Dame (26-6), Purdue (25-7) and Louisville (25-9) following behind for your online betting.
Kansas dominated the Big 12 this year and won the regular season and tournament titles. The Jayhawks are the top seed in the Southwest and have reached 14 Final Fours in school history, the latest being 2008.
The next two teams have risen back to prominence after struggling for decades. Notre Dame turned some heads in the stacked Big East and earned a No. 2 seed. The Irish have been to just one Final Four, which was all the way back in 1978. Purdue finished second in the Big Ten and is the third seed. The Boilermakers have been to two Final Fours, the last one being 1980.
Louisville is the fourth seed and also comes out of the Big East. The Cardinals narrowly lost to a red hot Connecticut squad in the Big East Tournament final. They have been to eight Final Fours in school history, the latest being 2005 under Rick Pitino.
NCAA Tournament Southwest Regional Second Round Match Odds (provided by William Hill)
No. 1 Kansas vs. No. 16 Boston U
Kansas: 1/100
Boston U: 20/1
Point Spread: Kansas -22.5
Over/Under: 136
No. 8 UNLV vs. No. 9 Illinois
UNLV: 20/27
Illinois: 23/20
Point Spread: UNLV -2
Over/Under: 132
No. 5 Vanderbilt vs. No. 12 Richmond
Vanderbilt: 5/7
Richmond: 6/5
Point Spread: Vanderbilt -2
Over/Under: 135
No. 4 Louisville vs. No. 13 Morehead State
Louisville: 2/11
Morehead State: 15/4
Point Spread: Louisville -9.5
Over/Under: 131
No. 6 Georgetown vs. No. 11 USC/VCU play-in winner
USC: 1/2
VCU: 17/10
Point Spread: USC -4.5
Over/Under: 127.5
USC should beat VCU in the play-in game and is my upset pick to beat Georgetown. Georgetown isn’t fully healthy and USC has too much talent down low. USC could be a Cinderella team this year but probably won’t get much past this game.
No. 3 Purdue vs. No. 14 St. Peter’s
Purdue: 1/14
St. Peter’s: 8/1
Point Spread: Purdue -14
Over/Under: 119.5
No. 7 Texas A&M vs. No. 10 Florida State
Texas A&M: 20/21
Florida State: 20/23
Point Spread: Florida State -1
Over/Under: 122
No. 2 Notre Dame vs. No. 15 Akron
Notre Dame: 1/12
Akron: 7/1
Point Spread: Notre Dame -13
Over/Under: 136
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