Sweet 16 Best Bets: March Madness Expert Prop and Against the Spread Picks
The 2022 NCAA Tournament resumes Thursday night, starting with Arkansas vs. Gonzaga (7:09 ET) and Michigan vs Villanova (7:29 ET), with Texas Tech vs. Duke (9:39 ET) and Houston vs. Arizona (9:59 ET) serving as the nightcap for the first day of Sweet 16 games.
Next to the Super Bowl, March Madness is the most popular sports betting event of the year. Unfortunately, not everyone has access to legal mobile sportsbooks. However, one way to get in on the madness is by picking college basketball player props at some of the top DFS sites.
In fact, you can do just that while simultaneously taking advantage of some excellent sign-up incentives via our PrizePicks promo code, Underdog Fantasy promo code, and SuperDraft promo code.
All three sites have Sweet 16 props available in their lobby for Thursday and Friday night. Even better? Our friends at ScoresAndOdds have teamed up with PrizePicks to deliver you a ridiculous 2-in-1 special that will give you a $100 deposit bonus when you sign-up at PrizePicks + 3 months free of SAO Premium Picks, a limited time off that is sure to help boost your bankroll.
Last week SAO college basketball experts went a combined 12-7 picking NCAA tournament props. Erik Beimfohr (ebiemfohr) went 5-1 and Alex Hardin (feartheturtle) 7-2. Here’s a sneak peek at their Sweet 16 bets, but be sure to sign up for SAO Premium if you want their full card.
Sweet 16 Best Bets and Props for Thursday Night
11. Michigan vs. 2. Villanova
PICK: Jermaine Samuels Over 24.5 Fantasy Score, PrizePicks
Samuels has been disappointing almost this entire season, however he has gone over 30 fantasy points in three of the last four games. Samuels has a fantastic matchup here against Diabate, and with Michigan being much weaker on the interior, is a guy I expect to have a very nice game here. While Samuels hasn’t been terrible all season, he has been a guy just hanging out around 25 FP the whole season with almost no upside. This seems to be an underrating of his fantasy performance in this spot, as the projections have him around 27 FP. – Jon Schiller
1. Gonzaga vs. 4. Arkansas
PICK: Jaylin Williams U21.5 Points + Rebounds, PrizePicks
Despite being a massively important piece, Jaylin Williams is actually a very low usage rate player for Arkansas. In this tournament, JD Notae has upped his usage rate to an insane ~45%, leaving even fewer shots for the ancillary players like Williams. His production is buoyed by a massive defensive rebounding rate, but this is going to be a particularly difficult matchup for that facing the number one offense in the country that’s buoyed by their two post players in Drew Timme and Chet Holmgren. The Zags also lead the country in defensive efficiency at the rim (thanks to Chet Holmgren) so it’s going to be difficult for Williams to score inside. Having to guard Timme and/or Chet (or even Anton Watson) is going to leave Williams extremely susceptible to foul trouble here, particularly with his obsession with trying to draw charges. The Zags have allowed almost no bigs to surpass this line all year, with only the likes of Paolo Banchero and Jaime Jaquez (more perimeter-oriented players and also more talented) squeaking by. – Erik Beimfohr
5. Houston vs. 1. Arizona
PICK: Houston +1.5 (-110), Caesars
This might be the best game of the tournament so far, and it should be a close one – but I like the Cougars to prevail here as short dogs. I just really love everything about Houston – how they play so hard, how they attack specific matchups offensively, and no matter who they lose due to injury the team overcomes. Theres nothing really I can say negatively about Arizona, but I do think that Tubelis is a bit soft and Kerr Kriisa can shoot them out of games. Love Jamal Shead to have a massive game here, and will be interesting to see which Benny Mathurin we see this game for the Wildcats. – Alex Hardin
Image Credit: Imagn