NCAA Bracket 2015: Updated Picks and Odds for Sweet 16

Opportunities for bettors to join the madness are declining in a hurry.

The field now touts just 16 teams. Broken down, it consists of a few teams with no shot, a few more with a solid chance and one juggernaut by the name of Kentucky, who continues to look like the overwhelming favorite.

The fun part is figuring out the individual matchups of the Sweet 16. There's sure-fire shootouts, technical, defensive chess matches and individuals who can take games over by themselves.

Now is the time for bettors to strike with the odds fresh out of Las Vegas. Pounce now on good lines before everyone else does.

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2015 Sweet 16 Schedule and Odds

	Thursday
	Friday
Time (ET)	Matchup (Odds)	TV	Pick
7:15 p.m.	No. 3 Notre Dame vs. No. 7 Wichita State (-1)	CBS	Notre Dame
7:47 p.m.	No. 1 Wisconsin (-3.5) vs. No. 8 North Carolina	TBS	Wisconsin
9:45 p.m.	No. 1 Kentucky (-12.5) vs. No. 5 West Virginia	CBS	Kentucky
10:17 p.m.	No. 2 Arizona (-9) vs. No. 6 Xavier	TBS	Arizona
7:15 p.m.	No. 2 Gonzaga (-10) vs. No. 11 UCLA	CBS	Gonzaga
7:37 p.m.	No. 4 Louisville (-1.5) vs. No. 8 North Carolina State	TBS	NC State
9:45 p.m.	No. 1 Duke (-4.5) vs. No. 5 Utah	CBS	Duke
10:07 p.m.	No. 3 Oklahoma vs. No. 7 Michigan State (-2)	TBS	MSU

Odds courtesy of Odds Shark as of March 24 at 1 p.m. ET.

Top Bets

No. 1 Kentucky (-12.5) vs. No. 5 West Virginia

Yes, it's a large spread, but one bettors need to be all over as soon as possible, as it will just continue to grow.

Make no mistake—West Virginia is a strong team.

The Mountaineers rank just behind the Wildcats at 73.9 points per game. When it comes to ESPN's RPI rankings, Bob Huggins' team ranks 24th to Kentucky's first. The disparity in talent is apparent, though, when analyzing efficiency ratings over at KenPom.com:

Team	ADJ OFF	ADJ DEF
Kentucky	6	1
West Virginia	37	39

Still, the showdown can be a bit tough to figure out due to style, as ESPN's Jeff Borzello points out:

The thing is, West Virginia sophomore Devin Williams (11.6 points, 8.2 rebounds per game) won't be able to fluster the Wildcats underneath the rim and win the battle on the glass.

All Kentucky needs to do is roll out its twin-towers tandem of Willie Cauley-Stein and Karl-Anthony Towns and control the pace of the game. There's a reason the odds are constructed as so, and there's a reason Kentucky won its first two tournament games by 23 and 13 points, respectively.

Look for the Wildcats to pull away late, as their stunning depth and ability to maximize each trip down the court overwhelm the Mountaineers.

Prediction: Kentucky 78, West Virginia 65

No. 2 Arizona (-9) vs. No. 6 Xavier

Xavier, ranked 30th in RPI to Arizona's sixth, continues to play with fire when it matters most.

The Musketeers looked solid in the second round, dismissing Ole Miss 76-57. Serious red flags appeared in the third round, though, as Chris Mack's team needed 67.6 percent shooting from the floor and better than 50 percent from long range to take care of business against No. 14 Georgia State.

On the flip side, one can argue that only Kentucky has looked more dominant than the Wildcats so far.

Arizona walloped Texas Southern 93-72 and then took down a respectable Ohio State squad 73-58. Arizona coach Sean Miller, he of strong ties to the Xavier program, said after the rout of the Buckeyes that his team is firing on all cylinders at the right time, per The Associated Press (via ESPN.com):

"We've weathered a couple of storms. I think we've learned in this region, this tournament, a couple things this week leading to L.A. that we have to make sure we're sharp and ready to go. Now that we have two more games on a neutral court, I think it becomes easier to go out there and be yourself."

Arizona's strong run of form should have Xavier sweating bullets. While the Musketeers shoot 47.3 percent from the floor and rank among the top 10 teams in the nation with 16.4 assists per game, Arizona shoots 48.9 percent from the floor and ranks seventh in adjusted offensive efficiency at KenPom.com. Xavier is 21st in the same category.

Even worse for the Musketeers, the Wildcats rank third in adjusted defensive efficiency, meaning Miller's team holds a distinct advantage on both ends of the court. It will show over the course of two full frames in a contest sure to get ugly late.

Prediction: Arizona 82, Xavier 70

No. 3 Oklahoma vs. No. 7 Michigan State (-2)

Now for the opposite end of the spectrum—the Oklahoma Sooners and Michigan State Spartans will put on a defensive showcase in the Sweet 16. 

Team	ADJ OFF	ADJ DEF
Oklahoma	46	6
Michigan State	15	46

With just four spots separating the two programs in RPI, Las Vegas is right to believe that the contest will come down to the wire.

Bettors have an obvious pick here, though. 

Michigan State remains a strong defensive force under the guidance of Tom Izzo. Even more so when tournament time rolls around. 

Case in point: In a 60-54 upset of second-seeded Virginia, the Spartans' suffocating defense forced the Cavaliers to shoot 29.8 percent from the floor. The Spartans didn't encounter issues on offense either, as they shot 42.5 percent from the floor and tallied a 6-of-12 mark from deep to pull off the upset.

At the end of the day, though, bets against Izzo are equivalent to throwing cash into a fire, as ESPN College BBall illustrates:

"

March is the month of Izzo. Michigan State's head coach is now 44-16 in the NCAA Tournament. pic.twitter.com/lWxR67OQ6c

— ESPN College BBall (@ESPNCBB) March 22, 2015"

Rest assured Izzo will use the brief break in action to draw up a plan capable of shutting down Oklahoma leading scorer Buddy Hield (17.3 PPG), which will help the Spartans control the game and pull out a late victory.

Prediction: Michigan State 64, Oklahoma 60

Stats and info are courtesy of ESPN.com unless otherwise specified.