March Madness 2015 Bracket: Latest Picks, Odds Advice Before Thursday's Sweet 16

Narrowing down a prospective national champion is a bit easier now that the 2015 NCAA tournament field has been cut down to a select group ahead of Thursday's Sweet 16 tipoff.

What has remained constant is Kentucky's status as the prohibitive favorite to cut the nets down in Indianapolis. The Wildcats are an even bet to win it all, according to Odds Shark's latest March Madness odds.

Team	Odds
Kentucky	1-1
Arizona	13-2
Wisconsin	8-1
Duke	8-1
Gonzaga	12-1
Michigan State	14-1
Utah	20-1

A couple of other favorites still loom in the regional semifinals, along with a couple of dark-horse picks that will generate a better return on investment than Kentucky.

Check out the latest Sweet 16 picks below, in addition to the updated bracket and odds advice on who to pick as the ultimate winner in the Big Dance.

Thursday, March 26	Time (ET)	TV	Pick
Friday, March 27	Time (ET)	TV	Pick
No. 3 Notre Dame vs. No. 7 Wichita State	7:15 p.m.	CBS	Wichita State
No. 1 Wisconsin vs. No. 4 North Carolina	7:47 p.m.	TBS	Wisconsin
No. 1 Kentucky vs. No. 5 West Virginia	9:45 p.m.	CBS	Kentucky
No. 2 Arizona vs. No. 6 Xavier	10:17 p.m.	TBS	Arizona
No. 2 Gonzaga vs. No. 11 UCLA	7:15 p.m.	CBS	Gonzaga
No. 4 Louisville vs. No. 8 NC State	7:37 p.m.	TBS	Louisville
No. 1 Duke vs. No. 5 Utah	9:45 p.m.	CBS	Duke
No. 3 Oklahoma vs. No. 7 Michigan State	10:07 p.m.	TBS	Oklahoma

Sweet 16 Odds Advice

If West Virginia's combination of stout defense and quick pace gives Kentucky any kind of trouble, perhaps the national title line will allow bettors to make some dough off a Wildcats bet.

Mountaineers guard Daxter Miles is quite confident the underdogs will topple the 36-0 top overall tournament seed, via Rivals.com's Brett Dawson:

It's hard to envision Kentucky getting this far only to fall flat against a West Virginia squad that shoots a horrendous 41.2 percent as a team and 32 percent from downtown. The Wildcats have too many go-to options on offense to be denied—and an elite defense of their own.

So while Kentucky is by far the safest national championship bet, there are other squads to consider.

The second favorite at 13-2 on Odds Shark is another batch of Wildcats from Arizona. Coach Sean Miller's team added Stanley Johnson, kept most of last year's Elite Eight nucleus intact and has Brandon Ashley back healthy.

Arizona Basketball highlights how great the Wildcats are on offense to go with a defense that is third behind only Kentucky and Virginia in KenPom.com's adjusted efficiency ratings:

If the Wildcats didn't have to take on Wisconsin in an Elite Eight rematch of 2014, they would be the best overall bet for the national championship.

Instead, that honor goes to No. 3 favorite Duke right now (8-1). Freshman center Jahlil Okafor has indeed played like a man among boys, and swingman Justise Winslow gave San Diego State's hard-nosed team nightmares in the round of 32.

First-year floor general Tyus Jones is still due for a big NCAA tourney game, while senior leader Quinn Cook has averaged 18.5 points per contest in March Madness thus far. The Blue Devils' sensational quartet is enough to give any opponent problems—even Kentucky.

For those mulling Michigan State at 14-1, it just seems like too much of a long shot. Spartans coach Tom Izzo has done well to get his bunch to this point in March, and an extreme Sweet 16 challenge presents itself in Oklahoma.

As for Gonzaga, an attractive 12-1 play that has scored well over 80 points in both Big Dance contests, bear in mind that coach Mark Few has never even reached the Elite Eight. Despite playing 11th-seeded UCLA in the regional semifinals, the Bulldogs will be under the microscope as they try to push further than they ever have under Few.

Although the pressure may be able to be surmounted for one game, Gonzaga isn't likely to outshoot Duke in a prospective South regional final.

All these circumstances make the Blue Devils the smartest, odds-on favorite to bet on—which has really been the case all tournament long.