Men's NCAA Bracket 2025: Odds For Every Sweet 16 Team To Win NCAA Championship
If you're a big fan of Cinderella stories, the Sweet 16 of the men's 2025 NCAA tournament might not be for you.
It's going to be an awesome round of games. However, there's no Saint Peter's or Oral Roberts ready to pull off more mid-major magic. Everyone left in this year's Big Dance realistically could win four more games.
Our national championship odds for each of the remaining 16 teams are based on a combination of how good each squad was during the regular season, how it has looked through two NCAA tourney games and how difficult its remaining path is.
All of the remaining paths are brutal. There's usually a broken region that results in maybe the fifth-best team left in the field feeling like the favorite to win it all, but that is not the case this year. Maybe Texas Tech gets a slight boost for drawing No. 10 seed Arkansas, but even that game is kind of a coin flip.
Teams are listed in ascending order of likelihood to win the title. Odds sum to 100 percent and are not intended to reflect actual betting lines in Vegas, which tend to sum to around 135 percent.
At the top of the list, Duke (+230 in Vegas; +350 for us) and Florida (+300 in Vegas, +550 for us) look nothing like their betting lines. Our goal is to give you actual percentages without trying to turn a profit from them.
Ole Miss Rebels (No. 6 Seed, South Regional)
1 of 16
The Road Ahead
Few in the business can boast a career winning record over Tom Izzo, but Chris Beard (then with Texas Tech) did beat Michigan State in the 2019 Final Four in their only previous meeting. Maybe he can pull it off again to set up a "Fourth time's the charm?" meeting with Auburn.
Reason to Buy
Ole Miss seems to have found something this month, beating Oklahoma, Tennessee and Arkansasโand battling Auburn in the SEC quarterfinalsโbefore also taking down North Carolina and Iowa State in the Big Dance. These last two games, three-point shooting has been uncommonly lethal, but the Rebels have been getting contributions from all over the place for a while now. They have six different players averaging at least 10 points and either 3.5 rebounds or 3.5 assists.
Reason to Sell
When things have gone a bit off the rails for Ole Miss, it's usually a combination of getting destroyed on the glass and not getting stops on defense. The Rebels have a great turnover margin, but they haven't been anything special on defense outside of their ability to force turnovers. Teams that can rebound well and can handle their ball pressure well enough to find the open man along the perimeter can run up the score.
Will Cut Down the Nets If...
The threes keep falling like they have. This has been a competent perimeter shooting team throughout the season, with five of the six leading scorers hitting better than 33 percent from distance. But they discovered another gear this past week and might be nearly unstoppable if they can stay in it.
Title Odds:ย +10000
Purdue Boilermakers (No. 4, Midwest Regional)
2 of 16
The Road Ahead
After back-to-back years as the big, bad No. 1 seed, Purdue has to topple one to reach the second half of the tournament. The Boilermakers will draw Houston on Friday for the right to face the SEC's Tennessee or Kentucky in the Elite Eight.
Reason to Buy
Matt Painter is probably one of the five best coaches in the sport today. He got a reputation for bad losses after the upsets at the hands of North Texas, Saint Peter's and Fairleigh Dickinson, but Purdue is in the Sweet 16 for the sixth time in the past eight tournaments. The Boilermakers' ceiling doesn't feel as high as it did when Zach Edey was patrolling the paint for them, but Painter has his less vertically imposing bunch ready for a second straight trip to the Final Four.
Reason to Sell
Purdue's defense (especially interior) isn't anything special, and the Boilermakers might be a little too dependent upon their dynamic duo. Shutting down either Trey Kaufman-Renn or Braden Smith is the furthest thing from an easy task, as both spent much of the year in the top 10 of the KenPom Player of the Year Standings. Neither one is flawless, though, and Purdue has even lost three times when those two combined for more than 40 points.
Will Cut Down the Nets If...
Smith does his best Kemba Walker impersonation. Walker averaged 23.5 points, 6.0 rebounds and 5.7 assists per game during that unforgettable tournament run 14 years ago, and Smith is capable of putting up numbers like that. It might take about that much to survive four more rounds in this loaded field.
Title Odds: +9000
Michigan Wolverines (No. 5 Seed, South Regional)
3 of 16
The Road Ahead
Auburn isn't looking nearly as formidable as it did a month ago, but it's still one tall hurdle awaiting the Wolverines on Friday. Should they pull off that upset, they're probably going to run into a rival in Michigan State who already beat them by 13 and 17 this season. If it's Ole Miss waiting instead, that might be an even worse matchup for Michigan. Tough, tough draw.
Reason to Buy
Michigan had a few losses that got out of hand late in the year, but nobody knows how to win a nail-biter quite like Dusty May's Wolverines. The end of that opening-round matchup against UCSD had hearts racing around the country, but that was old hat for U of M, which won for the 11th consecutive time in games decided by five points or fewer. On top of that, the Wolverines have a strong defense and the highly unusual dynamic of two 7-footers who can play along the perimeter.
Reason to Sell
Michigan's year-to-date turnover margin has now crept up to a minus-100. We did see Michigan State reach the 2019 Final Four in spite of what ended up being a minus-95 turnover margin when all was said and done, but that Spartans team was better than this Wolverines team in most other areas. Posting a minus-5 turnover ratio or worse while trying to upset Auburn likely won't be a winning formula.
Will Cut Down the Nets If...
Exploiting matchup problems and limiting giveaways. There's no great answer for dealing with Danny Wolf's ability to run offense from the top of the key as a 7'0" "point center," and Vlad Goldin is a wrecking ball when he gets it down low. Whether the Wolverines will get much out of their other starters is always a question markโin the regular-season-ending 17-point loss to Michigan State, Wolf and Goldin scored 47 while the other three starters managed only 10 pointsโbut they can create an advantage with that duo.
Title Odds:ย +8000
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Arkansas Razorbacks (No. 10 Seed, West Regional)
4 of 16
The Road Ahead
The Razorbacks already took down one top team, so what's a few more? Their defense will need to be on point on Thursday against Texas Tech, and even more so if they win and draw Florida in the Elite Eight.
Reason to Buy
This is a completely different team from the one that everyone took potshots at during its 1-6 start to SEC play. The Razorbacks still aren't much of a perimeter shooting team, to put it lightly. But they're tougher, more cohesive and better on defense. Save for one disastrous afternoon on the road against South Carolina a few weeks ago, they're at least going to hang with anyone they face. Basically, they've become the Arkansas we thought they could be five months ago. That expectation definitely was not a No. 10 seed.
Reason to Sell
Though they've played well lately, just about every Razorbacks win is still a grind. That's a product of shooting 32.4 percent from three-point range for the year and being average to above-average in most areas, aside from thriving at blocking shots. The Hogs have also gone 0-4 this season against the truly elite, top-10 KenPom teams. That doesn't mean they can't beat those teams. But beating as many as four in a row? Good luck.
Will Cut Down the Nets Ifโฆ
They keep getting these full-team efforts. At times this season, it felt like Boogie Fland or Adou Thiero had to do everything for Arkansas. But Trevon Brazile and Jonas Aidoo went for 33 points, 17 rebounds and five blocks against Kansas; Billy Richmond and Karter Knox putting up 31, 15 and four against St. John's. That quartet combined for 11 points and seven rebounds when the Hogs lost to Oklahoma in January. When everyone shows up, this is a dangerous squad.
Title Odds: +7000
Arizona Wildcats (No. 4 Seed, East Regional)
5 of 16
The Road Ahead
None of the No. 1 seeds would be fun to draw, but getting Duke in the Sweet 16 is brutal. Maybe the Wildcats can channel some of that 2011 Derrick Williams magic to knock off the top-seeded Blue Devils again. If they do, there'll be no rest for the weary, as a high-scoring affair with either Alabama or BYU awaits in the Elite Eight.
Reason to Buy
This is a well-rounded team with a star shooting guard who can get hot at a moment's notice. When Caleb Love scores at least 11 points, Arizona has gone 19-6, with all six of those losses decided by single digits. And while Duke beat the Wildcats by 14 in Tucson back in November, this is a different team than it was back then. At any rate, it's pretty hard to imagine Tobe Awaka, Henri Veesaar and Anthony Dell'Orso combining for two points in that rematch.
Reason to Sell
Arizona has been consistently inconsistent from one game to the next. It's almost untouchable when scoring 80 or more points, but quite beatable when landing at 77 or below. For every two of the former, the Wildcats have had one of the latter. Unless you take out the home games, in which case they've been more likely to lay an egg than catch fire. Maybe they stay hot, though, after scoring at least 86 in four of their last five, all at neutral sites.
Will Cut Down the Nets If...
Love and the rebounding hit their stride. Both were true in the second-round win over Oregon. Arizona finished plus-11 in live-ball rebounds, while Love delivered a bunch of three-point daggers. The Wildcats had multiple winning streaks of at least six games earlier this season, so we know they can get and stay hot for a good while.
Title Odds:ย +6000
Kentucky Wildcats (No. 3 Seed, Midwest Regional)
6 of 16
The Road Ahead
Up next is an old foe they've beaten twice this season. Tennessee is the better team, but the Wildcats have had their number. If they're able to survive the Volunteers defense for a third time, perhaps they can also withstand Houston's defense in the subsequent round.
Reason to Buy
Just look at the list of vanquished foes, right? Duke in mid-November wasn't what it is now, but Kentucky beat Duke on a neutral floor. It also beat Gonzaga in Seattle, dropped 106 on Florida, swept Tennessee and now has 13 wins over at-large caliber teams. Playing without Jaxson Robinson over the past month has forced them to dial back their three-point dependency, but they're still prolific on offense, scoring at least 75 points in 15 of their last 16 games.
Reason to Sell
Stringing together more than two consecutive wins has been a season-long struggle. And when Kentucky does lose, it's often not very close, including a 29-point loss to Alabama in the SEC tournament. Opponents who are committed to scoring in the paint typically don't have much trouble doing so against the Wildcats. And though they had 14 steals in the second-round win over Illinois, that was a far cry from their status quo. They're usually one of the least turnover-forcing defenses in the nation.
Will Cut Down the Nets If...
Koby Brea and Co. are humming from distance. Kentucky's defense isn't abysmal, but it's one of the worst left in the field. To make it to San Antonio, the Wildcats will need to lean heavily into an offense that has produced a 14-1 record when scoring at least 85 points.
Title Odds:ย +5000
BYU Cougars (No. 6 Seed, East Regional)
7 of 16
The Road Ahead
The first game of the Sweet 16 on Thursday might be a race to 100 points between BYU and Alabama. Should the Cougars survive that one, it's either a Big 12 showdown with Arizona or a Lottery Pick extravaganza between Egor Demin and Duke's Cooper Flagg for a ticket to San Antonio.
Reason to Buy
It was our same reason for buying BYU before the Big Dance: No one has been hotter or more unstoppable on offense over the past six weeks. BYU put up at least 91 points in regulation in four of its final eight games before the NCAA tournament, and it did so again in the second-round victory over Wisconsin. Even more impressive, though, was the 80 the Cougars dropped on VCU in the first round. The Rams were leading the nation in defensive effective field-goal percentage and had not allowed 80 points in a game all season.
Reason to Sell
BYU's defense is...not good. In fact, as far as KenPom's adjusted efficiency is concerned, this is the worst defense still standing into the Sweet 16. Three of those five recent 91-plus-point performances still came right down to the wire, as the Cougars allowed 89 to Wisconsin, 92 to Iowa State and 95 to Arizona. You can count on one hand how many teams have allowed more three-pointers this season than BYU, as they've decided they're just going to try to win glorified shooting contests every night.
Will Cut Down the Nets If...
The offense continues to show up. BYU is 23-1 this season when scoring at least 75 points. The one exception came in an overtime game against Ole Miss back in November. When Demin and Richie Saunders are doing their thing, this offense has been a freight train, able to overcome shortcomings on the other end of the floor.
Title Odds:ย +4500
Maryland Terrapins (No. 4 Seed, West Regional)
8 of 16
The Road Ahead
Crabs and Terrapins and Gators, oh my. Maryland will run into a Florida team that may have already gotten its survive-and-advance game out of the way in the second round. If the Terps can topple the Gators, it could set up an amazing Elite Eight battle between Derik Queen and Texas Tech's JT Toppin.
Reason to Buy
They check pretty much all of the boxes, not the least of which is the "vibes meter" with the whole Crab Five thing taking the world by storm. Maryland is excellent on defense, shoots it well, rarely commits turnovers, has five guys who can lead the way on any given night and has to be brimming with confidence after finally having a buzzer-beater go its way for a change.
Reason to Sell
We've belabored the "lack of depth" point elsewhere over the past few weeks, but a lack of marquee wins might be even more concerning here. Maryland's best nonconference win was a nail-biter against Villanova, and it lost the only games that it played against Michigan State and Purdue. Beating Florida, Texas Tech, Duke and Auburn in succession isn't impossible, but it doesn't feel even a little bit likely.
Will Cut Down the Nets If...
Five is enough to win six in a row. All the metrics suggest the Terrapins are good enough to beat anyone. But can they even overcome Florida's better and deeper eight-man rotation on Thursday? It's going to take a near-perfect game and possibly another buzzer-beater at that, but maybe Queen and Co. are the team of destiny.
Title Odds:ย +4000
Michigan State Spartans (No. 2 Seed, South Regional)
9 of 16
The Road Ahead
A suddenly surging Ole Miss squad awaits in the Sweet 16 for what could be a tough battle in the turnovers department. If the Spartans outlast the Rebels, they'll either head into a third showdown with Michigan (MSU won the first two) or an Auburn team that was best in the nation until a few weeks ago.
Reason to Buy
That Tom Izzo fella has won a few games in the NCAA tournament; 58 of them, to be exact. And he has a team that peaked late in the year against a back-loaded schedule, thanks to a breakout freshman star (Jase Richardson), an affinity for rebounds and a three-point defense allowing just 24.4 percent over its last 12 games. MSU didn't look like a contender in early February, but it sure does now.
Reason to Sell
When three-point defense is one of a team's top claims to fame, you always have to be at least a little leery about regression. That goes double for a team that isn't great at three-point shooting in its own right, as well as one that's dead last in steal percentage among the 16 teams left in the field. Maybe the three-point gods continue to smile upon the Spartans, though.
Will Cut Down the Nets If...
They keep crushing the rebounding battle while the opposition keeps struggling from distance. Michigan State has done a great job over the past seven weeks of controlling what it can control and making the most of everything else. They've scored at least 71 points in 10 of their last 11 games, while allowing 67 or more only twice. For all the talk of Florida and BYU being hotter than anyone, Sparty sure did enter the dance on a heater. And maybe Izzo is destined to get one more ring before possibly calling it a career.
Title Odds:ย +3500
Texas Tech Red Raiders (No. 3 Seed, West Regional)
10 of 16
The Road Ahead
Eventually, Texas Tech will need to face a single-digit seed. But after taking down No. 14 UNC-Wilmington and No. 11 Drake, it has No. 10 Arkansas on deck. Going straight from the Razorbacks to No. 1 seed Florida in the Elite Eight could be quite the leap for what would be an entertaining, high-scoring affair.
Reason to Buy
Texas Tech has one of the most efficient offenses in the nation. Aside from not getting to the free-throw line a ton, the Red Raiders are top 100 in the nation in just about every offensive category on KenPom. And when they do get to the line, six of their primary seven players shoot better than 76 percent. Holding this team to 75 points or fewer is a huge ask. In fact, it hasn't been done in the past month.
Reason to Sell
For a team that relies heavily upon the three ballโTexas Tech launched a staggering 46 attempts in the opening-round win against UNC-Wilmingtonโthose shots haven't been finding their mark lately. The Red Raiders are sitting at 27.3 percent dating back to the semifinals of the Big 12 tournament. Getting primary three-point weapon Chance McMillian back for the second weekend would be massive, because they need to be better now that they're done facing mid-major foes.
Will Cut Down the Nets If...
The dynamic duo of JT Toppin and Darrion Williams dominates down low. They combined for 53 points and 18 rebounds in the second-round win over Drake. Toppin has been a machine over the past two months, and Williams was the star of this show for the first two months of the season. When they both show up, all of those perimeter shots become more of a bonus than a prerequisite for victory.
Title Odds:ย +2500
Tennessee Volunteers (No. 2 Seed, Midwest Regional)
11 of 16
The Road Ahead
It's always said that it's hard to beat the same team three times in one season, and Tennessee is hoping that's true for this Sweet 16 battle with an SEC rival it lost to twice this season. Kentucky shot 50 percent from three in both of those games while the Volunteers couldn't buy a bucket, so things could definitely be different. The winner probably draws Houston on Sunday, but perhaps it'll be Purdue instead.
Reason to Buy
Even though it hasn't quite worked out for Tennessee in recent years, we always say defense wins championships, and there aren't many out there better than this one. Opponents have shot just 28.3 percent from three-point range against the Volunteers, but teams keep firing up those deep shots because it beats trying to score in the paint against Felix Okpara and one of the best shot-blocking frontcourts in the nation.
Reason to Sell
In Tennessee's losses over the past four NCAA tournaments, it averaged just 61.25 points. And though Chaz Lanier is one of the most prolific scorers in the country, a similar type of low-scoring exit wouldn't exactly surprise anyone. Igor Milicic Jr. was fantastic at times early in the year, but he's at 6.6 points per game over his last 10 games. Okpara isn't much of a scoring threat, and Jahmai Mashack is even less of one. If any of Lanier, Zakai Zeigler or Jordan Gainey has an off night, scoring in general can be a real challenge.
Will Cut Down the Nets If...
Lanier carries the offense while the defense does its thing. Tennessee is 21-0 when Lanier scores 18 points and 26-1 when holding the opposition to 72 points or fewer. That one loss was a 53-51 game at Auburn that really should have been a win, too. The Volunteers have never been to a Final Four in 26 previous trips to the NCAA tournament, but they could end that drought and then some.
Title Odds:ย +2000
Alabama Crimson Tide (No. 2 Seed, East Regional)
12 of 16
The Road Ahead
The Sweet 16 showdown with BYU is probably going to be a race to 100 points, with the winner hoping it has enough left in the tank to take down Duke two days later.
Reason to Buy
No one can put up points quite like Alabama. Duke, Florida and Auburn are each a bit more efficient than the Crimson Tide, but those teams don't push the pace like Alabama does. After putting up 80 points in the second round against Saint Mary'sโa near-impossible feat against a defense that had not allowed more than 75 in a game all seasonโthe Crimson Tide's scoring average is down to a still-easily-best-in-the-nation 90.8 points per game.
Reason to Sell
Can Alabama get stops? Saint Mary's only scored 66 against the Crimson Tide in the second round, but that's just Gaels basketball. Prior to that, their last 17 opponents had averaged 85.6 points, as forcing turnovers, limiting offensive rebounds and defending the paint have all been a struggle. While it was one thing when Alabama was struggling to slow down Florida and Auburn, giving up 81 to Robert Morris was concerning.
Will Cut Down the Nets If...
Offense wins championships. Alabama is somehow top 30 in adjusted defensive efficiency and could easily climb into the top 20 after four more wins, meaning it isn't exactly in the "not defensive enough to win a title" danger zone from a historical standpoint. But Alabama winning a 95-90 national championship is far more likely than 75-70, so getting the likes of Mark Sears, Labaron Philon and Grant Nelson cooking will be paramount to their success.
Title Odds:ย +1800
Auburn Tigers (No. 1 Seed, South Regional)
13 of 16
The Road Ahead
It's plausible Auburn could need to run through four consecutive Big Ten teams to win it all. We know an intriguing showdown with Michigan is up next. It's probably Michigan State after that. It could be Purdue in the Final Four and maybe even Maryland in the title game.
Reason to Buy
There's probably not a better seven-man rotation in the country. Now, the whole crew doesn't show up on a nightly basis. Johni Broome and Miles Kelly both had off nights against Creighton, and Chad Baker-Mazara couldn't make anything against Alabama State. But at least four of them play well in pretty much every game, and it's usually five, sometimes all seven. Opponents have to shut off a bunch of faucets to actually slow this team down.
Reason to Sell
This has not been the same Auburn team over the past few weeks. As far as Torvik data is concerned, the Tigers were the second-best team in the nation through March 2, barely behind Houston and barely ahead of Duke. Since March 3, they're 31st, barely ahead of a Kansas team that may or may not have actually wanted to win by the end of its season. They did eventually win both opening-weekend games by double digits, but neither victory over Alabama State or Creighton was as convincing as we would've expected three weeks ago.
Will Cut Down the Nets Ifโฆ
They do what they did for most of the year. Auburn was No. 1 on KenPom more often than it wasn't throughout the season. At one point late in the year, it was playing like one of the five most efficient teams in KenPom history. The Tigers don't commit turnovers and are highly efficient on offense. They block a lot of shots andโCreighton's 12-for-27 performance, notwithstandingโdo an excellent job of defending the perimeter. They just need to refocus their efforts for the stretch run and get back to what they used to be.
Title Odds: +650
Florida Gators (No. 1 Seed, West Regional)
14 of 16
The Road Ahead
Florida-Connecticut was one of the best games of the second round, and Florida-Maryland might be the main attraction of the Sweet 16, the Gators hoping their eight-man rotation can overcome the Crab Five. The winner should get Texas Tech in the Elite Eight, unless Arkansas has a little more magic up its sleeve.
Reason to Buy
Since early February, this team has been a wagon. The Gators have won 14 of their past 15 games, including true road wins over Auburn and Alabama, SEC tournament victories over Alabama and Tennessee and the knockout blow to the twice-reigning champion on Sunday. Even in the game they lost, Florida outscored Georgia 70-49 over the final 28 minutes after a brutal start on the road against a bubble team that was desperate for a key win. It's likely going to take an unbelievable effort to beat this red-hot squad.
Reason to Sell
As great as Florida's offense has been during this 15-game stretch, it did allow at least 75 points in eight of those contests, as well as at least one point per possession in 11 of the 15 games. Sure, most of those games were against top-50 (if not top 15) offenses, and 12 of those wins were by at least nine points. But if you're trying to find fault in what has been maybe the best team in the country lately, teams have been able to score against Florida.
Will Cut Down the Nets If...
The offense continues to do its thing. Even on what was a tough afternoon against Connecticut in the second round, Florida still got to 77 points and eventually won that game with its offense. And that was the Gators' worst point total since Feb. 1. If the 31 points scored in the final nine minutes of that game are a sign of things to come in the next four rounds, it's going to take a lot more than one point per possession against this defense to oust this team from the tournament.
Title Odds:ย +550
Houston Cougars (No. 1 Seed, Midwest Regional)
15 of 16
The Road Ahead
The chess match between Houston's Kelvin Sampson and Purdue's Matt Painter on Friday might be even better than the Pitino/Calipari clash we obsessed over this past weekend. If Kentucky manages to get past Tennessee in the other half of this region, Houston would get to go up against the program where both of those legends used to coach.
Reason to Buy
Defense can win championships, but elite defense paired with elite three-point shooting really should win championships. And Houston presently leads the nation in both adjusted defensive efficiency and three-point percentage on offense. The first part of that equation is nothing new. The Cougars are top-10 for the fifth straight year, and top-21 for the eighth time running. But at nearly 40 percent from distance, the 2019 Virginia vibes are unmistakable here.
Reason to Sell
Can the Cougars get enough offense aside from the threes? Because while they do rank No. 1 in three-point percentage, they're more like 300th in three-point attempts per field-goal attempt, as well as around 300th in two-point percentage and free-throw rate. Add to that playing at one of the 10 slowest paces in the nation, and that's how the best three-point shooting team in the country has been limited to 70 points or fewer on 16 occasions. Houston does always at least score 60, but its offense leaves them open to a possible 64-63 type of heartbreaking loss.
Will Cut Down the Nets Ifโฆ
They really are destined to follow in Virginia's footsteps. That Cavaliers team survived all sorts of drama over its final four games, and it was held to 63 points or fewer three times in that tournament, but it always got that defensive stop or big bucket when it needed one. If Houston imposes its will on defense and continues to make about seven more field goals per game than it allows, that's a nice recipe for success.
Title Odds: +450
Duke Blue Devils (No. 1 Seed, East Regional)
16 of 16
The Road Ahead
Many were already penciling Duke into the Final Four amid their destruction of Baylor on Sunday, but the Blue Devils need to get past an old foe in Caleb Love first. Duke won at Arizona earlier this season, but that was a long time ago on a dreadful shooting night for the Wildcats. The winner has the unenviable task of trying to slow down either Alabama or BYU in the Elite Eight.
Reason to Buy
If you've watched Duke at all this season, you probably don't need much convincing here. Now 33-3 overall and up to a KenPom adjusted efficiency margin of +39.00 after routing Baylor in the second round, the Blue Devils are the most efficient team in more than a quarter-century and somewhat comfortably ahead of current KenPom No. 2 team Houston (+35.87). There were concerns about Cooper Flagg's ankle heading into the dance, but he went for 32 points, 16 rebounds, 10 assists and three blocks between Duke's first two wins.
Reason to Sell
If they end up in a close game, can they handle the pressure? Winning by double digits far more often than not is obviously impressive, but surviving North Carolina's frantic comeback attempt in the ACC tournament semifinal was the only time in four tries that Duke won a game that was even remotely up for grabs in the final 60 seconds. Could a tight game in the tournament be where we are suddenly and painfully reminded that this team relies heavily upon three freshmen in its starting lineup?
Will Cut Down the Nets If...
They continue to play their game and stay healthy. Anything could happen in Newark in the next two rounds, but it has felt for a while now like the only teams capable of eliminating a full-ish strength Duke squad are the other No. 1 seeds in the fieldโand things probably even need to break in the favor of a Houston, Florida or Auburn for that to happen. But the last team at least this efficient was the 1998-99 Duke team that lost in the national championship, so don't go stitching any banners just yet.
Title Odds:ย +325
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