NCAA Bracket 2018: Updated Odds and Picks Against the Spread for Sweet 16

If the next two weekends of the 2018 men's NCAA tournament are anything like the first one, the basketball world is in luck.

The seedings of the Sweet 16 participants show how much chaos was created over the first weekend. There are just as many first and second seeds as there are ninth and 11th (two each). No region went entirely to chalk, and the left side of the bracket doesn't even have a top-two seed left.

Oddsmakers have assessed the remaining field and, judging by the point spreads, deemed it highly competitive. Only one of the Sweet 16 contests has more than a two-possession point spread, per OddsShark.

Let's run through all the point spreads and pinpoint the three that look most attractive.

Sweet 16 Schedule

Thursday, March 22

No. 7 Nevada (-1.5) vs. No. 11 Loyola-Chicago: 7:07 p.m. ET on CBS

No. 3 Michigan (-2.5) vs. No. 7 Texas A&M: 7:27 p.m. ET on TBS

No. 5 Kentucky (-5.5) vs. No. 9 Kansas State: 9:37 p.m. ET on CBS

No. 4 Gonzaga (-5.5) vs. No. 9 Florida State: 9:59 p.m. ET on TBS

Friday, March 23

No. 1 Kansas (-4.5) vs. No. 5 Clemson: 7:07 p.m. ET on CBS

No. 1 Villanova (-5.5) vs. No. 5 West Virginia: 7:27 p.m. on TBS

No. 2 Duke (-11.5) vs. No. 11 Syracuse: 9:37 p.m. on CBS

No. 2 Purdue (-1.5) vs. No. 3 Texas Tech: 9:59 p.m. on TBS

Picks Against the Spread

No. 7 Texas A&M (+2.5) vs. No. 3 Michigan

Gerry Broome/Associated Press

NCAA.com's Andy Katz digests college basketball like it's the only thing his diet allows. So, it's kind of a big deal when he reseeds the 16 remaining teams and puts the underdog Aggies third overall and the favored Wolverines nine spots lower at No. 12.

"They were toast in the second round to Houston before the stunning game-winning three-pointer from Jordan Poole," Katz wrote. "Michigan did defend well but offensively struggled against the Cougars. That must change if they are going to beat Texas A&M."

The Wolverines are on outright upset alert, and you can still spot yourself 2.5 points by taking the red-hot Aggies.

Remember, at one point A&M was a top-five team and an 11-1 wrecking ball. It owns double-digit victories over West Virginia, Missouri, Arkansas, Kentucky, and North Carolina. The Aggies have one of the nation's best defenses and one of its strongest frontcourt combos in junior Tyler Davis and sophomore Robert Williams.

The spread alone says this contest is much closer than the seedings suggest. And if it was based solely on tournament performance, it's hard not to imagine A&M would be favored.

No. 5 Kentucky (-5.5) vs. No. 9 Kansas State

Kentucky is coached by John Calipari, which means it's predictably peaking at the right time. The SEC Wildcats have won nine of their last 10 outings and seven by double digits. They might have the tournament's hottest player in freshman floor general Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, who totaled 46 points, 14 rebounds, 13 assists and seven steals over the first two rounds.

Kansas State is led in scoring by Dean Wade, a junior forward who hasn't played in two weeks due to an injured left foot. He thinks he'll be ready for Thursday, but who knows if he'll be close to full health and how much rust he'll have.

The Big 12 Wildcats don't run an efficient offense, even when they're whole (76th in efficiency). They've been held under 70 points each of their last four games, and that includes an overtime contest.

How is this only a 5.5-point spread?

Kentucky is worlds better on offense (20th) and just as good defensively (23rd in efficiency to K State's 20th). Season-long stats also don't reflect recent trends, so the gap is probably wider.

No. 3 Texas Tech (+1.5) vs. No. 2 Purdue

Tony Gutierrez/Associated Press

The Red Raiders got their injury woes out of the way early, which led to a late-season stumble, but they have allowed the ship to right itself at the Big Dance. All-Big 12 first-teamer Keenan Evans looks like himself again, having poured in 45 points on 58.3 percent shooting so far.

The Boilermakers are hoping their engineers can solve their current health crisis. If all goes to plan, senior center Isaac Haas would receive an NCAA-approved brace allowing him to play through an elbow fracture.

In short, the best-case scenario involves Purdue's second-leading scorer, rebounder and shot-blocker playing with a broken elbow. Brace or no brace, Haas looks like a long shot to contribute in a meaningful way—if he even sees the floor.

"He still has a broken elbow," Purdue coach Matt Painter said, per Nathan Baird of the Journal & Courier. "I don't think the key is him getting some other apparatus that gets approved by the NCAA. You've still got to be able to shoot a right-handed free throw. You've got to be able to rebound with two hands. You've got to be able to catch the ball."

If Haas is out of the equation, how can the Boilermakers solve the Red Raiders' fourth-ranked defense?

Purdue isn't just (potentially) missing its big man, it's crossing its fingers that top-scorer Carsen Edwards snaps out of his funk. The sophomore guard is only averaging 13.3 points over his last three games (18.2 for the season) while shooting just 26.7 percent from the field and 28.6 percent from distance.

With Evans holding form and freshman NBA prospect Zhaire Smith heating up, Texas Tech should probably be giving points here, not getting them.

Unless otherwise noted, statistics used courtesy of KenPom.com, ESPN.com and NCAA.com.