Sweet 16 2019: Bracket, TV Schedule, Odds and Final Four Predictions
March 25, 2019
The Sweet 16 is set, but first, there will be a brief hiatus from NCAA tournament play after a four-day stretch that trimmed the field from 64 teams to 16.
March Madness will resume with four Sweet 16 matchups on Thursday, followed by four more on Friday.
So far, the NCAA tournament has gone well for top seeds. All the Nos. 1, 2 and 3 seeds are still in the field, while only one double-digit seed (No. 12 Oregon) will be taking part in the Sweet 16.
Bracket
Sweet 16 Schedule, Odds (All Times ET)
Thursday
No. 4 Florida State vs. No. 1 Gonzaga (-7), 7:09 p.m., CBS
No. 3 Purdue vs. No. 2 Tennessee (-1), 7:29 p.m., TBS
No. 3 Texas Tech vs. No. 2 Michigan (-1.5), 9:39 p.m., CBS
No. 12 Oregon vs. No. 1 Virginia (-7.5), 9:59 p.m., TBS
Friday
No. 3 LSU vs. No. 2 Michigan State (-5.5), 7:09 p.m., CBS
No. 5 Auburn vs. No. 1 North Carolina (-5.5), 7:29 p.m., TBS
No. 4 Virginia Tech vs. No. 1 Duke (-8), 9:39 p.m., CBS
No. 3 Houston vs. No. 2 Kentucky (-3), 9:59 p.m., TBS
Odds to Win National Championship
Duke +300 (Bet $100 to win $300)
Gonzaga +400
Virginia +500
North Carolina +500
Michigan State +1000
Michigan +1200
Kentucky +1500
Tennessee +1500
Purdue +2000
Texas Tech +2500
Houston +2500
Auburn +2500
Florida State +4000
Virginia Tech +4000
Oregon +6000
LSU +7500
Final Four Predictions
There haven't been many upsets during this year's NCAA tournament, so it shouldn't be surprising to see four of the higher-ranked teams in this year's Final Four.
However, it won't be all four No. 1 seeds. Instead, No. 1 seeds Duke and Virginia will be joined by No. 2 seeds Kentucky and Michigan in Minneapolis.
In this scenario, three of the top basketball conferences from this season would be represented: the ACC (Duke and Virginia), Big Ten (Michigan) and SEC (Kentucky).
Of these four teams, Duke has been the closest to being eliminated. The Blue Devils trailed late during their second-round game against No. 9 seed UCF on Sunday, but they pulled it out late as RJ Barrett hit the go-ahead shot with 11 seconds remaining and the Knights missed twice on their final possession.
At the same time, that could benefit Duke later in the tournament, as it has experience playing a close game late in a high-pressure situation.
Virginia overcame an early deficit in the first round against No. 16 seed Gardner-Webb, as it avoided losing to a No. 16 seed for the second year in a row. The Cavaliers followed that with a second-round win over Oklahoma, and they appear poised to keep building momentum each round.
Michigan and Kentucky have each been impressive through the first two rounds, especially on defense. The Wolverines held No. 10 seed Florida to 49 points in the second round, while the Wildcats limited No. 7 seed Wofford to 56 points.
Kentucky also shut down Wofford's Fletcher Magee, the NCAA Division I record holder for career three-pointers, by forcing him to miss all 12 of his shots from beyond the arc.
While there are certainly other contenders to make the Final Four, such as No. 1 seeds North Carolina and Gonzaga, the quartet of Duke, Virginia, Kentucky and Michigan seem to have the right combination of skill and momentum to reach this year's national semifinals.