NCAA Bracket 2019: Odds and Predictions for Sweet 16 Showdowns

The NCAA tournament will resume on Thursday with four Sweet 16 matchups, followed by four more on Friday. The weekend will finish with two Elite Eight games on both Saturday and Sunday.

There haven't been a great deal of upsets this March Madness, so many of the teams playing later this week will be higher-ranked seeds. Of the 16 teams remaining, 15 are seeded between Nos. 1-5. No. 12 seed Oregon is the lone exception.

If the tournament continues to go this way, the Final Four could be filled with some of the top-ranked teams in the country.

Bracket

Sweet 16 Schedule, Odds (All Times ET)

Thursday

No. 4 Florida State vs. No. 1 Gonzaga (-7.5), 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 (-2), 9:39 p.m., CBS

No. 12 Oregon vs. No. 1 Virginia (-8.5), 9:59 p.m., TBS

Friday

No. 3 LSU vs. No. 2 Michigan State (-6), 7:09 p.m., CBS

No. 5 Auburn vs. No. 1 North Carolina (-5), 7:29 p.m., TBS

No. 4 Virginia Tech vs. No. 1 Duke (-7), 9:39 p.m., CBS

No. 3 Houston vs. No. 2 Kentucky (-2.5), 9:59 p.m., TBS

Thursday's Predicted Winners

Florida State, Tennessee, Michigan, Virginia

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The first No. 1 seed will fall on Thursday as Gonzaga has a tough Sweet 16 matchup against Florida State to open the night's action. The Seminoles reached the ACC tournament championship game—where they lost to Duke—and have beaten No. 13 seed Vermont and No. 12 seed Murray State so far in the NCAA tourney.

Florida State has won 16 of its last 18 games, and it will carry that momentum into a competitive game against Gonzaga. Last year, the Seminoles beat the Bulldogs in the Sweet 16 when the schools were the No. 9 and No. 4 seeds, respectively.

"I feel like it's like this every year," Florida State junior guard Trent Forrest said, according to the Orlando Sentinel. "Once we get to a point where we don't know who we're playing, we kind of get desperate and we lock in so much because we know that our defense will win most of our games for us."

The second and third games of the night are both No. 2 vs. No. 3 seeds, so both should be close matchups. However, the No. 2 seeds, Tennessee and Michigan, are favorites, and each should be a little better than its opponents.

So, expect the Volunteers and Wolverines to move on to the Elite Eight.

In Thursday night's final game, No. 1 seed Virginia is taking on No. 12 seed Oregon, the only double-digit seed in the Sweet 16 round.

The Ducks have had a nice run so far in March Madness, beating No. 5 seed Wisconsin and No. 13 seed UC Irvine. However, they'll get shut down by the Cavaliers' strong defense, and Virginia will move on to the Elite Eight.

Friday's Predicted Winners

Michigan State, North Carolina, Duke, Kentucky

Stephen B. Morton/Associated Press

It's going to be all chalk to conclude the Sweet 16 round on Friday, with No. 1 and 2 seeds advancing to the Elite Eight.

However, these could all be close games, as the lowest seed playing Friday is No. 5 Auburn, which is up against North Carolina.

Of all the remaining teams, Duke had one of the closest calls so far this tournament, when the Blue Devils were nearly eliminated by No. 9 seed UCF in the second round. However, they pulled through late, as RJ Barrett scored the go-ahead basket with 11 seconds remaining and the Knights missed two shots on their final possession.

Kentucky has the smallest line of the four Friday matchups, as the Wildcats are 2.5-point favorites over No. 3 seed Houston.

The Cougars are in the Sweet 16 for the first time since 1984, while the Wildcats are here for the fifth time in the past six seasons. Veteran Kentucky head coach John Calipari knows how to get his teams deep into March Madness, and that's part of the reason why the Wildcats will notch this victory.

And Calipari is still having fun leading Kentucky to success.

"In this profession I'm in, if winning is a relief, it's time to retire," Calipari said after his team's second-round win over Wofford, according to Kentucky Sports Radio. "I may not be showing it right now, but I danced in that locker room. I'm ecstatic when my team wins."