Saint Peter's is just the third No. 15 seed to make it to the Sweet 16
Three No. 1 seeds and a pair of No. 2s are left standing as the 2022 NCAA Tournament heads to the regional semifinals, better known as the Sweet 16.
It’s a mix of college basketball’s who’s who and who-are-yous with 15-seed Saint Peter’s dancing to Philadelphia, 11th-seeded Michigan in San Antonio and 11th-seeded Iowa State to meet 10th-seeded Miami.
Saint Peter’s hits the Sweet 16 with the longest odds and money line at +600 against Purdue.
None of the No. 1 seeds remaining covered in the second round, and survive and advance generally translated to take the underdog and the points.
Here are five things FrontPageBets learned in the first two rounds of the NCAA Tournament:
Higher power
Believe in seed strength?
Take a gander at the East Region semifinal field: No. 4 UCLA plays No. 8 North Carolina; No. 3 Purdue gets No. 15 Saint Peter’s.
Only the West went chalk – Gonzaga-Arkansas collide in the 1-4 game; Duke-Texas Tech survived as the 2-3.
But entering Sunday, favorites covered 22 times in 44 games in the tournament meaning underdogs had done just the same.
The safest bet in the first four days of the tournament was taking underdogs to cover the first-half number, which hit at nearly 64%.
Heaven 11
Tennessee went ice cold in the final 4:29 of its second-round matchup with Michigan, but these Wolverines had the anchor in sophomore center Hunter Dickinson to keep on dancing. And there’s no reason to believe Iowa State is going to shrivel after the Cyclones showed a penchant for big shots in the first two rounds.
Dickinson’s showmanship might be an irritant but he’ll be a major matchup issue for Villanova. At 7-1, Dickinson is also a presence in the paint for the constant motion and cutting of the Wildcats.
What the Wolverines haven’t shown to date is consistency shooting the deep ball outside of Dickinson.
Villanova covered against Delaware (15) and Ohio State (5.5) with balance and a deadly 3-point attack.
On guard
There’s another No. 11 seed to watch in the all-storm game between the Hurricanes and Cyclones.
If you love guard play, No. 10 Miami vs. No. 11 Iowa State in the final semifinal and late game Friday night is worthy of your attention.
The Hurricanes are guard-heavy, beat Duke this season and buried Auburn in the second round. The Hurricanes have covered in 20 of 36 games and hit the over 21 times. Combined, these teams average 140.6 points per game.
Take a gander at the total, and you’ll find it lower than expected. That has more to do with the defensive effort these teams put forth in the first two rounds and the perimeter defense metrics on either side.
If outside shots go down, this one could go over easily.
Unleash the Cougars
Futures are a strong play, especially if you believe in any team other than Arizona and Gonzaga, the still-standing favorites. But odds are soon to dive with Final Four and national champion futures.
South Region No. 5 seed Houston is currently sitting fifth behind Gonzaga, Kansas, Arizona and Purdue, which should be a signal to those who don’t – or won’t – believe the Cougars are capable of big things. But the next act for the Cougars will be the most difficult, a faceoff with Arizona (+550).
Kansas (+400) moved ahead of Arizona after TCU nearly put the horns to the 'Cats.
Houston, just a 1.5-point underdog, has as much to do with the Wildcats’ drop in title odds pecking order as anything. Despite losing its top two scorers in December, Houston continues to climb in balance and efficiency ratings and excel in areas experts predict they might fail – see the 16 offensive rebounds against Illinois and 7-footer Kofi Cockburn.
Might be finale, K?
Use the futures odds to read what the books think of Texas Tech-Duke. The Red Raiders are +1200 to win the national title and +380 to be in New Orleans for the Final Four, ahead of Duke on both counts.
Texas Tech has only one flaw: Where will they go with the game on the line minus a go-to scorer?
Duke, +450 at DraftKings to make the Final Four, is 0-3 in NCAA Tournament games in California under Mike Krzyzewski. The under beckons here with the Red Raiders capable of containing Paolo Banchero and pushing the Blue Devils to the perimeter.
Further evidence is found with the money line difference opening at -10. Texas Tech is -115 and Duke -105. Tech opened as a one-point favorite.
At 137 total points, oddsmakers are splitting the difference between Tech’s history and Duke’s potential.
With an eye on futures, consider the winner gets the winner of the Sweet 16 game with the highest total in Arkansas-Gonzaga (154). This game should be played in the 80s.
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