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The Midwest Region of the NCAA Tournament features No. 1 seed Purdue looking to wash the bad taste out of its mouth from a year ago when it became just the second top seed in history to lose to a 16 seed in the 1st round. The region includes some college hoops heavyweights, though, and the Boilermakers will certainly be battle tested if and when they get to the Final Four in Glendale, Ariz.
Below, we look at BetMGM Sportsbook’s NCAA Tournament Midwest Region futures odds and make our expert college basketball picks and predictions.
Joining the Boilermakers (29-4) in the Midwest Region are No. 2 seed Tennessee (24-8), which was upset in last season’s Sweet 16 by Final Four participant FAU. Creighton (23-9) is the No. 3 seed and a sleeper out of the Big East. Blue blood Kansas (22-10) still earned a No. 4 seed despite tumbling down the stretch. If the Jayhawks can get healthy, one never knows how far they can go. These are your top 4 seeds in the Midwest, but there are plenty of sleepers, too.
Purdue is No. 3 in the USA TODAY Sports Coaches Poll, while Tennessee is No. 6, Creighton No. 11 and Kansas No. 20.
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Midwest Region futures odds
Provided by BetMGM Sportsbook; access USA TODAY Sports Scores and Sports Betting Odds hub for a full list. Lines last updated Tuesday at 4:57 a.m. ET.
1 seed: Purdue +150 (bet $100 to win $150)
2 seed: Tennessee +350 (bet $100 to win $350)
3 seed: Creighton +475 (bet $100 to win $475)
4 seed: Kansas +800 (bet $100 to win $800)
5 seed: Gonzaga +1000 (bet $100 to win $1,000)
6 seed: South Carolina +2200 (bet $100 to win $2,200)
7 seed: Texas +2500 (bet $100 to win $2,500)
8 seed: Utah State +2500 (bet $100 to win $2,500)
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9 seed: TCU +3000 (bet $100 to win $3,000)
10 seed: Virginia +5000 (bet $100 to win $5,000)
10 seed: Colorado State +6000 (bet $100 to win $6,000)
11 seed: Oregon +5000 (bet $100 to win $5,000)
12 seed: McNeese +8000 (bet $100 to win $8,000)
13 seed: Samford +20000 (bet $100 to win $20,000)
14 seed: Akron +20000 (bet $100 to win $20,000)
15 seed: Saint Peter’s +40000 (bet $100 to win $40,000)
16 seed: Grambling +40000 (bet $100 to win $40,000)
16 seed: Montana State +40000 (bet $100 to win $40,000)
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Midwest Region expert pick and prediction
Creighton Bluejays (+475)
If last season taught us anything, it’s to expect the unexpected. Purdue seems criminally overrated. As far as the No. 1 seeds are concerned, the Boilermakers just seem beatable. Perhaps that’s not fair, and it’s because they lost to No. 16 Fairleigh Dickinson in the 1st round last season in Columbus, and because they come out of a what’s considered a week Big Ten. Purdue has one of the best big men in the country in 7-foot-4 C Zach Edey, and it has 4 scorers averaging double-digits in points. However, until it advances deep into the tournament, it will always have that stigma.
The same holds true for No. 2 Tennessee. The Volunteers won the SEC regular season, then proceeded to get boat-raced by Mississippi State in their 1st game of the conference tourney. It wasn’t like the Vols lost a nail-biter, either. Tennessee was pounded by 17 points (73-56) against a bubble team in the SEC quarterfinals. That has to put a lot of doubt into the minds of bettors.
That leads us to Creighton. The Bluejays were 4 games off the pace for the Big East title, tied with Marquette for 2nd place behind the defending national champion UConn Huskies. About that. The Bluejays hammered the Huskies 85-66 in Omaha Feb. 20 as 2.5-point underdogs. You know, the UConn team everybody is lauding as the best team in this tournament? Creighton also topped Marquette by 14 points (89-75) — the Golden Eagles are the No. 2 seed in the South Region. The Bluejays also scored a win over Alabama, the No. 4 seed from the West Region.
If Creighton plays its game, it is capable of beating anyone, but this team definitely doesn’t get the credit of some of the other big-name programs in the country.
Midwest Region contenders
Kansas Jayhawks (+800)
The Jayhawks will have to survive and advance early on, and it will be a tall order right off the bat against upstart No. 13 seed Samford (29-5) out of the SoCon. Kansas has looked beatable many times this season. Short-handed, it was hammered by Cincinnati in the Big 12 Tournament’s 2nd round 72-52, but C Hunter Dickinson (shoulder) and G Kevin McCullar Jr. (knee) were sidelined with injuries — coach Bill Self is hopeful the duo will be able to play in Thursday’s opener.
Kansas is certainly battle tested, though, and this is a team which has wins over top-tier teams like UConn, Houston, Tennessee, Kentucky and Baylor. If the Jayhawks can get healthy, and that’s a giant ‘if,’ they are a team more than capable of going all the way to Arizona.
Gonzaga Bulldogs (+1000)
At one point there was talk of 16th-ranked Gonzaga (25-7) being in trouble for the NCAA Tournament. There was talk of the West Coast Conference (WCC) being a one-bid team, and Gonzaga not being that team. Then the Zags Zagged. Gonzaga won 14 of 15 games before losing to No. 15 Saint Mary’s in the WCC title game, but it did more than enough to secure its seat at the table.
The Bulldogs feature 4 players who averaged 12.9 points per game or better, in Graham Ike (16.5 PPG), F Anton Watson (14.4), G Nolan Hickman (13.9 PPG) and G Ryan Nembhard (12.9).
Is Gonzaga as deep as seasons past? Maybe not. But the Bulldogs shouldn’t be taken lightly.
Midwest Region long shots
Texas Longhorns (+2500)
The 7th-seeded Longhorns (20-12) racked up 20 regular-season wins, but they rarely won in a marquee matchup. The lost games against the likes of top-tier teams Houston (twice), UConn, Iowa State, Marquette, Baylor and Kansas. The Longhorns beat teams they were supposed to beat but never really grabbed that signature win.
Still, this team has the sharpshooter G Max Abmas (17.1 PPG), and he has been here before. Well, he has been in the NCAA Tournament before, but he was with Oral Roberts then, back when the Golden Eagles were fitted with Cinderella’s slipper in the 2021 Big Dance as they advanced to the Sweet 16 as a 15 seed — and Abmas was named to the All-South Region team. Abmas, who transferred to Texas after starring for ORU from 2019-22, is capable of being a game changer.
Utah State Aggies (+2500)
The Aggies (27-6) won the Mountain West regular-season title but lost in the MWC Championship Game to San Diego State, the No. 5 seed in the East Region. Utah State was a ranked team for a good chunk of the season and enter the Big Dance at No. 19. Whomever comes out of the 1st round in the Utah State-TCU game is going to have Purdue super nervous in the Round of 32.
The Aggies didn’t get an opportunity to play a lot of marquee games in season, but they beat tournament teams Akron, Boise State, Colorado State, New Mexico and San Diego State. Utah State can be dangerous, and it was one of the most accurate shooting teams in the nation, especially in the interior, while limiting teams to a super low 3-pointer percentage when on defense. The Aggies shot 49.3 percent from the field to rank 6th in the nation, while holding opponents to 28.6% 3-point shooting to rank 3rd.
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For more sports betting picks and tips, check out SportsbookWire.com and BetFTW.
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