Tag: South Region

NEW: Duke awaits the winner of Wisconsin vs. James Madison

NEW: Duke awaits the winner of Wisconsin vs. James Madison

The No. 4-seed Duke Blue Devils will play the winner of No. 5-seed Wisconsin vs. No. 12-seed James Madison.

The Blue Devils just closed out a 64-47 win over No. 13-seed Vermont. The game was tight throughout, but Jon Scheyer’s team went on a big run late to shut the door on Vermont’s upset bid.

Related: Pewaukee, Wisconsin’s Jack Gohlke becomes viral sensation with NCAA Tournament performance vs. Kentucky

Wisconsin obviously has big-time NCAA Tournament history against Duke — the Blue Devils narrowly defeated the Badgers in the 2015 national championship game.

Greg Gard’s team would welcome a rematch of that contest with a spot in the Sweet 16 on the line.

Zooming out a bit, the South Region opened up a bit with big upsets in the round of 64. Top-ranked Houston and Duke still remain on Wisconsin’s side of the bracket, but Marquette’s Elite 8 path is wide open with No. 10-seed Colorado, No. 11-seed NC State and No. 14-seed Oakland the only competition.

Related: Wisconsin Badgers vs. James Madison Dukes: Preview and prediction for NCAA Tournament round of 64

None of this discussion is important if Wisconsin can’t handle business against James Madison in its round of 64 contest. The Badgers enter having played their best basketball of the season last week at the Big Ten Tournament, but needing a strong performance to beat a 31-3 James Madison team.

Contact/Follow @TheBadgersWire on X (formerly Twitter), and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Wisconsin Badgers news, notes, and opinion. Follow Ben Kenney on X.

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Oakland’s upset win over Kentucky helped Wisconsin’s Final Four path

Reaction to Oakland’s incredible win over Kentucky?

No. 14 seed Oakland’s 80-76 upset win over No. 3 Kentucky electrified the nation on Thursday night.

Fifth-year senior Jack Gohlke became an overnight sensation, scoring 32 points on 10 of 20 shooting — all from 3-point range — and 2 of 3 from the free-throw line.

Related: Wisconsin Badgers vs. James Madison Dukes: Preview and prediction for NCAA Tournament round of 64

The loss is yet another disappointment for John Calipari’s program. The Wildcats’ Sweet 16 drought has grown to five years, and the program has  won only one NCAA Tournament game in that span.

The story of the night was Gohlke and the fun of a classic March Madness upset. But one sub-plot: Wisconsin’s potential Final Four path just grew a bit easier.

The Badgers start play Friday night against No. 12 James Madison. The winner advances to play No. 4 Duke. The potential Sweet 16 opponent, in all likelihood, is going to be No. 1 Houston.

That brings us to the other side of the South Region, where No. 2 Marquette is the highest-ranked team. The next-highest was Kentucky, which is eliminated.

This upset doesn’t have the impact a Houston loss would have. But with the No. 3 seed in the Badgers region is now eliminated, Greg Gard’s team now just has to navigate No. 12, No. 4, No. 2 and No. 1.

Contact/Follow @TheBadgersWire on X (formerly Twitter) and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Wisconsin Badgers news, notes and opinion. Follow Ben Kenney on X.

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March Madness: NCAA Tournament South Region odds, picks and predictions

Looking at March Madness futures odds to win the 2024 NCAA Tournament South Region, with expert picks, predictions and best bets.

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March Madness is upon us, and the South Region bracket features an interesting mix of former national No. 1s, blueblood programs and big-conference contenders that did not win league titles last week.

Below, we look at FanDuel Sportsbook’s NCAA Tournament South Region futures odds and and make our expert college basketball picks and predictions.

The Houston Cougars (30-4) and Marquette Golden Eagles (25-9) have the No. 1 and No. 2 seeds, respectively, in the South. Both have some injury and/or return-from-injury continuity issues to overcome, so the betting value in this region may come from further down the ballot.

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South Region futures odds

Provided by FanDuel Sportsbook; access USA TODAY Sports Scores and Sports Betting Odds hub for a full list. Lines last updated Monday at 2 p.m. ET.

1 seed: Houston +140 (bet $100 to win $140)

2 seed: Marquette +500 (bet $100 to win $500)

3 seed: Kentucky +700 (bet $100 to win $700)

4 seed: Duke +650 (bet $100 to win $550)

5 seed: Wisconsin +1200 (bet $100 to win $1,200)

6 seed: Texas Tech +1400 (bet $100 to win $1,400)

7 seed: Florida +1400 (bet $100 to win $1,400)

8 seed: Nebraska +2900 (bet $100 to win $2,900)

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9 seed: Texas A&M +3400 (bet $100 to win $3,400)

10 seed-*: Boise State +6000 (bet $100 to win $6,000)

10 seed-*: Colorado +3400 (bet $100 to win $3,400)

11 seed: NC State +4200 (bet $100 to win $4,200)

12 seed: James Madison +7000 (bet $100 to win $7,000)

13 seed: Vermont +23000 (bet $100 to win $23,000)

14 seed: Oakland +25000 (bet $100 to win $25,000)

15 seed: Western Kentucky +25000 (bet $100 to win $25,000)

16 seed: Longwood +25000 (bet $100 to win $25,000)

*-Play in a Wednesday First Four matchup

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South Region expert pick and prediction

Houston Cougars (+140)

Houston got blown out 69-41 by Iowa State in Saturday’s Big 12 championship game. But the Cougars had previously been 6-0 with impressive defensive analytics in neutral-site contests.

UH won 11 in a row before Saturday, and its ball-hawking, shot-swatting defense should travel well just about anywhere in the brackets. Coach Kelvin Sampson’s Cougar teams have made 3 straight Sweet 16s, and Houston gets a fair return here (although consider holding off to see if the Cougars drift up toward +160 or so).

Top 25: USA TODAY Sports Coaches Poll

South Region contenders

Kentucky Wildcats (+700)

UK (23-9) had an early exit in the SEC Tournament, but the Wildcats won 7 of 8 games from Feb. 13-March 9, beating a trio of KenPom top-15 squads along the way.

Appropriately enough, Kentucky is the speedy colt in this South Region field. The Wildcats play an up-tempo, high-scoring brand of basketball. They are a relatively young team that appears to have grown since an off-kilter mid-winter stretch that saw the team lose 5 times between Jan. 13-Feb. 10. If UK can be responsible in defending the 3 and keep making improvements on the offensive glass, it will be a value at +500, let alone the current figure.

Wisconsin Badgers (+1200)

UW (22-13) made it to the Big Ten title game before being ousted by Illinois. But the Badgers led that championship game by 9 inside the 15-minute mark before failing to close against an Illini 5 that went 26-of-30 at the foul line.

Wisconsin beat No. 3-ranked Purdue in a Saturday Big Ten semifinal, and the Badgers had played the Boilermakers tough in an earlier loss.

South Region long shots

NC State Wolfpack (+4200)

NC State (22-14) has the hot hand. The Wolfpack beat both Duke and North Carolina en route to winning the ACC Tournament. And that tourney run came after NCSU had lost 4 straight games from Feb. 27-March 9.

North Carolina State has a slew of veteran players and is putting together better defensive performances of late. The Wolfpack are certainly not odds-on favorites but are worth a flier at this level of return.

Colorado Buffaloes (+3400)

Colorado (24-10) is a bit of a live wire. The Buffs will have to earn the 10-seed in a First Four contest (against Boise State) in Dayton, but they have some NBA-type talent and present some value at this number.

The Buffaloes are 8-1 in their last 9 games, and their defense has been considerably improved over that stretch. CU presents a tough at-the-rim and beyond-the-arc challenge for defenses. If Marquette or Kentucky were to falter in Colorado’s section of the South bracket, the Buffs could very well be the team there to pick up the pieces.

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Wisconsin avoids stacked East Region in NCAA Tournament

Wisconsin avoided being placed in the East Region, which this year has four major conference tournament champs

The Wisconsin Badgers men’s basketball team is a 5 seed in the South Region of the NCAA tournament, facing 12th-seeded James Madison in the Round of 64 on Friday.

Notably, Wisconsin avoided being placed in the East Region, which this year has four major conference tournament champs.

The defending national champion UConn Huskies are the No. 1 seed in the region and the top overall seed in the tournament. They’re coming off a 73-57 win over Marquette on Saturday to win the Big East Tournament.

Iowa State, which beat Houston, 69-41, in the Big 12 Tournament championship game Saturday, is the No. 2 seed in the East Region. While No. 3 seed Illinois (Big Ten winner) and No. 4 seed Auburn (SEC winner) round out the top four.

Also of note from the region, UConn, No. 5 seed San Diego State and No. 8 seed Florida Atlantic were in the Final Four of the 2023 NCAA Tournament in Houston.

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Best bets in the South Region of the 2022 NCAA Men’s Tournament

Who prevails in a potential matchup between Tennessee and Villanova?

It remains to be seen how healthy Arizona will be for the start of the 2022 NCAA Tournament, as the Wildcats manage the ankle injury to starting point guard Kerr Kriisa. But there’s no denying that the top seed in the South Region still remains a heavy favorite to go on a deep run regardless of the news there.

The bigger question marks are lower seeded teams like No. 11 Michigan and whether the Wolverines can knock off No. 6 Colorado State. Or what happens between No. 8 Seton Hall and No. 9 TCU. Or better yet, will Tennessee’s snub as a No. 2 seed come back to bite it in a potential matchup against No. 2 Villanova.

The South Region has some enticing matchups but only a few teams truly inspire confidence in their ability to go deep.

Here’s a look at the best bets in the South Region, with odds via Tipico Sportsbook.