All eyes will be focused on Anaheim and Louisville for the NCAA Sweet 16 matchups. But just in case you’ve been living in a cave, there are other games being played on Thursday. OK, a cave might to a little much, and folks outside the cities of CBI and CIT combatants probably don’t realize those tournaments exist. But they do, and the squads in them are excited about the chance of hoisting a postseason trophy. South Florida gets a home game against Loyola Marymount for the right to play DePaul in the best-of-three CBI championship series. The Bulls are a 4.5-point favorite on the opening college basketball betting line.
The real action takes place in the NCAA Tournament, however, and it isn’t a shock to see the two No. 1 seeds laying more than a touchdown on the opening line. Gonzaga, the top-seed in the West Region, gets the festivities started against Florida State. The Zags are looking to avenge a loss to the Noles in this round of last year’s Tournament. Gonzaga opened as a 7.5-point favorite.
BookMaker.eu will have college basketball odds and live betting options for every game on the Thursday schedule.
College Basketball Schedule for Thursday, March 28, 2019
#4 Florida State vs. #1 Gonzaga ( -7.5, 147 ), 7:09 p.m. ET (CBS)
#3 Purdue vs. #2 Tennessee ( -1.5, 146.5 ), 7:29 p.m. ET (TBS)
#3 Texas Tech vs. #2 Michigan ( -2, 125.5 ), 9:39 p.m. ET (CBS)
#12 Oregon vs. #1 Virginia ( -8.5, 119.5 ), 9:57 p.m. ET (TBS)
Loyola Marymount at South Florida ( -4.5, 131.5 ), 7 p.m. ET
Hampton at NJIT ( -3, 154 ), 7 p.m. ET
Texas Southern at UL Monroe ( -8, 171 ), 8 p.m. ET
Thursday Opening Lines Report
What the hell is Oregon doing in the Sweet 16? The top three seeds from each region advanced and two No. 4 seeds made the list, but the Ducks upset the process by qualifying as a No. 12 seed. Granted, the Ducks didn’t look like a 12-seed in taking down Wisconsin and UC Irvine, and they will give No. 1 Virginia a game with their athleticism and length. Oregon stumbled following the loss of Bol Bol to injury, but they figured out that they are still pretty good without Manute’s kid by winning 10 in a row heading into Thursday’s tilt.
If you haven’t seen Kenny Wooten play you are in for a treat. He’s not a big scorer, but he impacts the game in other ways. Against Wisconsin in the first round he scored nine points on 4 of 5 shooting with three of those being dunks. His defensive presence is what the Ducks use for inspiration. Wooten had seven blocks against the Anteaters and he has at least four in each of his last four games.
Oregon is just as stingy on defense as Virginiaand it’s hard to imagine this game turning into a shootout. Because of that the 8.5-points the Ducks are getting on the opening line is a gift, and I’ll take it, thank you.
Don’t let the score of Gonzaga’s second round win over Baylor fool you. The Bears hung around and lost 83-71, but they weren’t that close. A brief lapse by the Zags allowed Baylor to score 10 straight points, and the Bears were still down six. For their rematch, the Zags are spotting the Noles 7.5-points. FSU won last year’s game 75-60, but the Zags didn’t have Brandon Clarke for that one. The San Jose State transfer dropped 36 with five blocks on Baylor and was unstoppable.
The other two Sweet 16 matchups feature a No. 2 seed against a No. 3. They are closer in the seeding and on the opening line. Tennessee opened as a 1.5-point favorite over No. 3 Purdue while Michigan is 2-point chalk over Texas Tech. The teams making up the Sweet 16 were all favored in their second-round matchups, marking a first in Tournament history since the field expanded in 1985.
Fear not fans of the New Jersey Institute of Technology Highlanders and the Louisiana-Monroe Warhawks because your teams are still playing. If the Highlanders were the institute of basketball they might be competing for a national championship. Instead they have a home bout with Hampton in the CollegeInsider.com Tournament quarterfinal. NJIT is laying 3-points on the opening line to the Pirates.
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