Sweet 16 Betting: Jayhawks, Bruins, Hurricanes All On Upset Watch

• The Kansas Jayhawks have -360 odds to beat the Providence Friars.
• The North Carolina Tar Heels have +115 odds to pull off an upset over the UCLA Bruins.
• The Miami Hurricanes have -140 odds to move on to the Elite 8 over the Iowa State Cyclones.

CHICAGO – The first two rounds of March Madness are officially in the books, and it is time for the Sweet 16. With the start of the third round, certain teams should be on upset watch as they face tough opponents.

Those teams include the Kansas Jayhawks, UCLA Bruins, and the Miami Hurricanes. Although legal online sportsbooks are favoring these three to come out on top, their opponents should not be overlooked for pulling off an upset.

#1 Kansas Jayhawks Vs. #4 Providence Friars

While many might not think of this as an upset watch game based on how heavily favored Kansas’s March Madness odds are, Providence has been on a complete tear in the first two rounds.

They first snapped #13 South Dakota State’s 21-game win streak and held them to just 57 points after they had been averaging north of 86 ppg all season long. They then took down the #12 Richmond Spiders, who were coming off of a massive upset win over the #5 Iowa Hawkeyes, and dismantled them with a 79-51 win.

Although Kansas took care of business as they were supposed to in the first two rounds though, they could be dealing with some fatigue after blowing out Texas Southern by 27 points and not covering their 11-point spread against Creighton where they won by 7 points.

If the Friars defense could continue tormenting opponents as they have been all season long, the Jayhawks could be the second #1 seed to go down.

#4 UCLA Bruins Vs. #8 North Carolina Tar Heels

The North Carolina Tar Heels have been on an absolute roll in the NCAA Tournament through the first two rounds and UCLA should be preparing for a battle the whole way through. The Heels have put up 90+ points in each of their first two games going for 95 against #8 Marquette and 93 over the defending National Champions, #1 Baylor in overtime.

While the Bruins are one of the better teams remaining in the tournament, they might not have enough to match up with the Heels as they are behind them in points, rebounds, assists, and blocks per game over the entire season.

#10 Miami Hurricanes Vs. #11 Iowa State

While this 10/11 matchup does not have as much hype surrounding it that other Sweet 16 games do, Iowa State does have what it takes to pull off the minor upset over the Canes. This could be the closest matchup of the round being that both teams have had the underdog mentality throughout the first two rounds.

However, where Iowa State gets the edge though is that they have competed in a stacked Big 12 conference whereas Miami played in the ACC that has struggled all season long. The Cyclones defense has also held their own in the tournament against some of the top offenses. They held LSU to 54 points after they had been averaging 73.1 ppg this season and Wisconsin to 49 points while they’ve been averaging 70.7 ppg. Miami has allowed 60+ points to their opponents in the first two rounds.

News tags: basketball | College Basketball | Iowa State Cyclones | Kansas Jayhawks | March Madness | Miami Hurricanes | NCAA Basketball | NCAA Tournament | North Carolina Tar Heels | Providence Friars | Sweet 16 | UCLA Bruins