Many think that the NC State Wolfpack are going to be the team to get the job done and become that coveted double digit seed to make it to the Elite 8. However, the Kansas Jayhawks are one of the favorites on the March Madness odds, and we know that they aren’t going to go down without a fight. Check out our Sweet 16 predictions for this big time clash!

2012 Sweet 16 Matchup: #4 NC State Wolfpack vs. #1 Kansas Jayhawks
Midwest Region Location: Scottrade Arena, St. Louis, MO
Sweet 16 Date/Time: Friday, March 23rd, 10:15 p.m.
Wisconsin vs. Kansas Television Coverage: TBS

Key #1: The Wolfpack have to play this game loose
It is tough to say that a team from the ACC has to play like it has nothing to lose, knowing that this is a side that has gone up against the likes of the North Carolina Tar Heels and Duke Blue Devils this year. However, what we have found over the course of the last few weeks is that NC State is really playing with a different sort of swagger about it. The team doesn’t feel like it is choking away those pivotal games that it needs to get into the dance, and though it didn’t ultimately make it to the ACC Tournament Final, it sure looked like one of the best teams in the conference. CJ Leslie has to keep his head on straight, and the team has to do whatever it can to get the ball in the hands of Scott Wood from long range. He is an assassin and a veteran, and he is the type of player that can put the whole team on his back and lead the club to a tremendous victory.

Sweet 16 Odds at Wager Web Sportsbook
NC State Wolfpack +8
Kansas Jayhawks -8
Over/Under 142.5
Click Here to Bet Your Sweet 16 Picks!

Key #2: The Jayhawks need to dominate in the paint
You read that right: Dominate. This is what the Jayhawks just haven’t been doing in this tournament. There have been too many shots from the outside, and players like Jeff Withey and Thomas Robinson, though are getting their stats, just don’t seem to be anywhere near as dominating as they were at times during the Big XII campaign. This also means that the little guys have to get into the paint and do some slashing, and it almost seems like the moment has been too big for Tyshawn Taylor to withstand even though this is now his second year here in the tourney. Robinson and Withey both have double-double potential, but they are going to have to be imposing to a somewhat undersized Wolfpack outfit that might not be in the greatest of shape coming into this one to compete on the glass.

Key #3: The defensive pressure has to be there for Kansas
This more or less goes right along with the fact that the Jayhawks have to be a dominating team in the paint. Every now and again, you see this defense go to sleep. We saw it at home against the Missouri Tigers when they went on that big time run in the comeback at Allen Fieldhouse, and we saw it in spurts with Robbie Hummel and the Purdue Boilermakers. Still, this is a team that ranks in the Top 50 in basically every major defensive category, and if it is going to play like that team, it is going to take a truly remarkable shooting effort for the Jayhawks to get knocked out. Getting lazy on the defensive end of the court can, and has been this team’s downfall in the past, and we are afraid that the only way that Rock Chalk gets booted here in St. Louis, a de facto home court, is if it doesn’t have the mindset to get the job done.

Click Here to get the best March Madness picks that you’ll find on the internet, including our NCAA Tournament picks and the Sweet 16 picks for the rest of the NCAA Tournament game odds.

The South Region will send its last team to the Elite 8 on Friday night, and the Indiana Hoosiers and the Kentucky Wildcats duke it out for that spot. We’re set to make our Sweet 16 predictions for the clash in Hot ‘Lanta!

2012 Sweet 16 Matchup: #4 Indiana Hoosiers vs. #1 Kentucky Wildcats
South Region Location: Phillips Arena, Atlanta, GA
Sweet 16 Date/Time: Friday, March 23rd, 9:45 p.m.
Indiana vs. Kentucky Television Coverage: CBS

Key #1: Marquis Teague has to keep up with his strong tourney
Teague is still the freshman of the bunch that is under the most pressure. He is the point guard for this team, and he is the catalyst that has to get the job done. It’s not that he has to be a big time scorer, though he clearly was with his 24 points against the Iowa State Cyclones last weekend. However, Teague has to make smart decisions and take care of the basketball, and that is what we are wondering whether an inconsistent freshman is really going to be able to do. Again, it’s important to state, so far, so good for Teague, but we know that things might not stay that way as the competition gets stronger and stronger. You can bet that the Indiana guards are going to be licking their chops at having another shot at Teague in this one.

Sweet 16 Odds at Wager Web Sportsbook
Indiana Hoosiers +9
Kentucky Wildcats -9
Over/Under 144
Click Here to Bet Your Sweet 16 Picks!

Key #2: Indiana has to weather the storm and keep its head above water
Remember that for as young as Kentucky is, the Hoosiers aren’t all that much more experienced. Cody Zeller is just a freshman, and there are no Final Four runs for any of these players in the past. It was remarkable to think that Christian Watford was able to get the job done and knock down the biggest shot of his career and arguably the biggest shot that a Hoosier has knocked down in a decade to beat #1 Kentucky. We know that the Wildcats are going to come out angry and looking for revenge, and there are going to be times in this game when their talent takes over and they are able to go on a run. This is where Head Coach Tom Crean has to coach the biggest game of his career. He has to make sure to keep his team grounded during every timeout period and make sure that he uses his stoppages wisely. The Wildcats are beatable when they get frustrated, but if they frustrate the Hoosiers, there is going to be no encore performance out of the boys in red.

Key #3: The Kentucky bigs have to be big
Save for perhaps the North Carolina Tar Heels, there isn’t another team in the nation that can rebound the basketball with as much talent and authority as the Wildcats can. If is very clear that if Anthony Davis, Terrence Jones, and Michael Kidd-Gilchrist are all approaching the double-double line, Kentucky is going to be insanely hard to beat. This isn’t a team that takes all that many fouls, and it has to stay that way. Odds have it, a man like Davis and one like Zeller will counter each other. The question is whether Gilchrist-Kidd and Jones are going to be able to really step up and prove that they are the superior athletes in this game. If so, this could be a cakewalk for the boys in blue. If not, it might be Heartbreak Hotel in St. Louis for the Wildcats.

Click Here to get the best March Madness picks that you’ll find on the internet, including our NCAA Tournament picks and the Sweet 16 picks for the rest of the NCAA Tournament game odds.

The lowest rated team left in the dance, the Ohio Bobcats, are going to try to beat the NCAA basketball betting lines for a third time and make for another March Madness odds upset when they take on the North Carolina Tar Heels in the Gateway to the West.

2012 Sweet 16 Matchup: #13 Ohio Bobcats vs. #1 North Carolina Tar Heels
West Region Location: Scottrade Arena, St. Louis, MO
Sweet 16 Date/Time: Friday, March 23rd, 7:45 p.m.
Wisconsin vs. North Carolina Television Coverage: TBS

Key #1: North Carolina’s guards need to keep the tempo of this game moving
It’s all about the tempo in this one. We already know that the Tar Heels have been slowed down this year by the loss of Dexter Strickland from February, and now, the question is there as to whether or not Kendall Marshall is going to be able to play. Marshall had a screw inserted into his wrist to try to stabilize it, and it is still highly questionable as to whether he is going to be out there or not. Even if he is, there is a real question as to how effective of a player he can be. The Ohio guards tend to play stingy defense, and DJ Cooper, even at just 5’11”, is going to be a nuisance to try to get around. He has quick hands and averages well over a pair of steals per game. If the tempo stays hot like Carolina wants it, it is going to be hard for those guards to be off to the races in transition while the Tar Heels are standing still. This is one of the only ways that we can see the Bobcats even remotely hanging in this one, and if UNC neutralizes it by keeping the ball moving when it is on offense, Ohio won’t be able to keep up.

Sweet 16 Odds at Wager Web Sportsbook
Ohio Bobcats +10.5
North Carolina Tar Heels -10.5
Over/Under 143
Click Here to Bet Your Sweet 16 Picks!

Key #2: The Bobcats can’t get killed on the boards
Ohio doesn’t have a player on its team that averages more than 5.0 rebounds per game, and Cooper, which it bears repeating is just 5’11”, is one of the team’s top guys on the glass. John Henson, Harrison Barnes, and Tyler Zeller just love matchups like this one, and when they run into teams that are brutally undersized, it’s almost as if they are all competing with each other to be the first to log a double-double. The Bobcats have to clear the defensive boards, and they can’t let Carolina get all that many second chance points. There is no way, save for some luck, that Ohio outrebounds the Tar Heels, but it can’t just be embarrassed on the boards, or it is going to be far too hard to keep up with the North Carolina offense. Trying to stop this squad once is hard. Twice or more times on the same possession is virtually impossible.

Key #3: Ohio can’t have too many empty possessions
Going against the length of the North Carolina defense is always hard for any team, but particularly one that isn’t all that athletic, big, or quick. That being said, the Bobcats do have some veteran ball handlers that make sure they don’t turn the ball over. It is going to be hard to get anything in terms of offensive rebounds in this one, and that’s part of the reason that we are so insistent that Ohio gets off as many shots as it can on possessions. Having the ball and turning it over is the recipe for a disaster, and the team just cannot get anywhere near its 12.9 turnovers per game, or it is going to take just a phenomenal shooting performance to have a chance of sticking inside of double digits in the Sweet 16.

Click Here to get the best March Madness picks that you’ll find on the internet, including our NCAA Tournament picks and the Sweet 16 picks for the rest of the NCAA Tournament game odds.

Our Sweet 16 predictions kick off on Friday night in the South Region, where the Baylor Bears and the Xavier Musketeers duke it out for the right to go to the Elite 8. Check out our Baylor vs. Xavier keys to the game!

2012 Sweet 16 Matchup: #10 Xavier Musketeers vs. #3 Baylor Bears
East Region Location: Phillips Arena, Atlanta, GA
Sweet 16 Date/Time: Friday, March 23rd, 7:15 p.m.
Xavier vs. Baylor Television Coverage: CBS

Key #1: Mark Lyons has to make an appearance in this game
When Tu Holloway was out of the lineup earlier this year, it was Lyons that really stepped up with some big time games. That being said, we know that even with Holloway on the court, Lyons should be averaging at least 12-14 points per game, if not at least his average of 15.0 points per game. Thus far in the dance though, the X-Men have gotten virtually nothing out of their second leading scorer. Lyons has no choice but to do better in this battle, because these Bears are a heck of a lot better than either the Lehigh Mountain Hawks or the Notre Dame Fighting Irish. Scoring seven or eight points as he has in his first two games here in the dance simply isn’t going to cut it whatsoever.

Sweet 16 Odds at Wager Web Sportsbook
Xavier Musketeers +6
Baylor Bears -6
Over/Under 141.5
Click Here to Bet Your Sweet 16 Picks!

Key #2: Xavier absolutely cannot get in foul trouble
We know that Baylor isn’t all that deep of a team, and you would figure that it would go without saying that the Bears have to stay out of foul trouble as well. However, there isn’t a player on the court for Baylor that averages more than a shade above three fouls per game, and it is very rare that any of the starting five really have to spend that much time on the bunch for anything but rest. The X-Men though, are a totally different story. Holloway, Lyons, and especially Kenny Frease have to be careful not to commit too many fouls, not just to keep themselves on the court, but to keep Baylor off of the foul line as well. Save for Perry Jones III, all of the shooters are knocking down at least 76.5 percent of their free throws, and Brady Heslip virtually never misses, hitting 93.8 percent of his attempts at the charity stripe. The Bears make a living at the free throw line because of their aggressiveness, but Xavier has to limit that if it hopes to get to the Elite 8.

Key #3: The Bears can’t get frustrated by the length of the Xavier defense
The one thing that really seemed to frustrate Baylor this year in the games that it lost was going against defenses that are big, long, tall, and athletic. Xavier brings just that to the table, and it is going to be the first time here in the dance that the Bears have had to face something like that. These X-Men average coming up with 6.4 steals and 4.0 blocks per game, and those are the type of stats that lead to them having one of the best shooting percentages allowed in the nation. This is one of the few teams in the land that can boast that opponents are shooting under 40 percent against it, and if Baylor can’t get out of that funk and gets frustrated too much by a rock solid defense, it won’t survive and move on to the weekend.

Click Here to get the best March Madness picks that you’ll find on the internet, including our NCAA Tournament picks and the Sweet 16 picks for the rest of the NCAA Tournament game odds.