Our Sweet 16 predictions kick off on Thursday night in the East Region, where the Syracuse Orange and the Wisconsin Badgers duke it out for the right to go to the Elite 8. Check out our Syracuse vs. Wisconsin keys to the game!

2012 Sweet 16 Matchup: #4 Wisconsin Badgers vs. #1 Syracuse Orange
East Region Location: TD Garden, Boston, MA
Sweet 16 Date/Time: Thursday, March 22nd, 7:15 p.m.
Wisconsin vs. Syracuse Television Coverage: CBS

Key #1: The Badgers have to keep the pace of this game down
We know that Syracuse isn’t going to be all that interested in running this game into the 70s against the Badgers, but it knows that it is going to want to try to get into offensive sets in a hurry to try to avoid settling in against that ferocious Wisconsin defense. These Badgers are simply awesome in transition defense, and there are very few cheap baskets that they allow. The Orange shoot the ball well at 46.6 percent from the floor, but this is a Wisconsin ‘D’ that is holding teams down to just 52.9 points per game and 38.5 percent shooting from the field and 28.8 percent from beyond the arc. The pace has to stay slow though, as the Badgers don’t have the offense to be able to put up 70-75 points against this stout defense, so it is imperative to try to limit the number of possessions in this game.

Sweet 16 Odds at Wager Web Sportsbook
Wisconsin Badgers +3.5
Syracuse Orange -3.5
Over/Under 120.5
Click Here to Bet Your Sweet 16 Picks!

Key #2: The Badgers can’t get three point happy
Syracuse has a great perimeter defense, and the way that it is eventually probably going to get beaten in this tournament is by a team that is able to pound the paint and the heart of that patented 2-3 zone, where Fab Melo is no longer standing due to his eligibility concerns. In the dance, Wisconsin has already jacked up a whopping 52 three-point shots, and that just isn’t going to be good enough against a team like this in all likelihood. The Orange have lanky defenders that can really be a pain to the Badgers who are trying to pick up points three at a time instead of two. Sure, if those shots are falling, it’s fantastic. However, it’s really hard against the 2-3 zone to shake loose and get open looks at threes, and if the Badgers just start chucking up contested long range shots, they’re going to get embarrassed in this clash.

Key #3: Syracuse has to keep the Wisconsin bigs off of the glass
We know that Wisconsin is going to take a lot of those long range shots that we mentioned before, and if Head Coach Jim Boeheim has to have a concern, it is about how his team hits the glass. The Kansas State Wildcats had a whopping 22 offensive rebounds against the Orange in the Round of 32, and though the game did end up with a bit of a lopsided score, there has to be a concern that KSU was able to get up 22 more shots than Syracuse did. Without Melo there to clean up the glass, there just aren’t that many players that have the ability to be dynamos on the boards, and if the Badgers are getting second chance buckets, they are going to be able to pull off the upset.

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 four games in the NCAA Tournament on Friday night give we, the March Madness betting public a great chance to make some great coin on some fantastic props. Check out our Sweet 16 prop picks for the biggest games of the season to date!

Marquette/North Carolina Over/Under 10.5 Three Point Field Goals
It just seems like every single NCAA Tournament game is featuring at least 20 threes right now, and North Carolina has been engaged in two battles thus far that have been indicative of that. Sure, the Golden Eagles will be able to slow the Tar Heels down just a bit, but when push comes to shove, Marquette probably has to hit this many three pointers by itself just to be able to stay in this one. Harrison Barnes definitely isn’t shy about uncorking the three balls, and neither is a man like Kendrick Marshall. Carolina doesn’t take all that many threes over the course of a game, but it does knock down a good chunk of what it takes. Just like seemingly every other tourney game, this one will go Over 10.5 Three Point Field Goals (-140 at Hollywood Sportsbook).

John Henson Over/Under 25.5 Points + Rebounds + Blocked Shots
Henson isn’t normally a fantastic offensive weapon for the Tar Heels, but he has really come alive over the course of these two games in the dance. We tend to believe that he is going to end up with somewhere around 15 blocks and boards combined, which really should leave this prop coming down to whether or not he is going to score 11 points or not. We just don’t see how he won’t do that, especially in a game that should be featuring UNC overpowering Marquette on the inside. The Golden Eagles just don’t have enough bigs to be able to duke it out with Henson, Harrison Barnes, and Tyler Zeller, and this could be another one of these 20 point nights for Henson. Go with him to end up going Over 25.5 Points + Rebounds + Blocks (-115 at Hollywood Sportsbook) against a relatively weak set of Marquette post players.

Jared Sullinger Over/Under 26.5 Points + Rebounds
Interesting prop here. Sullinger is clearly one of the most dominating big men in the entire country, and when he is on the court, he is a real nightmare to try to defend. Many think that he is better than Greg Oden was when the Buckeyes ran all the way to the finale against the Florida Gators a few years back. Sullinger hasn’t really had the benefit of playing a full game in this dance, and we haven’t seen his fullest potential. We know that Kentucky can go big for big with the Buckeyes, but can it really keep up on the inside? We’re just not all that sure that Josh Harrellson is holding his own against the big fella in the post. As long as he stays out of foul trouble (and he usually does), there’s no reason to think that this is anything but a double-double performance for Sullinger. He’ll fly Over 26.5 Points + Rebounds (-115 at Hollywood Sportsbook) in this battle against the Wildcats.

Joey Rodriguez Over/Under 15.5 Points + Assists
Everyone is getting caught up in the types of games that Rodriguez has had in the first week of this tournament. Sure, he averaged over 12 points and right around eight helpers per game in these first three games, but this is a significantly longer and more athletic Florida State team that he is going against now. The men that has to pass through are significantly bigger and tend to get their hands on the basketball more often than not. The Noles not only hold teams down to the worst field goal percentage in the game, but they also allow the fewest assists as well. Rodriguez has his work cut out for him to get to this number. Expect him to stay Under 15.5 Points + Assists (-115 at Hollywood Sportsbook) versus the Seminoles.

The four games in the NCAA Tournament on Thursday night give we, the March Madness betting public a great chance to make some great coin on some fantastic props. Check out our Sweet 16 prop picks for the biggest games of the season to date!

Jimmer Fredette Over/Under 31.5 Points
There is the point of ridiculousness, and we think that we have hit it. The Florida Gators play some absolutely fantastic defense, and they certainly learned their lessons from last year’s game against these BYU Cougars. Not just one, but all five bodies on the court need to be aware of where Jimmer Fredette is at all times. Sure, Fredette went off for 37 in this fixture last year in the first round of the dance, and yes, he has gone beyond this total in both of the first two games in this tournament, but this is a significantly different challenge. Will Fredette inch up near here scoring average of around 28 points per game? Quite possibly. But are the odds on his side to get to 32? Certainly not. Go with Fredette to score Under 31.5 Points (-115 at Hollywood Sportsbook) in the Sweet 16.

Derrick Williams Over/Under 18.5 Points
The thing about Williams is that he is so much more than just a big body on the inside that can throw down some thunderous dunks. We know that Williams is good for that as well, but he can stroke it from the outside and is a great foul shooter as well. The Duke Blue Devils are going to have a hard time containing this big man on the inside, as this is the first time since having to deal with the bigs of the North Carolina Tar Heels that they have had to defend a man like this. If the Arizona Wildcats are pulling off this upset and getting into the Elite 8, this is the man that really needs to be at his best. The big time players shine in the big time games, and Williams will end up going Over 18.5 Points (-115 at Hollywood Sportsbook) against a relatively weak set of Duke post players.

Matt Howard Over/Under 23.5 Points + Rebounds
Howard has a couple of things going for him right now. The first is that he really is coming off of one of the best games of his career against the Pitt Panthers. The second is that he is really the icon on a team that has found a way to amazingly overachieve quite a bit over the course of these last two seasons on a consistent basis. Howard doesn’t have the talent for the Butler Bulldogs to be able to outclass other teams, but just like his teammates, he just works really hard and often gets the stats to show stardom. However, foul trouble is a problem on a regular basis, and Head Coach Bo Ryan and the Wisconsin Badgers know all about it. Howard has the tendency of picking up some ticky tack fouls in the paint, and the Badgers are just going to be relentless about it. Once he’s out of the lineup, we have nothing left to worry about. Howard’s not going for a double-double in this one, and as a result, against one of the best defenses in the country, he’s staying Under 23.5 Points + Rebounds (-115 at Hollywood Sportsbook) in this battle against the Badgers.

Keaton Nankivil Over/Under 12 Points + Rebounds
Nankivil has sort of become the forgotten man for the Badgers, and we’re really not all that sure as to why. He has only scored a grand total of 13 points in his last three games, but this could be a totally different case. At 6’8″ and 240 pounds, Nankivil can really dominate the paint against an undersized Butler team that was dominated on the glass against the Pittsburgh Panthers just a few days ago. He’s got the mojo to be able to both score and rebound, and he is averaging 9.7 points and 4.3 rebounds per game to show for it. If nothing else, Ryan will want him on the court to give another man to frustrate Howard, and that means plenty of driving to the hoop and getting down and dirty on the boards. This is the specialty of Nankivil. He’ll come out of nowhere and post a huge game to go Over 12 Points + Rebounds (-115 at Hollywood Sportsbook) versus the Bulldogs.

The NCAA Tournament starts in less than 24 hours, and here at Bankroll Sports, we’re trying our best to figure out how many games each conference will be able to win with our March Madness picks. Check out these props and tons more over at Hollywood Sportsbook!

Pac-10 Over 3.5 Tournament Wins Over 3.5: We tend to believe that this is a conference to watch in this tournament, just like it was last year when the Washington Huskies made it through to the Sweet 16. Washington might be another Sweet 16 type of team this season due to the fact that it has a relatively favorable draw against other teams that are willing to run up and down the court. Arizona, if it can get into the second weekend, will basically be getting to play games in its own backyard in Anaheim, while UCLA not only will get Michigan State in the first round, but could get a rematch against the Florida Gators as well from the NCAA Tournament title game from a few years ago. This conference should be able to eke out four wins, at bare minimum in the dance.

Atlantic 10 Tournament Wins Under 2: The A-10 has a great history in this tournament, but this might not be the year for the conference to get the job done. All of these teams have reasonably difficult first round games, and all three might be finished before we even get into the weekend. Both the Xavier Musketeers and Temple Owls will be favorites in their opening round games, while the Richmond Spiders, the league champs are going to be trendy as well, but we just aren’t so sure that any of them are going to get into the Sweet 16 on this campaign. Don’t be shocked if the number that this conference ends up hitting in the dance is just one win.

Mountain West Tournament Wins Over 5: The problem that we have with this bet is that we aren’t so sure that either the UNLV Runnin’ Rebels or the BYU Cougars are going to be able to get us that much. However, in spite of the fact that the San Diego State Aztecs haven’t won a tourney game in their history, they should have no problems escaping the first weekend in two de facto home games in Tucson, and from there, they only have to travel to the Honda Center in Anaheim. The defense has been great for this team, and there is a great chance that this could be a club getting three or four of these wins on their own. If BYU gets into the Sweet 16, this should be a slam dunk.

Big XII Tournament Wins Over 7.5: If you’re a believer that the Kansas Jayhawks are at least Final Four material like we are, this really should be a slam dunk. After all, just in the first round of the tourney, the Jayhawks, Texas Longhorns, Texas A&M Aggies, and Kansas State Wildcats are all favorites, and the Missouri Tigers are one of the trendy upset picks. Could this actually be in the bank by the end of the weekend? You betcha. Kansas, Texas, and even K-State have great chances to get into the Sweet 16, and if that happens, there won’t be a heck of a lot more than really has to be done to get the job done at this number.

March Madness picks kick off on Tuesday with the first round of games in Dayton, OH. Today, we analyze the odds to win the Southwest Region and all of the March Madness betting lines for the big event!

The team that maybe should have been the No. 1 overall seed in this tournament was the Kansas Jayhawks (2 to 1 Odds to Win Southwest Region at BetUS Sportsbook). This is an NCAA Tournament about redemption for Rock Chalk after last year’s debacle and embarrassment of getting knocked out in the second round of the dance. Marcus Morris and Markieff Morris are arguably the best duo of inside players in the entire nation, and in a bracket that could be very shallow and narrow, this is a dangerous, dangerous team.

There really aren’t many teams outside of the box of the top seeds that can probably win this bracket. Before this season started, the Purdue Boilermakers (5 to 1 NCAA Tournament Odds at BetUS Sportsbook) would have been one of the favorites for the Final Four. We know that Robbie Hummel isn’t here anymore after tearing his ACL, but JaJuan Johnson and E’Twaun Moore are still two of the best players in this entire bracket. Don’t be surprised if one of the preseason favorites turns out to ultimately be one of the last teams standing in the Elite 8, or maybe even the Final Four.

If there’s a team that can go on a roll, it is the Georgetown Hoyas (30 to 1 March Madness odds at BetUS Sportsbook). The Hoyas would be in great shape this season if they had Chris Wright, but he has been out of the lineup for the last few weeks. Georgetown’s issue here though, is that it limps into the NCAA Tournament off of four straight losses. Still, Julian Wright, Austin Freeman, and company have the complete package of players, and this crew really can catch fire in a hurry and do a ton of damage.

2011 Southwest Region Odds @ BetUS Sportsbook (as of 3/13/11):
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Kansas Jayhawks 2 to 1
Notre Dame Fighting Irish 4 to 1
Purdue Boilermakers 5 to 1
Louisville Cardinals 5 to 1
Vanderbilt Commodores 35 to 1
Georgetown Hoyas 30 to 1
Texas A&M Aggies 80 to 1
UNLV Runnin’ Rebels 30 to 1
Illinois Fighting Illini 30 to 1
Florida State Seminoles 80 to 1
USC Trojans 100 to 1
VCU Rams 150 to 1
Richmond Spiders 100 to 1
Morehead State Eagles 150 to 1
St. Peter’s Peacocks 150 to 1
Akron Zips 200 to 1
Boston U Terriers 200 to 1

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March Madness picks kick off on Tuesday with the first round of games in Dayton, OH. Today, we analyze the odds to win the Southeast Region and all of the March Madness betting lines for the big event!

Haven’t we seen this story somewhere before? The Pittsburgh Panthers (2.50 to 1 Odds to Win Southeast Region at BetUS Sportsbook) end up as a really high seed in the NCAA Tournament, they rough it through a few early games, and then get beaten in a squeaker by another fantastic team. Get used to that story. That’s probably how this one will end up playing out again this season.

If you’re looking for the team with all of the experience in the Southeast Region, you go with the Florida Gators (4 to 1 NCAA Tournament Odds at BetUS Sportsbook). The blue and orange have all five of their starters back from last year’s team. There are a lot of past demons for this team to conquer in this bracket, including the team that beat it last year (BYU), the one that it beat for the National Championship a few years back (UCLA), and the one that once beat it for a title (Michigan State) though, so this is going to be a harsh road to Houston.

Ah, those tricky BYU Cougars (8 to 1 March Madness odds at BetUS Sportsbook)… Almost for certain, in the exact same season without getting Brandon Davies kicked off the team, the Cougs would have been a No. 2 seed (and Florida probably would’ve been the 3). However, the Selection Committee just didn’t buy into how good this team is. Well excuse us! All the Cougars have done this year is getting beaten by another No. 2 seed (San Diego State) and twice by the New Mexico Lobos, a solid team in their own right. Jimmer Fredette is the nation’s leading scorer, and he could easily end up dropping 40, or heck, even 50 on a team if the opponents aren’t careful.

The Kansas State Wildcats (12 to 1 Southeast Region Odds at BetUS Sportsbook) could be sneaky if Jacob Pullen gets going, though. Sure, the Cats are in that dreaded No. 5 hole, but this is a team that has already proven it can play with the best teams in the land, and Pullen can shoot the rock from just about anywhere on the court.

2011 Southeast Region Odds @ BetUS Sportsbook (as of 3/13/11):
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Pittsburgh Panthers 2.50 to 1
Florida Gators 4 to 1
BYU Cougars 8 to 1
Wisconsin Badgers 9 to 1
Kansas State Wildcats 12 to 1
St. John’s Red Storm 14 to 1
UCLA Bruins 40 to 1
Butler Bulldogs 70 to 1
Old Dominion Monarchs 45 to 1
Michigan State Spartans 28 to 1
Gonzaga Bulldogs 20 to 1
Utah State Aggies 20 to 1
Belmont Bruins 60 to 1
Wofford Terriers 150 to 1
UC Santa Barbara Gauchos 150 to 1
UNC Asheville Bulldogs 300 to 1
Arkansas Little Rock Trojans 300 to 1

(2010 NCAA Tournament Printable Brackets; PDF – GIF) The field of 65 has been set as the NCAA Tournament is about set to begin on Thursday! Here at Bankroll Sports, we’re going to take a look at some of the tournament-long props that you can invest in at BetUS Sportsbook. (100% Deposit Bonus by clicking This Link)

We’ll have a look at your March Madness prop sheet on a daily basis in this tournament, as we analyze the best ways to boost your bankrolls for the rest of the three-week spectacle.

Prop Bet #1 – Total Number of Games Won by the Pac-10 – Over/Under 1.5: Boy, doesn’t it feel like a slam dunk that a conference that normally has a ton of entrants in it is going to find a way to win two measly games out of 64? Not this year. Both Washington and Cal were subjected to three games in as many nights in the Pac-10 Tournament, and both must be on incredibly tired legs. The Golden Bears really don’t have a great chance at grabbing more than one victory, as they have to deal with Duke in the second round of the tournament if they can beat Louisville, a team that many think can do some real damage in the dance. The only other option for the Pac-10 is its conference champion, Washington. U-Dub was a fringe bubble team at best before winning the conference, and now it’s being asked to beat a Marquette team which may be the most underrated squad in the entire country. If by chance the Huskies survive as the #11 seed in the South, they’ll have to play Baylor, largely considered one of the most talented teams in the nation. Seeing one of these two teams get a win seems like a reasonable option, but two is a bit far-fetched and zero is much more reasonable. Even if the two do split in Round 1, neither one is likely to be a favorite in the second round, so laying -150 chalk is a good option for a prop that may be a winner by the end of the day on Friday.

Selection: Pac-10 Under 1.5 Wins (-150) at BetUS Sportsbook. (100% Deposit Bonus by clicking This Link)

Prop Bet #2 – Will a #14, #15, or #16 seed win a game?: The odds in this one look to be stacked a bit against you from the get-go, but let’s take a closer look at this virtual 12-team play or fade parlay. Since the expansion of the tournament to 64 teams in 1985, there have only been four #2 seeds out of 100 that have been defeated. Fifteen of the 100 #14s advanced to round two (and for what it’s worth, two of those made it to the Sweet 16). History will tell you that, if all things are considered equal, there are 19 times in 25 tournaments, or once every 1.3 tournaments that this happens. So, everyone is going to promptly jump on the “no” in this prop at even money and think that they’re getting a steal, and then complain when some unlikely #15 seed blows up their bet. Don’t be fooled! The #14s this season are all very, very dangerous clubs, and for our money, we think the #3s are especially weak. The odds say that someone big is going down at some point early in this tournament. Bank on the madness that is March to claim a huge scalp on one of the first two days.

Selection: Yes (-130) at BetUS Sportsbook. (100% Deposit Bonus by clicking This Link)

Prop Bet #3 – Total Games Won by Atlantic 10 Teams – Over/Under 2.5 Wins: There’s a reason that the A-10 is favored in all three of its first round games this year. The Temple Owls, Richmond Spiders, and Xavier Musketeers not only have first round winning abilities, but in the event that even two of them get upset in Round 1, any of the three can also roll to the Elite 8 and make this prop a winner for you the hard way as well. Temple is especially dangerous in a very defensive mini-bracket in Jacksonville, and if it can survive a first round date with Cornell, we like this team’s chances of making it to the Sweet 16. That would leave either a victory for the Spiders against a St. Mary’s team that might not have been in the NCAA Tournament without the WCC crown, or one for Xavier over what has to be a very, very tired Minnesota team which played four games in as many nights at Conseco Fieldhouse last week.

Selection: A-10 Over 2.5 Wins (-140) at BetUS Sportsbook. (100% Deposit Bonus by clicking This Link.)