Elite Eight set — title odds shift
The NCAA men’s Elite Eight bracket is set this weekend, with Arizona, Duke, Michigan and Tennessee among the favorites to reach the Final Four in Indianapolis on April 4–6. (ncaa.com) — ESPN’s latest odds list Arizona as the title favorite and show Duke moving into second after recent wins. (espn.com)
No. 3 Illinois meets No. 9 Iowa at 6:09 p.m. ET Saturday in Houston’s Toyota Center, followed by No. 2 Purdue vs. No. 1 Arizona at 8:49 p.m. ET Saturday in San Jose’s SAP Center. (cbssports.com) No. 1 Michigan faces No. 6 Tennessee at 2:15 p.m. ET Sunday in the United Center (Chicago), and No. 1 Duke plays No. 2 UConn at 5:05 p.m. ET Sunday at Capital One Arena (Washington, D.C.). (cbssports.com) Arizona scored 109 points in a 109-88 Sweet 16 win over Arkansas in San Jose on March 26, with the box score and highlights logged by ESPN. (espn.com) Illinois beat Houston 65-55 in the Sweet 16 on March 26, with David Mirkovic recording 14 points and 10 rebounds in the win. (espn.com) Duke advanced with an 80-75 win over St. John’s on March 27 and Michigan reached the Elite Eight with a 90-77 victory over Alabama on March 27, per game recaps and box scores. (espn.com 1) (espn.com 2) Tennessee beat Iowa State 76-62 to reach a third straight Elite Eight, and UConn held off Michigan State 67-63 as Tarris Reed Jr. scored 20 and hit clutch free throws, according to AP and ESPN box scores. (apnews.com) (espn.com) ESPN’s updated futures list shows the remaining teams’ NCAA championship prices (Arizona +245, Duke +255, Michigan +300, Illinois +750, Purdue +550, UConn +600, Tennessee +3000, Iowa +5500) and notes point spreads with Iowa +6.5 to Illinois and Purdue +5.5 to Arizona while DraftKings is taking the majority of spread handle. (espn.com) Converting ESPN’s listed futures into implied probabilities gives approximately 29% for +245, 28% for +255 and 25% for +300 for the three shortest-priced teams (calculation based on ESPN’s published odds). (espn.com)
