Since the start of the modern bracket era of the NCAA tournament, No. 1 seeds are 114-18 straight up in 132 second-round matchups against the winner of the 8-seed vs. 9-seed game. The Kansas Jayhawks and Villanova Wildcats hope to avoid becoming one of the 14% of No. 1 seeds who fail to advance to the Sweet 16 with wins on Saturday.
March Madness 2018 odds: Betting lines and trends for Saturday’s Round of 32 games
Kansas and Villanova will be looking to avoid rare 1-seed upsets as they continue their NCAA tournament runs as sportsbook betting favorites on Saturday.
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Kansas is the more vulnerable 1-seed going off at -4.5 on the March Madness odds against the No. 8 Seton Hall Pirates at sportsbooks monitored by OddsShark.com.
The Jayhawks are 8-1 SU and 7-2 against the spread over their last nine games including a current stretch of 4-0 SU and ATS. But after struggling at points against 16-seed Penn and having their big man Udoka Azubuike banged up with a knee injury, many bettors see the inconsistent Jayhawks as a popular fade this weekend.
No. 1 Villanova figures to be the safer bet to advance as 11-point betting favorites against the Alabama Crimson Tide. Villanova’s fast-paced and highly productive offense translates to plenty of success this time of year as the Wildcats are 14-1 SU and 11-4 ATS in their last 15 games played in the month of March. This style also leads to plenty of high scores with the OVER going 13-3 in Villanova’s last 16 games per the OddsShark College Basketball Database.
The biggest bracket-buster of the first round was the No. 13 Buffalo Bulls topping the No. 4 Arizona Wildcats. The Wildcats were a popular Final Four pick and were a 9-point favorite in their Round of 64 matchup against the Bulls. There was no buzzer-beater or fluke here; Buffalo demolished Arizona 89-68. The upset-minded Bulls now turn their attention to No. 5 Kentucky as 6-point underdogs. Kentucky is 8-1 SU and ATS over its last nine games.
With another smothering performance on defense, the No. 3 Michigan Wolverines improved to 10-0 SU and 9-1 ATS over their last 10 games with a 61-47 win over the Montana Grizzlies. Michigan is a 3-point favorite in the late game on Saturday’s card facing the No. 6 Houston Cougars. Houston is 9-2 SU in its last 11 games against teams with winning records.
For more odds information, betting picks and a breakdown of this week’s top sports betting news check out the OddsShark podcast with Jon Campbell and Andrew Avery. Subscribe on iTunes or listen to it at OddsShark.libsyn.com.
