Michigan Wolverines versus Oregon Ducks March Madness Betting preview Sweet Sixteen Odds.
Time: 7:05 PM
Place: Sprint Center – Kansas City, MO
March madness odds:
Michigan -1½ (-110) 147 (-110) -123
Oregon +1½ (-110) 147 (-110) +103
How they got here
Oregon defeated Rhode Island 75-72 in the second round of the NCAA tournament on Sunday to book their second straight trip to the Sweet 16. ‘Mr. March’ Tyler Dorsey had 27, Dillon Brooks scored 19, and Jordan Bell added 12 rebounds, including a couple of crucial boards that allowed the Ducks to hold on to the ball and the lead. Michigan beat Louisville 73-69 to go back to the Sweet 16 for the first time since 2014. Moritz ‘Mo’ Wagner had a career-best 26 points, DJ Wilson scored 17, and Derrick Walton Jr. added 10 points and seven rebounds.
Match-up history
Michigan leads the all-time series against Oregon 4-0. The Wolverines defeated the Ducks 81-71 in 1955-56, 93-85 in the 1971-72 season, and 78-53 in 2003-04. The most recent meeting between the two programs took place on November 24th, 2014 in Brooklyn, New York, in the Progressive Legends Classic, which Michigan won 70-63. Wolverines head coach John Beilein has gone 1-0 against Oregon.
Players to watch
After scoring a single point against Oregon State, Dorsey has been tearing up the pea patch with five straight 20-plus-point performances. Players not to watch on Oregon’s roster of course include the unfortunate case of Chris Boucher. We’ll have to wait and see whether Wagner’s breakout performance was a flash in the pan or whether he can catch lightning in a bottle.
March madness betting trends
The Wolverines are 7-0 SU and 6-1 ATS in their last seven games, while the Ducks are 10-1 straight up in their last 11 games and 16-6-1 against the spread in the last 23. Both teams have leaned to the over side of the total in the past few weeks.
What to expect
The Wolverines like to dictate the pace, and that pace is somewhere between erosion and tectonic plates as far as speed goes. Hey, slow and steady wins the race – and wins games for Michigan. The Wolves know when to hold on to the ball and when to shoot it, leading to 50.5% field goal shooting and only five TOs per game during March. What the Ducks lost in defense with Chris Boucher (6.1 rebounds and 2.5 blocks to be precise) they have made up in offense with Dorsey, who is averaging 25.5 points per game and shooting 78.2% from the floor and 66.7% from the three-point line.
This just in
According to the Detroit Free Press, the Oregonian is “cute” for listing the 20 reasons that make Oregon better than Michigan, to which DFP questions rhetorically, “Do Oregon’s college football and basketball teams have the championship pedigree and history that Michigan’s teams do.” Perhaps not, and perhaps that will start to change tonight.
What’s Next
Whoever wins tonight – and the March madness odds favor the Wolverines – will (barring any unforeseen event) go on to face March madness betting behemoth the Kansas Jayhawks. Good luck !