Friday Sweet 16 Betting Guide: 2 Best Bets and Top Player Prop

Four more Elite 8 tickets will get punched tonight after the Sweet 16 action wraps up. It’s two SEC vs two Big 10 squads in the South Region, where Michigan’s bench could keep them in their game against Auburn with freshman L.J. Cason playing his best basketball of the season.

Elsewhere, Houston should easily handle Purdue and punch their Elite 8 ticket before the buzzer even sounds.

Michigan State -3.5 over Ole Miss

Backcourts win in the regionals. Michigan State has a scrappy backcourt that simply ends up winning close basketball games, which will give them the edge over Ole Miss tonight.

Even with Jase Richardson shooting 1 of 10 against New Mexico, the Spartans won 71-63 in a defensive battle where they held the Lobos to four made threes. While Ole Miss can keep up with Michigan State’s offense, Izzo’s squad should force enough turnovers and capitalize on them in the second half to win this game.

Houston -8.5 over Purdue

Purdue against Houston could be a bloodbath. Purdue lost six of their last nine before entering the tournament where they have been able to handle High Point and McNeese with ease. Houston, on the other hand, just battled Gonzaga toe-to-toe until the finish line and looks to be a true contender with their newfound offense and elite 3PT shooting.

With the Boilermakers unable to keep up with Houston’s shooting and defensive aggressiveness, take Houston’s spread tonight as they look to book an Elite 8 ticket. Also, if Purdue’s second half against McNeese comes back in this ball game, the lights will go out on Purdue’s season before this game even ends.

L.J. Cason (MICH) OVER 5.5 Points

The Wolverines take on Auburn in a matchup where they are underdogs by almost 10 points. With Vlad Goldin and Danny Wolf in the frontcourt, Johni Broome might have some difficulties scoring at will against this tough Michigan squad led by one of the best coaches in the nation in Dusty May.

One player I’m looking at to make an impact off the Wolverines’ bench is L.J. Cason. The freshman averaged 11.5 MPG during the regular season, struggling to get consistent playing time due to the veteran backcourt. However, Cason has been a consistent contributor since their Big 10 Championship win against Wisconsin.

He dropped 8 points in that game in 15 minutes and followed that up with 6 points in 9 minutes against UCSD and 11 points in 19 minutes against Texas A&M in that comeback win. With Michigan desperately needing scoring off their bench to compete with the SEC giant, I have Cason putting together another solid game.