March Madness Elite 8 Best Bets for 2023 NCAA Tournament

Mar 24, 2023

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The Final Four gets all the glory, but there is something special about the round that comes before it.

This weekend, four different teams will have the honors of cutting down nets at four different regional finals across the country. Getting to the Final Four is a monumental moment for any team, which makes for four incredible games, given what’s at stake.

With a trip to Houston on the line for eight different squads, let’s take a look at my favorite plays for this weekend.

March Madness Elite 8 Best Bets

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UConn -1 (-110 via Barstool) vs. Gonzaga

We hit this opener in discord because it truly didn’t make sense. I made UConn a 3-point favorite, and Ken Pomeroy seems to agree with an 80-77 projected victory for the Huskies. While the betting lines have moved, this spread still seems a bit short at the moment.

UConn has blown the doors off every opponent in the NCAA Tournament thus far, recording three double-digit wins in as many games to get here. The Huskies ran the Arkansas Razorbacks out of the gym with a 88-65 victory on Thursday in Las Vegas.

Gonzaga’s defense has been the biggest concern with this team all season long, and it will likely be exposed against a UConn team that ranks third in adjusted offensive efficiency. According to Bart Torvik, no team has been playing better than the Huskies since Feb. 1, and they should overwhelm the Bulldogs here.

Drew Timme is coming off a 36-point performance, but he will have a tough time replicating that against UConn’s frontcourt. Only 13 teams in all of college basketball have a better 2-point defense than the Huskies. UConn simply has more answers in this one and should be able to get the job done in Las Vegas.

Risk: 1.1 units at Barstool to win 1 unit. Playable at -2 or better.