A year ago, none of the higher seeds on the Elite Eight odds menu covered the spread, making the higher seeds 0-4 ATS.
And it’s not like they were winning and failing to cover – they were 1-3 SU in those games.
And over the past seven Madnesses, underdogs in the Elite Eight are 20-10 ATS.
So with Florida as the No. 7 seed in the West Final against No. 4 Louisville and No. 2 Ohio State the lower seed to Syracuse in the East on Saturday, does it make sense to back the underdogs?
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“Florida is actually favored by a point against the Cardinals and they are 9-2 ATS in their past 11 tournament games,” said Jack Randall. “The Gators have been stomping teams in the bracket and Louisville comes off a destruction of Michigan State.”
Louisville is 0-3 ATS in their past three trips to the Elite 8 odds menu.
Ohio State is actually favored by 3 points against a Syracuse team that has escaped several times. It may be the period of the bracket when the absence of suspended Fab Melo will matter most.
The Buckeyes have been a consistent OVER bet lately as that has prevailed 9 of the past 10 games. Syracuse has struggled to a 2-8 ATS mark in their past 10 games but they are very seldom underdogs.
On Sunday, Kentucky faces No. 3 seed Baylor in the South region final. Kentucky opened as 7-point favorites at Sportsbook. The Wildcats are just 1-3 ATS in four Elite 8 games since 2001.
The Midwest Region final is the second Elite matchup to pit a No. 1 vs No. 2. Kansas and UNC both escaped upset bids on Friday and the Jayhawks are small favorites to Sportsbook the betting.
