In this guide to betting on the March Madness Sweet 16, we’ll tell you how to pick teams that will make it to this prestigious round of the Big Dance. You can also use these tips to make your picks for the Elite 8, Final Four, and National Championship.

People love the first games of the NCAA Tournament because upsets happen in the bracket and people can watch college basketball at work. But once the first two rounds are over and office productivity is back to normal, the Sweet 16 is when the tournament really gets going.

In the third round of the NCAA Tournament, the Sweet 16, the last 16 teams compete to see who will play in the regional finals. Most of the time, this round shows how tough the best teams in the country are. In the Sweet 16, the top teams play lower-seeded teams that have shown they are tough by making it through the first two rounds.

Top Picks for the Sweet 16

When figuring out which teams will make it to the Sweet 16, you have to pick a team that has won at least two games. If your bracket has a team from the First Four in the Sweet 16, that team has to win three games to get there.

When picking a team to make it to the second week of the NCAA Tournament, you should think about how well that team can beat a variety of different teams.

Who will make it to the Sweet 16?

When picking teams to get to the Sweet 16, there are plenty of options to consider. Right away, there are a few things that most teams that make it to the second weekend do.

Even though there is no way to know for sure which teams will make it to the Sweet 16, these criteria should help narrow down the possibilities.

At least three number one seeds:

The four No. 1 seeds in the NCAA Tournament are not invincible each year. The UMBC Retrievers proved this when, in the first round of the 2018 tournament, they beat the top overall seed, Virginia.

But, for the most part, the top seeds in the tournament don’t have a lot of trouble getting through the first two rounds.

In 1985, the number of teams in the NCAA Tournament grew to 64. Since then, more than one one-seed has been knocked out of the tournament before the Sweet 16 only three times.

If you want to pick an upset of a one-seed, it makes sense from a statistical point of view to pick no more than one top-seed to lose in the first weekend.

Two Double-Digit Seeds:

A team that makes it to the Sweet 16 as a double-digit seed is considered a true Cinderella story in the NCAA Tournament. So many strong conference champions from mid-major schools and some of the last at-large teams from the Power 5 are double-digit seeds.

In fact, the majority of the tournaments held since the field’s expansion to 64 have seen multiple double-digit seeds advance to the second weekend.

Even so, there is no guarantee that any of the 10 seeds will make it to the Sweet 16. In the history of the 64-team tournament, only twice have teams with a seed of 10 or higher not made it to the Sweet 16.

As with any tournament, those who are filling out their brackets must look at each matchup on its own and not choose winners based on how they are ranked.

There are four teams from the same league:

When the NCAA Tournament bracket comes out, it’s not unusual for teams from certain conferences to be the top seeds. In the past, several teams from conferences like the Big East and the ACC were expected to make it to the Sweet 16.

These conferences have done well in the tournament in the past, which is good news for the Big Ten in 2021.

There have been seven times when three or more teams from the same conference were in the top two lines. At least one team has made it to the Sweet 16 in all seven of these situations.

At least two teams from these conferences have made it to the Sweet 16 in five of those tournaments. With four top-two seeds, the Big Ten has a good chance of having four teams in the Sweet 16 of the 2021 tournament.

Who Will Not Get to the Sweet 16?

There are trends about which teams will make it to the Sweet 16, and there are also a lot of trends about which teams will not make it. These patterns can also help you narrow down your choices for the Sweet 16 and make it easier to fill in the first two rounds of your bracket.

A 16 Seed:

A 16-seed has only ever beaten a 1-seed twice in the history of the NCAA Tournament. In 2018, UMBC beat Virginia, which was a big surprise.

So, UMBC was the only 16-seed to ever play for a spot in the Sweet 16. The Retrievers lost to Kansas State in the Round of 32, so they did not make it to the Sweet 16.

The second team to do so was Furman this year, beating #4 Virginia and advancing to the second round, where they suffered the same fate as UMBC as Furman got defeated by the Aztecs in round 2.

There is almost no chance that a 16-seed makes it to the second round, let alone the Sweet 16. So, it’s not a good idea to move a 16-seed to the third round of your bracket, no matter how much you like them.

All four first-place seeds:

As was already said, it is very likely that at least three No. 1 seeds will make it to the Sweet 16 of the NCAA Tournament. But it’s not even close to as likely that all four of the No. 1 seeds will make it to the Sweet 16.

All four No. 1 seeds have only made it past the first two rounds of a tournament 18 times out of 35. Only 51.4% of the time since there are now 64 teams in the field.

If you bet that the number one seed will lose in the first two rounds of the tournament, you are taking a risk. In bracket games, wins in the Sweet 16 and later are worth more points than wins in the early rounds.

If you pick wrongly that one seed will be out in the early rounds, your opponents could gain a lot of points on your bracket because the chalk moved on.

A Team That Can’t Hit The Ball

The three-point shot has become so important in college and pro basketball that not being able to shoot from the perimeter can keep a team from making it to the Sweet 16. Late in tournament games, it can be hard to score in the paint because the games are often close.

An inability to spread the floor and make defenders respect the outside shot can prevent even the best interior players from ever getting to the third round. On the other hand, if done well enough, great three-point shooting can get a team into the Sweet 16 all by itself.

In 2008, Stephen Curry and Davidson made it to the second weekend of the tournament. There, Curry’s skills on the perimeter helped make up for what the rest of the team lacked, which led to a historic run.

Sweet 16 Betting Tips

It’s just as important to win your bets as it is to figure out which teams in your bracket will make it to the Sweet 16. Each team has won two games and is playing well at this point in the tournament. But with these tips for betting on the Sweet 16, you can cut through the noise and pick the best teams.

Parlay Double-Digit Seeds:

If more than one double-digit seed makes it to the Sweet 16, that means more than one double-digit seed can make it to the Elite 8. If you are sure that more than one team seeded tenth or higher will make it past the Sweet 16, you can combine those double-digit seeds to try to win a lot of money.

Only 12 seeds with a rank of 10 or higher have ever made it to the Elite 8, and this has never happened twice in the same year. But teams with ten or more seeds are usually big underdogs at this point in the tournament. So, a small bet that two of them will win outright in the Sweet 16 would be a good way to make money.

Stay Away From Betting Chalk:

“Chalk” refers to the teams that are the top seeds in the March Madness tournament. People who bet on basketball tend to bet more on these teams than on their lower-seeded opponents because they are often big favorites. But betting on lower seeds often pays off, and bettors should avoid the “chalk” in the tournament.

In general, bettors shouldn’t bet on any team or seed just because they always have. Instead, they should look at each matchup on its own to figure out where the value is and where to place their bets. This method helps a bettor make the most money in the Sweet 16 and all other rounds of the NCAA Tournament.

Make A Future Bet:

Futures betting in the Sweet 16 is the way to go for people who want to make more money than they can with single-game odds. In order to make a Sweet 16 futures bet, a bettor has to choose a result that will happen after the third round of the tournament.

You can bet on whether or not a team will make it to the Final Four, who will play each other in the national championship game, and who will win the national championship. Most people bet on who will win the national championship when they buy Sweet 16 futures.

At this point in the tournament, there are only 16 teams left. To win the tournament, each team needs to win just four more games. Since it’s harder to win four games than it is to win one, the odds on this market are better. And since most of the best college basketball teams from that season are in the Sweet 16, it is very exciting to try to guess who will win at this point.

Find Cheaper Sweet 16 Odds:

One of the easiest ways for a bettor to save money over time is also one of the best. It’s easy to look around for the best odds on Sweet 16 bets, which can save bettors money every time they place a bet. Most sportsbooks post spreads and totals with odds of -110 on each side, but better odds are -108 or less.

When the odds are -110, bettors must risk $110 to win $100 on a Sweet 16 bet. For example, if the odds are -105, they only need to risk $105 to win $100. Since no one wins 100% of their bets, the -105 odds would save a bettor $5 each time they lost in our example.

People who bet a lot can save a lot of money over the long term by doing this. In recent years, there have been more legal ways to bet on sports. Because of this, the odds for prop-style bets have gotten better, and if you can make good March Madness predictions, you can win more money.

Bracket Busted? Stick To Betting:

The fact that you don’t have to fill out a bracket to bet on March Madness is one of its best features. You can still bet on individual Sweet 16 games, even if your bracket is still almost perfect.

But if upsets and bad picks have already ruined your bracket, betting on the Sweet 16 is a great way to try to win back some of the money you paid to enter the tournament.

No matter how well your bracket is doing, it shouldn’t change how you bet on the Sweet 16. Bettors should bet based on what they have seen all season, including in the first two rounds of the tournament.

If you bet on what you want to happen in your bracket, you don’t take into account the ups and downs a team has gone through in the Big Dance.

How to Bet on Sweet 16?

Before you can bet on the Sweet 16, you have to choose a sportsbook. Bettors should know that sportsbook apps in different states have different features and options.

Once a bettor has chosen a sportsbook that is available in their market based on their preferences, they should look for a bonus from that sportsbook. One of the best times of the year for sportsbooks to give bonuses to new players is during March Madness.

These can come in different forms, like risk-free bets or bonuses for making a deposit. These offers can help a player add money to their bankroll with little or no risk at first.

Once a bettor has chosen a sportsbook and claimed their bonus, they can start making Sweet 16 bets. Bettors can do this by going to the college basketball section of their favorite sportsbook and making Sweet 16 bets. Then, they decide how much to risk, make their final choices, and cheer for their picks to win.

Should You Pick The Sweet 16 Now Or Wait?

Depending on the type of bet you want to make, you can place Sweet 16 bets early or wait until closer to game time. As game time gets closer, the odds on the favorite tend to get worse, while the odds on the underdog tend to get better. There are, of course, exceptions to these rules, which means that there is no one right answer to this question.

The real answer to this question is to keep an eye on how betting odds change over time. The goal of bettors is to make as much money as possible, and keeping an eye on how lines move can often help them find more value when lines change.