The 2024 NCAA Tournament has seen a few upsets, but this year only one double-digit seed made it through to the Sweet 16. And the double-digit seed in question, 11th-seeded North Carolina State, is hardly your average double-digit seed.
The Wolfpack won the ACC Tournament this year, beating North Carolina, an eventual No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament, in the title game. In other words, NC State’s game against No. 2-seeded Marquette should be every bit as exciting as the rest of Friday’s matchups.
With that in mind, Friday is looking like a relatively stacked day of action in the Sweet 16. Wondering where to put your money? Keep reading and take a look at our expert betting nuggets for the games taking place on March 29.
(2) Marquette vs. (11) NC State
- Marquette has gone 12-6 against the spread this season when favoured by six or more points, while NC State has gone 6-3-1 against the spread this year when getting six or more points as a betting underdog.
- Marquette has won more than 90% of its games this season when favoured by odds of -300 or more on the moneyline, while NC State has gone 3-3 this year when facing betting odds of +230 or worse on the moneyline.
- Marquette averaged 78.6 points per game this season, and the Golden Eagles went 14-5 against the spread with a 20-3 record overall when scoring over 72.6 points, which is the average number of points per game NC State allowed to opposing teams this year.
- NC State earned just four Quad-1 wins this season in 12 attempts, but the Wolfpack put up a 7-4-1 record against the spread in these contests.
- Marquette and NC State have met in the NCAA Tournament just once before back in 1974 in the championship game, which the Wolfpack won 76-64 to give NC State its first national title.
Bet on Marquette vs. NC State
MARQ -6.5
NCST +6.5
(1) Purdue vs. (5) Gonzaga
- Purdue has gone 3-0-1 against the spread this season when favoured by five or fewer points, including beating Gonzaga 73-63 as a five-point favourite back in November.
- Gonzaga has won all 24 of the games in which it has scored 77 or more points this season, while Purdue has only given up 77 points seven times this year while holding teams to an average of just 69.5 points per game.
- Purdue has been the best three-point shooting team in the nation this season averaging an NCAA-leading 40.9% from three, while Gonzaga has allowed opponents to shoot almost 34% from three (good for just 170th-best in the country).
- Gonzaga shot under 27% from behind the three-point line in all seven of its losses this season, including shooting just 18% from three in the Bulldogs’ loss to Purdue in November, while the Boilermakers have held opposing teams to shooting just 31.4% from three this year (41st-best in the nation).
- Purdue and Gonzaga have played against one another four times in the past 25 years, with the Boilermakers winning every matchup against the Bulldogs by at least nine points and covering the spread in all four games.
| Team |  | | Team | Date/Time (ET) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| (2) Marquette | -6.5 | 151 o/u | (11) NC State | March 29, 7:09 PM |
| (1) Purdue | -5.5 | 154.5 o/u | (5) Gonzaga | March 29, 7:39 PM |
| (1) Houston | -4 | 134.5 o/u | (4) Duke | March 29, 9:39 PM |
| (2) Tennessee | -3 | 144 o/u | (3) Creighton | March 29, 10:09 PM |
All odds courtesy of 
(1) Houston vs. (4) Duke
- Houston has been favoured by fewer than five points in just five of its games this season with the Cougars putting together a 2-3 record outright and against the spread in these contests, while Duke has only been the betting underdog in two games this year with the Blue Devils losing both of them outright and against the spread.
- Duke has gone under the game total in seven of its last 10 games, including all three of its postseason games thus far, while Houston has gone under the game total in more than half of the games it has played this year.
- Duke went 21-0 this season when opposing teams shot under 46% from the field, and Houston shot just 44% from the field this year (199th in the country), though the Cougars have hovered right around the 46% mark in their last three games.
- Duke shot 50% from three-point range against James Madison in the 2024 NCAA Tournament’s Round of 32 even though the Dukes had been holding teams to shooting just 29.7% from three on the season (seventh-lowest in the nation), which is better than the 30% three-point shooting (10th-lowest in the country) that Houston has held opponents to this year.
- Houston, which is coming off an overtime win against Texas A&M in the Round of 32, played two overtime games during the regular season and won each of them, but failed to cover the spread in both of the games that followed these victories.
Bet on Houston vs. Duke
HOU -4
DUKE +4
(2) Tennessee vs. (3) Creighton
- Tennessee and Creighton had almost identical records against the spread this season (16-14-1 and 17-14, respectively), but Creighton has been the better team against the spread as of late as the Bluejays have beaten the spread in eight of their last 10 games.
- Tennessee averaged just under 80 points per game this season (36th-best in the nation), but the Volunteers have gone over the game total in just two of their last 10 contests with one of them coming in a blowout win against No. 15 Saint Peter’s in the first round of the 2024 NCAA Tournament.
- Creighton has made 36.6% of its three-pointers this season and averaged almost 11 made three-pointers per game, while Tennessee has held opponents to just 30.9% shooting from three but allowed them to make 7.5 three-pointers per game (good for just 210th-best in the country).
- Creighton has played with a short bench all season with four players averaging at least 30 minutes per game and two other players averaging at least 20 minutes per game, which could work to Tennessee’s advantage since the Volunteers draw an average of 18.3 personal fouls per game and get fouled on about 25% of their offensive possessions.
- Tennessee has gone 4-3 during games played in neutral locations this season but the Volunteers have only gone 2-5 against the spread in these contests, while Creighton has gone 3-3 in games played on neutral courts with a matching 3-3 record against the spread in these contests.
