We’re officially hitting the home stretch of the college basketball betting action as March Madness rolls into the Elite Eight with a pair of regional finals Saturday.

No. 5 Houston is a -2.5 favorite over No. 2 Villanova for the first matchup in San Antonio. We’ve also got No. 2 Duke taking on No. 4 Arkansas, with the Blue Devils favored by -3.5.

Saturday’s College Basketball Betting Lines To Back

Houston -2.5 over Villanova

We’re not at all surprised to see the Cougars back in this spot for the second year in a row. Houston is so good on both ends of the floor and proved it yet again in a dominant 72-60 win over Arizona Thursday.

Things probably won’t go much better for Villanova today – there’s nothing the Wildcats do better than Houston and both teams prefer to play at the same pace. The Cougars have the momentum and the look of a team that’s ready to steamroll their way to another Final Four. We’re on Houston -2.5.

Duke -3.5 over Arkansas

This should be a track meet with two teams that love to push it in transition. Arkansas has one of the best backcourts in the country and Duke has the size and reach advantage in the paint. The Razorbacks guards do a great job around the rim and they were able to handle Gonzaga’s NBA big men in the Sweet 16 upset win.

The Blue Devils will be a tougher out. This is a battle-tested team that’s faced plenty of adversity and dealt with distractions all season. Now they’re playing their best ball of the year and should get past the Razorbacks to keep the dream of a Final Four rematch with North Carolina alive. We’re on Duke -3.5.

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The first two rounds of the NCAA Tournament are an in-your-face, nonstop magical mystery tour of college hoops from noon to night that all blurs together into a mash-up of bad beats, buzzer-beater covers and upsets galore. But the second weekend of the NCAA Tournament is a real sweet spot for college basketball betting.

The Sweet 16 gives us more time to focus on four matchups per day, and they’re all fascinating at this point in the bracket. With four games set for Thursday’s third round, there’s a few plays we’ve got our eyes on.

The action tips off at 7:09 p.m. with No. 1 Gonzaga a -9.5 favorite over No. 4 Arkansas. We’re also paying close attention to No. 3 Texas Tech as a -1 favorite over No. 2 Duke and No. 1 Arizona as a -1.5 favorite over No. 5 Houston.

Thursday's College Basketball Betting Lines To Back

Arkansas +9.5 over Gonzaga

The Razorbacks didn’t change many opinions with close wins over Vermont and New Mexico State. Arkansas still isn’t viewed as a serious contender despite last year’s Elite Eight run and an impressive SEC resume. Ugly wins or not, the Razorbacks are now 5-1 in their last six NCAA Tournament games with a lone loss to the champion Baylor Bears in 2021.

Gonzaga had problems of its own over the weekend, with Georgia State keeping it too close for comfort in the early going and Memphis grabbing a 10-point halftime lead. The defensive effort has slipped at times. That’s one of the reasons they went 0-2 against the spread in the opening rounds and have covered in just two of their last seven games. Arkansas has experienced, senior guards who can slow it down when needed, run the show and keep everyone composed. This could be a closer game than many expect. We’re on Arkansas +9.5.

Duke +1 over Texas Tech

This is a tough matchup for the Blue Devils. Texas Tech continues to defend at an elite level and the Red Raiders completely shut down a red-hot Notre Dame team in a 59-53 second-round win. They can impose their will on most teams in the country, but they have struggled against elite offensive teams with size and skill.

Texas Tech lost to Kansas twice and wasn’t close in a 69-55 loss to Gonzaga. Mike Krzyzewski has passed this test before, beating Texas Tech 69-58 in a nonconference matchup ahead of the Red Raiders’ National Championship appearance in 2019. The pieces are all there to do it again, with Duke rolling offensively and starting to look like a real title contender. We’re on Duke +1.

Houston +1.5 over Arizona

This has Game of the Week potential written all over it. No. 1 Arizona cruised into the second round before pulling through in an 85-80 overtime win against an upset-minded TCU. The Cougars might have been the most impressive team in the opening rounds all things considered, with an easy win over UAB and a no-drama 68-53 victory over a strong Illinois team.

Now Houston is two wins away from its second straight Final Four appearance, and the Cougars have every right to believe they’ll win this game. Houston is the better defensive team, plays at its own pace and has the pieces on offense to pull away. Arizona is more talented, but the Cougars are playing like the better team at the moment. We’re on Houston +1.5.

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Buckle up for another loaded weekend of March Madness college basketball betting. The first round did not disappoint, and we’ve got some excellent matchups in store this weekend as these teams look to punch their ticket to the Sweet 16.

For Saturday’s second-round slate, we’re looking at No. 3 Tennessee as a -6.5 favorite over No. 11 Michigan at DraftKings Sportsbook. We’re also watching No. 4 UCLA as a -3 favorite over No. 5 Saint Mary’s, as well as No. 4 Arkansas as a -6.5 favorite over No. 12 New Mexico State.

Saturday's College Basketball Betting Lines To Back

Tennessee -6.5 over Michigan

Michigan showed plenty in a second half comeback win over Colorado State Thursday. Now the Wolverines are in for a much different type of game against a Vols team that plays elite defense and can rip off quick scoring runs at any point. The Wolverines didn’t look nearly sharp enough to compete with a team like this, and they’ll really feel the loss of guard Isaiah Livers today. The Vols could start to run away with this one in the second half, and we’re on Tennessee -6.5.

Saint Mary’s +3 over UCLA

It’s not easy to do what Saint Mary’s did Thursday, blowing out an Indiana team that entered with plenty of momentum after a First Four win over Wyoming. The Gaels played as well as they have all season and proved they belong among the top teams in the nation. UCLA survived a battle with Akron and the Bruins should be concerned. They shot 36.4% from deep, made 11 of 13 free throws, posted a 14-8 assist-turnover ratio and still only beat the Zips by four. The Gaels are one of the few teams in the country that prefer to slow it down even more so than UCLA, so they’re totally comfortable in this matchup. We’re totally comfortable backing them with the points. We’re on Saint Mary’s +3.

Arkansas -6.5 over New Mexico State

The Razorbacks survived a scare against Vermont to advance, while New Mexico State upset UConn, 70-63. It wasn’t your typical upset. The Aggies controlled the game pretty much from start to finish and completely shut down the Huskies’ offense. UConn wasn’t built to come back in games like that, but Arkansas is a different story. The Razorbacks are a senior-led, guard-oriented team with plenty of experience and offensive playmakers. Very few are talking about Arkansas’ potential to make a deep run, but we expect the Razorbacks to impress and handle an Aggies team that’s in trouble given the matchup. We’re on Arkansas -6.5.

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It’s the most wonderful time of the year for college basketball betting. March Madness is officially underway, with the opening round tipping off Thursday morning.

There’s a lot to keep track of this time of year in terms of the wagering action on betting sites. All the bracket pools, confidence picks, standard spread, total and prop betting, etc. But nonstop college hoops action from noon to the wee hours provides a great opportunity for March Madness parlays.

We’re going to mix in a few moneyline plays for a three-leg parlay in addition to our best bets for the day. Here’s our top NCAA Tournament parlay on betting apps for Thursday’s first-round action.

Top NCAA Tournament Parlay for Thursday

College basketball odds accurate as of publication.

Leg 1: UConn Moneyline Over New Mexico State

New Mexico State is getting a lot of interest from bettors here, and we’re not exactly sure why. The -6.5 spread is intriguing and we like a moneyline play on the Huskies for parlay purposes. The Aggies don’t shoot it well from deep and they turn the ball over a lot. UConn might be in for a bit of a grind, but we fully expect the Huskies to pull off the win and advance to the second round.

Leg 2: Indiana Moneyline over Saint Mary’s

This is a tough turnaround for the Hoosiers, traveling from Dayton to Portland to play just 48 hours after Indiana’s First Four win over Wyoming. But we’ve seen teams deal with it and move on to deep runs – No. 11-seed UCLA took it all the way to the Final Four after an overtime First Four win over Michigan State just last year. We love how Indiana’s been playing lately and think they can carry their momentum into an upset win over the Gaels. We like Hoosiers moneyline at +120.

Leg 3: Arkansas Moneyline over Vermont

The Catamounts are getting a lot of respect here, with the line set at Arkansas -5. We like the Razorbacks to cover but will stick with moneyline for the parlay. Arkansas is a guard-oriented team with great senior leadership, tournament experience and a ton of impressive wins this year. We’re not sure why so many seem down on the Razorbacks, but we’re not concerned about an early exit. We like Arkansas moneyline odds at -200 to close out the parlay.

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