March Madness Best Bets: A Freshman Phenom in the Sweet 16 & a Chalky Final 4

Now that your NCAA Tournament bracket is all filled out, it’s time to think about making some future wagers inside the betting markets. American sportsbooks have gotten much more creative over the years, and you can now bet on things like a team to make the Sweet 16, Elite Eight or Final Four. There’s even a market on the combined number of seeds (O/U 9.5) that’ll reach the final weekend at Lucas Oil Stadium. The more candy in the candy aisle, the more likely you are to leave with candy. Here are some plus-money bets I made ahead of the first round: This page may contain affiliate links to legal sports betting partners. If you sign up or place a wager, FOX Sports may be compensated. Read more about Sports Betting on FOX Sports. Illinois and Vanderbilt to make Sweet 16 (+138) This is a two-leg parlay you can make at a few sportsbooks. DraftKings has the best payout at +138, with FanDuel much lower at +114. It pays to shop around. There’s no way Illinois loses to Penn and the Illini will be sizable favorites against either UNC or VCU. So let’s take that expensive Illinois leg (-400) and wheel it with Vanderbilt (-110). The Commodores should get by McNeese with ease, and maybe they’ll be facing a giant killer in the second round … Troy to upset Nebraska (+700) Nebraska better watch out. The Cornhuskers can be very limited in the half-court game and Troy will play at a snail’s pace. The Trojans play at one of the slowest tempos in the field and if this turns into a rock fight, anything can happen. There’s also the pressure of Nebraska being the only Power 5 team without an NCAA Tournament victory. That should count for something. Victor Valdes is the Trojans’ best scorer, but don’t sleep on the Campbell brothers — Cobi and Cooper — who both shoot around 40% from 3. BYU to reach the Sweet 16 (+425) This bet is basically me banking on freshman phenom AJ Dybantsa. Did you watch him in the Big 12 Tournament? All he did was score 93 points in three games. The nation’s leading scorer and this summer’s likely No. 1 overall pick has the poise and ability to take over a couple of games. BYU’s offense hits you from every direction and the Cougars have the size to give Gonzaga a fight. Make sure you get the +425 ceiling price at BetMGM, too. Others are much lower. Sam’s Final Four: No. 1 Duke, No. 1 Arizona, No. 1 Michigan, No. 3 Illinois BetMGM posted a market Sunday night on No. 1 seeds to make the Final Four. The Over opened -130, and it’s now -170. We discussed betting Over -130 on the “Chicken Dinner” on Sunday night Spaces on X. Shameless plug. I see at least two top seeds reaching Indy and there’s a good chance it’s three. People don’t want to hear that because it’s far from bold, but this year’s top teams are so much better than most of these 2- and 3-seeds. The cream should rise. By the way, a Duke-Zona-Michigan-Illinois superfecta is 30/1. Sam’s national championship:Michigan over Duke The Wolverines slipped up in Sunday’s Big Ten Championship Game against Purdue, but I don’t think it was the worst thing. It gave head coach Dusty May the necessary ammo to address some correctables. Michigan didn’t bring intensity on defense and it lost. Sometimes it’s that simple. A Final Four matchup with Arizona would be a slobberknocker, as would a sequel against Cameron Boozer and Duke. I still like Michigan to ride its size, defense, shot making and experience all the way to the national title.