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Welcome to DraftKings Sportsbook’s “By the Numbers” Sweet 16 preview, where we’ll use a numbers-based approach to break down this weekend’s games. The angle here is to look at some of the most interesting stats of the tournament, with a focus on DraftKings Sportsbook betting trends, as well as data from the DraftKings bracket pools!
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No. 1 Baylor vs. No. 5 Villanova
80.6 - The percentage of brackets in the DraftKings Champ Series pool that have Baylor moving on to the Elite 8.
11 - The percentage of brackets that have Baylor winning the tournament, one-fourth as many as Gonzaga at 45%.
25 - The percentage of Villanova moneyline bets for this game, lowest of any Sweet 16 team.
5 - The percentage of brackets that have Villanova moving on to the Elite 8.
No. 3 Arkansas vs. No. 15 Oral Roberts
37 - The total number of points Oral Roberts’ opponents have been favored by in their three games so far this tournament (including today).
73 - The percentage of spread bets on Oral Roberts (+11.5) for this game, tied for the highest of any Sweet 16 team.
55 - The average percentage of spread bets on Oral Roberts in their first two games of the tournament.
0.1 - The percentage of brackets in the DraftKings Champ Series pool that have Oral Roberts moving on to the Elite 8.
No. 8 Loyola Chicago vs. No. 12 Oregon State
3.7 - The percentage of brackets that had Loyola Chicago making it this far in the tournament. Only 2% have them winning another game.
3 - The percentage of brackets who will have a winner from this game. Oregon State was picked to make the Elite 8 in less than 1% of brackets.
11 - The handle percentage for Loyola Chicago spread bets (+7.5) in their upset win over No. 1 Illinois, the lowest for any game so far this tournament. Their 19% bet split was the lowest bet percentage as well.
2 - The number of games in which Oregon State has led by at least 18 points in the NCAA Tournament.
No. 2 Houston vs. No. 11 Syracuse
29 - The percentage of bets on Houston (-6.5) to cover the spread against Syracuse.
900 - Houston’s current odds to win the tournament, the shortest current line for any non-1 seed.
2.6 - The percentage of brackets that have Syracuse advancing to the Elite 8.
28 - The number of points scored in the final 3:15 of Syracuse’s win over No. 6 San Diego State, which resulted in the over (138.5) cashing on the last shot of the game (78-62 final score).
No. 1 Gonzaga vs. No. 5 Creighton
61 - The total margin of victory for Gonzaga through two games.
97 - The percentage of brackets in the DraftKings Champ Series pool that have Gonzaga moving on to the Elite 8.
2 - The percentage of DraftKings brackets that have Creighton winning this game.
36 - The percentage of moneyline bets that were on Creighton against Ohio last round, even as -240 favorites (64% had Ohio).
No. 6 USC vs. No. 7 Oregon
2.2 - The percentage difference in brackets that have USC (9.8%) and Oregon (7.6%) winning this game. This is by far the smallest gap for any Sweet 16 game.
1⁄3 - The ratio of USC picks to Kansas picks (to make the Sweet 16) despite the fact that USC was actually favored over Kansas in their second-round game.
102 - The number of points scored in the first half in Oregon’s most recent win over No. 2 Iowa.
4 - The number of Pac-12 teams remaining in the tournament. Collectively they are 10-1 (including UCLA’s play-in game win) with No. 5 Colorado as the only Pac-12 team to be eliminated thus far. All of the teams were seeded No. 5 or worse.
No. 1 Michigan vs. No. 4 Florida State
7 - The percentage of brackets that have Michigan winning the NCAA Tournament, the lowest of any No. 1 seed.
1 - The percentage of brackets that have Florida State winning the NCAA Tournament.
50 - The bet percentage for both Michigan and Florida State in their most recent games. No. 1 Michigan vs. No 8. LSU and No 4. Florida State vs. No. 5 Colorado were two of the most closely bet games of the tournament so far.
62 - The bet and handle percentage (same number) for Michigan (-2.5) today.
No. 2 Alabama vs. No. 11 UCLA
3 - The number of wins for UCLA so far this tournament (one more than everyone else due to the play-in game)
5.5 - The spread for UCLA’s last game, they were a substantial favorite despite being an 11 seed (facing a No. 14 seed).
29.8 - The percentage of brackets that have Alabama making the Final Four. Michigan is at 35.5%, making the East region the most closely contested in terms of bracket selections.
1.7 - The percentage of brackets that have UCLA making it to the Sweet 16.
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