March Madness odds, lines, predictions: Expert picks for 2026 Sweet 16 games (March 26-27)

March Madness odds, lines, predictions: Expert picks for 2026 Sweet 16 games (March 26-27) originally appeared on The Sporting News. Add The Sporting News as a Preferred Source by clicking here.

The Big Ten leads all conferences with six teams in the Sweet 16.

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At least one will be in the Elite Eight in the 2026 NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament after the third round on Thursday and Friday. The conference looking to break a national championship drought that extends back to 2000 has a good chance to send multiple teams to the Elite Eight. We have four winning their Sweet 16 matchup.

The West Region and South Region play Thursday. No. 2 Purdue takes on No. 11 Texas, and No. 1 Arizona meets No. 4 Arkansas in the West Region in San Jose, Calif. No. 9 Iowa takes on No. 4 Nebraska, and No. 2 Houston meets No. 3 Illinois in the South Region in Houston.

The East Region and Midwest Region play on Friday. In the East Region, No. 1 Duke faces No. 5 St. John’s, and No. 2 UConn meets No. 3 Michigan State in Washington, D.C. In the Midwest Region, No. 1 Michigan meets No. 4 Alabama, and No. 2 Iowa State faces No. 6 Tennessee in Indianapolis.

We finished 36-12 S/U and 23-25 ATS in the first two rounds. Here are our predictions.

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Odds courtesy of Caesars:

March Madness picks, predictions for Sweet 16

Thursday, March 26

No. 2 Purdue (-7) vs. No. 11 Texas  (West), 7:10 p.m., CBS 

Texas is the new-aged version of Cinderella, and Sean Miller has the Longhorns hot at the right time. The Longhorns averaged 8.3 turnovers in three tournament victories last weekend, and the key will be getting stops against Purdue’s methodical style around Purdue point guard Braden Smith, who had 16 assists and 10 turnovers in the Boilermakers’ first two tournament games. Purdue is shooting 57.9% from 3-point range in two tournament games.

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Pick: Purdue 84, Texas 74

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Publish date : 2026-03-25 14:28:00

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