The best USA sportsbooks favor the home team by 6.5 points when the Oregon State Beavers and the Loyola-Chicago Ramblers play in a NCAA tournament Sweet 16 game in college basketball action from Bankers Life Fieldhouse on Saturday afternoon.
One of the NCAA Tournament’s Cinderella stories is going to go through to the Elite Eight. And another will see its coach turn into a pumpkin. That’s what’s all about Saturday afternoon in Indianapolis when the 12th-seeded Oregon State Beavers (19-12 SU, 20-9-1 ATS) clash with the No. 8 Loyola Chicago Ramblers (26-4 SU, 18-9-1 ATS) in Sweet 16 action.
The Ramblers opened as a 6.5-point favorite at the best online sportsbooks. They have held steady at that figure. The total of 128, on the other hand, immediately dipped down to 125.5.
Oregon State vs. Loyola Chicago March Madness Odds by BetUs
| Team | SP/RL | TOTAL | ML | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Oregon State | +7 (-110) | 125 (-110) | +248 |  |
| Loyola | -7 (-110) | 125 (-110) | -295 | |
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Betting Oregon State Beavers
The Beavers are road dogs according to the best USA sportsbooks. The unlikely Pac-12 champs proved their run to the conference gold was no accident. Oregon State began the tournament with a 70-56 beating of fifth-ranked Tennessee.
They followed that up with another dominant upset. They handled No. 4 Oklahoma State 80-70. The Beavers’ stout defense has been the key in Oregon State’s road to the Sweet 16. Oregon State held the Vols and Cowboys to just 30.5% shooting from the field and 23.6% from three-point land.
Ethan Thompson has been en fuego for the Beavers. He averages 19.5 points in the first two tournament outings.
In the win over Oklahoma State, Thompson led the Beavers with 26 points on 5 of 11 shooting. As well as 15 of 16 from the foul line. He added seven rebounds. Jarod Lucas and Maurice Calloo scored 15 points for a trio of double-digit scorers for Oregon State.
Lucas shot 3 of 10 with a pair of treys and 7 of 7 from the foul line. Calloo shot 4 of 9 with 3 from the distance and 4 of 4 from the foul line in 26 minutes coming off of the bench. Warith Alatishe and Roman Silva each had a team-best 12 boards and a total of six blocks.
Betting Loyola Chicago Ramblers
The Ramblers are favored at the best USA sportsbooks. They were the 1963 NCAA champions, turning the clock back in 2018, reaching the Final Four as a No. 11 seed. They’re midway to emulating that feat three years later.
This time from the No. 8 spot. They defeated ninth-seeded Georgia Tech 71-60 in their NCAA Tourney opener. Then they stunned No. 1 seed Illinois 71-58 in an impressive Round of 32 performance.
The secret to the success of this year’s Ramblers is their remarkable three-point defense. Loyola Chicago limited the Yellow Jackets and Illini to a total of 7-for-24 from beyond the arc. They’ve also received a major scoring shot in the arm from guard Lucas Williamson. He averaged 8.8 points in the regular season. He now has a 17.5 ppg average in the tourney.
Cameron Krutwig led the team with 19 points on 9 of 18 shooting. He had team-bests of 12 rebounds, five assists and four steals for a double-double.
Oregon State vs. Loyola Chicago March Madness Picks
It is understandable why Loyola-Chicago’s the favorite here. They have looked pretty good in their first two contests. But it would be foolhardy to turn down so many points with an Oregon State squad that’s won four games in a row outright as an underdog of five or more points. Will this run continue? Perhaps, but there’s still a lot of value with the points.
