(NewsNation) — It’s a busy time in the sports betting world.
The NCAA Tournament has whittled down to the Sweet 16 teams and March Madness is gearing back up for the next round of potential upsets.
Drew Martin, sports analyst and host of “Wagertalk TV” discussed the Sweet 16 outlook during an appearance on “Morning in America”.
“Look at the statistics, look at the matchups, how certain teams do against different teams and the style of play that they have against each other,” Martin said on choosing a team to advance. “But to tell you the truth, sometimes in this tournament, it is just wild what we see.”
And wild was probably the tamest way many sports bettors described 15-seed St. Peter’s University’s victories over Kentucky and Murray State.
“How far some of these Cinderellas can go. I don’t know if the statistics can necessarily tell us everything,” Martin said. “Sometimes it is just kind of a toss-up here and anything can happen in March Madness.”
Sports bettors have backed the underdogs in the opening rounds of the tournament. How about betting on the over-under point total?
“I think that that’s the best way to win in this business because it’s very difficult on the oddsmakers to make a total,” Martin said. “There’s more variables involved rather than just kind of spread betting.”
According to Martin, in the Sweet 16 round, “Fundamentals come to the forefront.” and coaches stress “Players get back on defense, stop the other team from scoring.”
So, “If you’re going to be a totals better and look to come at betting these totals in the sweet 16, I would probably lean more under than over,” he said.
Bettors are banking on a tight game as the Gonzaga Bulldogs, an overall favorite, face the Arkansas Razorbacks, a four-seed.
“It’s actually pushed up to nine and a half,” Martin said. “So Gonzaga is gonna have to win by double, is going to have to win by 10 points or more if you’re wanting to cash your bet on the Gonzaga Bulldogs.”
Martin, however, is putting his money on the underdog.
“I think Arkansas stays within 10 points,” he said. “The fact is Arkansas has won 15 of their last 20 games against the spread and Gonzaga, depending what number you got them off of, has actually lost eight of their last nine games against the spread. So they’ve kind of been taxed here.”
So study the stats or go with your gut as the competition in the Sweet 16 round ratchets up the pressure on teams and sports bettors alike.