Only 12 teams remain in the NCAA Men’s Basketball Championship Tournament as we are halfway through the Sweet 16 round of competition. Four games are on tap for Friday, March 29 with spots in the Elite 8 on the line.
Which teams and players should bettors pay attention to for tonight’s Sweet 16 games? We’ll cover that and provide our best four NCAA Men’s Basketball player prop bets below.
Marquette Golden Eagles’ Tyler Kolek OVER 7.5 Assists
While Marquette – ranked eighth in the final NCAA Men’s Top 25 poll – is not a shock to be playing this weekend, their opponent is. The North Carolina State Wolfpack entered the tournament thanks to winning the ACC Tournament Championship in surprise fashion two weeks ago.
Marquette’s team goes as senior Tyler Kolek performs. Since the Golden Eagles started the Big East tournament, the guard from Cumberland, Rhode Island, has been an incredible ball distributor for his team.
Kolek averaged 11.2 assists per game in that five-game span. Expect Kolek to continue adding assists to his total tonight to cover this player prop bet.
Gonzaga Bulldogs’ Nolan Hickman OVER 1.5 3-Point Field Goals
Entering the tournament, Gonzaga looked in its most vicarious position in years. The perennial mid-major power needed a nine-game win streak to close out the season to secure their position in the NCAA Men’s Basketball Championship Tournament.
Their opponent tonight is the Purdue Boilermakers, a team that ranked in the Top 5 for most of the season. While most bettors will look at player prop bets for Purdue’s Zach Edey – a 7’ 4” center who is a Wooden Award finalist – turn your attention to Gonzaga’s hottest hand: Nolan Hickman.
Hickman leads the Bulldogs with 76 made three-point field goals this season. That’s an average of 2.2 made triples per outing. In the NCAA Tournament, Hickman has made at least three field goals from the three-point line in each contest. Expect more of the same tonight from Gonzaga’s junior guard as he and his teammates face the Boilermakers Friday night.
Duke Blue Devils’ Kyle Filipowski OVER 27.5 Pts + Reb + Ast
In their second season under new coach Jon Scheyer, Duke limped into the NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament having lost three of their last six games. The Blue Devils made light work of both of their opponents, however, reaching the Sweet 16 to face a team that was a mainstay at the top of the Top 25 poll in the Houston Cougars.
For Duke to have a chance to win this game, the Blue Devils need Kyle Filipowski to have a monster outing. The 7’ 0” sophomore from Westtown, New York, is averaging 16.6 points, 8.2 rebounds, and 2.9 assists per game in the 2023-24 season. Expect Filipowski to do just enough to cover this player prop bet on Friday.
Tennessee Volunteers’ Dalton Knecht OVER 20.5 Points
Tennessee entered this tournament as one of the prohibitive favorites to reach their first NCAA Final Four. To get there, the Volunteers will need to dispatch the Creighton Bluejays, a Big East team that finished second in a top-heavy conference.
This year, the Volunteers’ fortunes are tied to senior Dalton Knecht. The 6’ 6” guard is averaging 21.1 points per game. Knecht is also pouring in 20.5 points per NCAA Tournament game thus far.
Expect that the Thorton, Colorado, native will continue to produce significant points for Tennessee and cover this player prop bet Friday. This point prop is at least 2 to 3 points too low, especially for a player of Knecht's caliber.
