Clay Travis Picks Thursday's Sweet 16, And He's Looking At A Sweet 4-0

The first two rounds were a bloodbath if you bet on underdogs.

And, unfortunately, I bet on a lot of underdogs.

Including Oregon, which was dead even for regulation and one overtime against Creighton before falling apart and losing by 13 in the second overtime. 

If the favorite covers in double OT, you should get your money back. Just brutal.

In a tourney in which favorites covered for four days straight, I also managed to bet on the two biggest favorites that lost — Kentucky and Auburn.

But now we’re into a new week of games and you can see Kelly Stewart — sunburned in Mexico — and me break down all the games on The Fade this week.

So here we go with 4-0 on Thursday.

TUCSON, Ariz. - Keshad Johnson of the Arizona Wildcats dribbles the ball against the Oregon Ducks at McKale Center on March 2. (Photo by Chris Coduto/Getty Images)

Clemson vs Arizona, the over 152.5
 

Clemson is a solid Top 25 caliber offense and Arizona’s a Top 10 offense.

With Arizona playing in front of a home court advantage in LA, the pace will be intense.

And the over will cash with five minutes left in the game.

NEW YORK - Samson Johnson of the Connecticut Huskies dunks the ball during the second half of a game against the Northwestern Wildcats during the second round of the NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament at Barclays Center on March 24. (Photo by Jamie Schwaberow/NCAA Photos via Getty Images)

San Diego State +10.5 vs UConn

SDSU has the eighth-best defense in college basketball this year and UConn has the ninth best.

What does that suggest?

Points will be at an extreme premium. Which makes this 10.5 number stand out even more, because in a low-scoring game, that’s nearly a blowout.

UConn wins, but by four or five points, giving us an easy cover.

WASHINGTON, DC - North Carolina Tar Heels guard Elliot Cadeau drives to the basket in the ACC Tournament Championship game between the North Carolina State Wolfpack and the North Carolina Tar Heels on March 16 at the Capital One Arena. (Photo by Mark Goldman/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)

Alabama vs UNC, the over 173.5

Alabama has the 101st best defense in the country in Ken Pomeroy’s rankings. If that sounds bad, consider this, no other team left in the tourney — other than Illinois, who we’ll discuss in a moment — is even within 50 of that number.

The Tide is flat out atrocious defensively.

Which is why I like UNC to score 90+. But Bama will hit at least 85 too.

Meaning the play here is simple — kick back and enjoy the over.

OMAHA, Neb. - Hason Ward of the Iowa State Cyclones drives to the basket as Rueben Chinyelu of the Washington State Cougars defends during a second round game of the NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament at CHI Health Center on March 23. (Photo by Jamie Squire/Getty Images)

Illinois vs Iowa State -1.5

The Bama defense is bad, but Illinois isn’t much better — the Illini rank 90th in the country. And they’re going against the number one defense.

But Illinois has the best offense in the country.

So what gives here, who wins, the best offense or the best defense?

I’m taking Iowa State’s number one overall defense to help provide just enough firepower to get them on to the Elite 8 with a win and cover.

…

There you have it, boys and girls, a 4-0 Thursday to get us back on the winning track.