March Madness Best Bets for Today (Can Peacocks Cover Their Way to the Final Four?)

I can't think of a better city (besides Jersey City) for the Saint Peter's Peacocks to "strut their stuff" than in a city like New Orleans.

The Peacocks' run to even this point of March Madness has been historic, becoming the only 15-seed to make it past the Sweet 16 in NCAA men's tournament history. They also have been an extremely profitable bet so far through March Madness. As evidenced below, if someone would have bet $100 on them to win outright vs. Kentucky, and let it ride on the next two games on the moneyline after that, that $100 would now be just under $31,000!

The 2022 men's Final Four destination already has two blue bloods joining the party next Saturday, April 2 from the Caesars Superdome, as No. 2 Villanova and No. 2 Duke moved on against No. 5 Houston and No. 4 Arkansas respectively. The Blue Devils' win over the Razorbacks was notable in particular for one member of the BetSided team, as our own Iain MacMillan was set to get a Razorbacks tattoo should they have moved on to New Orleans.

The Madness continues today as two double-digit seeds could make their way to the Final Four in No. 10 Miami as well as the 15-seeded Peacocks. Can they get by the top-seeded Jayhawks and 8-seeded Tar Heels? Let's dive into our favorite bets for the final Elite Eight games on the board, with all odds via WynnBET Sportsbook.

March Madness Best Bets for Sunday, March 27

No. 10 Miami vs. No. 1 Kansas

I'll back the over in the early game in Chicago as the Jayhawks and Hurricanes match up in what should be much improved offensive performances from Friday's games. The Jayhawks shot just 47.6% from inside the arc against Providence and an abysmal 14.3% from downtown.

Meanwhile, the Hurricanes continued their terrific offensive play against a top-five defense in Iowa State, dropping 70 on the Cyclones despite also having a rough shooting night: 21-46 (45.7%) from two, and 4-22 from 3-point range (18.2%).

The line opened at 151 and was immediately bet all the way down to 147 at several books, but is starting to creep back up again. Granted it's a short turnaround, but Miami and Kansas rank 18th and sixth in KenPom adjusted offensive efficiency.

The United Center rims in Chicago were not particularly friendly on Friday night, but both of these teams are too talented offensively to have another atrocious shooting performance.

PICK: OVER 147.5 (-110)

No. 15 Saint Peter's vs. No. 8 North Carolina

I'm going under in this matchup, as both teams' defense have been the story of the NCAA tournament so far.

First, for as good as North Carolina's offense is and has been, its defensive pressure has been at its best entering and in the tournament. The Tar Heels, via CBB analytics rank in the 94th percentile of college basketball in Defensive Rating (94.7) while also seeing their offensive rating slide slightly from 112.3 for the season down to 109.9. In their last five games, they've held opponents to 43, 59, 63, 86 (overtime vs. No. 1 Baylor) and 66 points in the tournament.

Meanwhile, the Peacocks are built off of their defense. While they gave up 79 to Kentucky in overtime, they've limited two other premier offenses in Murray State and Purdue to 60 and 64 points. They rank 25th in adjusted defensive efficiency at KenPom, and seventh in opponent effective field goal percentage. Saint Peter's is exceptional at forcing teams to take bad shots, ranking 15th in opponent 3-point percentage and 12th in two-point percentage.

If you're trying to poke a hole in the argument, you can certainly point to UNC giving up 51 points in the second half, including 35 in the last 10 minutes before overtime vs. Baylor. However, that was following the ejection of Brady Manek, and the Tar Heels' offense also went ice-cold, with just 13 points in the final 10 as well.

I get that it's difficult to look at a team as talented as North Carolina offensively and look to go under, but with how Saint Peter's plays, it will slow down pace and do everything in its power to stay in this game with its defense. But even if the Peacocks shots don't fall and UNC's do, a blowout favors the under as well, as the Peacocks may finally turn into pumpkins.

Don't worry about taking a side here, and focus on the total instead.

PICK: UNDER 137.5 (-110)

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