Sweet 16 Spreads Announced: Iowa State vs. Illinois, Houston vs. Duke

Posted on March 25, 2024

NCAA Basketball: NCAA Tournament Second Round-Washington State Cougars vs Iowa State Cyclones

The first weekend of the 2024 NCAA Tournament has come and gone, and just two of the eight Big 12 teams that made the tournament are still dancing.

However, the two teams left standing are among the nation’s best, with No. 1 seed Houston (32-4) and No. 2 seed Iowa State (27-7) headed to the Sweet Sixteen.

Houston, making its fifth consecutive trip to the Sweet Sixteen, is coming off an incredible 100-95 overtime win over Texas A&M on Sunday night. The Cougars had four players foul out, including their top three guards—Jamal Shead, L.J. Cryer, and Emanuel Sharp—and still found a way to win.

Kelvin Sampson’s squad will face No. 4 seed Duke (27-8), who picked up a dominant 93-55 win over JMU on Sunday night.

Meanwhile, Iowa State’s trip to the Sweet Sixteen was much less dramatic, with T.J. Otzelberger’s group smothering S. Dakota State (W, 82-65) and Washington State (W, 67-56) in back-to-back games after winning the Big 12 Championship. However, they’ll face their biggest test of the tournament thus far against the Big Ten Tournament champions, No. 3 seed Illinois (28-8).

The Fighting Illini have advanced with offensive firepower against overmatched Morehead State (W, 85-69) and Duquesne (W, 89-63), but will face one of the nation’s best defenses in Boston on Thursday.

BetOnline dropped the lines for each of the Big 12’s remaining tournament matchups, as well as the rest of the games on Monday.

The Cyclones opened as two-point favorites over Illinois, while Houston is favored by four points over Jon Scheyer and the Blue Devils.

Here’s a look at all of the current lines, courtesy of BetOnline.