Men's NCAA tournament best bets for the Sweet 16

The NCAA tournament field is dwindling down, with Sweet 16 games on Thursday and Friday. There are betting opportunities galore. Our experts — ESPN analysts Doug Kezirian, «Stanford Steve» Coughlin, Chris «The Bear» Fallica, Joe Fortenbaugh, Dalen Cuff, Erin Dolan and Anita Marks — are here to give their best bets for the Sweet 16. And if your bracket hasn't quite played out how you hoped, you can still play ESPN's Tournament Challenge Second Chance!

Odds courtesy of Caesars Sportsbook.

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West Region: 7:09 p.m. ET, Chase Center, San Francisco

Marks' pick: Gonzaga -9

The Bulldogs are coming off an impressive win against Memphis where they flipped a switch in the second half and Drew Timme lit it up, shooting 60% from the field and putting up 25 points. Arkansas is on borrowed time and doesn't have the size or shooting to match up against Gonzaga.

West Region: 9:39 p.m. ET, Chase Center, San Francisco

The Bear's pick: Texas Tech -1

I was a little surprised Tech opened favored here on the heels of the escape vs. Notre Dame and Duke's comeback win over Michigan State. As someone with Tech to win the region ticket, I was ecstatic to see the Red Raiders favored because it shows what the oddsmakers think of the matchup. And I wouldn't be surprised if Duke closes as the favorite, so you may want to wait on playing Tech, as I doubt the Red Raiders miss as many layups and go 4-for-15 from 3-point range again.

Fortenbaugh's pick: Texas Tech -1

Don't be fooled by Duke's nine-point win over Michigan State on Sunday, as that contest was tightly contested prior to Spartans head coach Tom Izzo using timeout after timeout down the stretch to draw up turnover after turnover. Duke's defense