This article is part of our College Basketball Picks series.
Top College Basketball Best Bets for Sunday's Elite Eight Games
The first two rounds of the tournament have been brutal for me, as evident by my 0-3 mark last Sunday. However, things appear to be turning around after a perfect day yesterday and a solid view of today's Elite 8 games. Things have been predictably chalky from an outright winner perspective, but I have to tip my cap to the books for being spot on with their numbers. Let's see if we can finish strong, starting today!
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Tennessee Volunteers vs Houston Cougars 
Cue the Spiderman meme as these programs are mirrors of each other. Both are defense forward, both have overall successful but much-maligned coaches who have constantly fallen short in March, and both coaches have adjusted by assembling the best offensive teams of their tenures. When I saw this as a potential matchup when the brackets came out, I thought the universe might implode because either Rick Barnes or Kelvin Sampson are going to the Final Four.
Because I have no idea which coach will least penalize themselves, I'm going to zero in on the total here, a total that has been set as though these are the Vols and Cougars from years' past. In the Big 12, the Vols are similar to a better Baylor or a slower Iowa State, teams that Houston went 2-0 against with point totals of 141 and 126. In the SEC, the Cougs are basically a slower-paced version of Auburn, and Tennessee went 1-1 against the Tigers with totals of 104 and 135.
Yes, these are two of the top three defenses in the nation, but similar to Duke/Alabama in the other direction last night, this total is far too much of an overreaction.
College Basketball Best Bet: Tennessee/Houston OVER 124.5 (@ FanDuel)
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Michigan State Spartans vs Auburn Tigers 
Once again, I think I have a good feel on the total in this one. While there is nobody like Auburn in the Big 10, Michigan State is kind of Tennessee-lite, a faster-paced version of the Vols. As mentioned above, in Auburn's two games against Tennessee, 104 and 135 points were scored, and while Sparty can be devastating when getting fast break opportunities, MSU isn't afraid to muck it up, either. In fact, only one of Michigan State's first three games in the tournament went over, and that was in the first round to a Bryant team that is defense-optional. Auburn is, by far, the best defensive team MSU has faced all tournament, and I see this being a relatively easy-paced game played in the 60s and 70s.
College Basketball Best Bet: Michigan State/Auburn UNDER 147.5
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Sunday College Basketball Best Bets:
Here's a recap of my best Elite 8 college basketball bets for Sunday, March 30:
- Tennessee/Houston OVER 124.5
- Michigan State/Auburn UNDER 147.5
For up-to-date information on the latest college basketball betting odds and props from multiple sportsbooks, check out the college basketball odds page on RotoWire.
