What Vegas is saying about Michigan/UCLA, Gonzaga/USC Elite Eight matchups

The Michigan Wolverines are one victory away from the program’s third Final Four appearance since 2013 with the UCLA Bruins standing in the way of hanging another banner. Given that this is a No. 1 vs. 11-seed matchup, it is not surprising that Michigan is favored, but let us take a closer look at the Vegas trends.

According to the Vegas Insider consensus, the Wolverines opened as 7-point favorites in Tuesday night’s Elite Eight showdown with the over/under for total points set at 140.5. Bettors believe this one will come in lower than that with the point total being bet down to 136 heading into the contest. Michigan is now a 6.5-point favorite as a result.

Tuesday’s other Elite Eight matchup between No. 1 Gonzaga vs. No. 6 USC saw the Zags open as a 9-point favorite with the over/under set at 154. Not much has changed there with Tuesday morning’s lines listing Gonzaga as an 8.5-point favorite with the point total trending down slightly to 153.

KenPom projects a 71-66 win for the Wolverines over the Bruins and an 81-74 victory for Gonzaga over USC.

As far as picks go, I like Michigan to cover the 6.5 in this game and for the point total to go over. Give me USC +8.5 and the under in the showdown with USC.

Gonzaga/USC tips at 7:15 p.m. ET before Michigan/UCLA gets going at 9:57 p.m. ET. Both games will take place at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis and be broadcast via TBS.