March Madness: Who do we like in the Sweet 16?

Today is all about recovery. Get outside for a walk, drink some water and eat a generous heaping of vegetables. What a wonderful whirlwind of a weekend we had, consuming as much basketball as we possibly could. We have three days off before the Sweet 16 begins, but the preparation starts now.

A look around the Regions

The odds you see are for each team to win their region and advance to the Final Four.

South

• Alabama (-125)
• Creighton (+190)
• San Diego State (+550)
• Princeton (+3000)

Alabama has the clear edge in the South. They've cruised to this spot with a pair of double-digit wins and will move forward in a region that is without its two, three and four seeds. San Diego State figures to offer their biggest test on Friday. We like the look of the Aztecs, and if you like them to pull the upset against the Crimson Tide, you might just want to consider them to advance all the way to Houston.

Princeton has been an awesome story as a 15-seed. It's extremely difficult to justify a bet on a 15-seed making history, but we would have said the same about Saint Peter's chances at making the Elite Eight last season. You certainly won't have a bet with better odds than this one left.

Our bet: San Diego State (+550)

Midwest

• Houston (-115)
• Texas (+215)
• Xavier (+700)
• Miami (+800)

There were some concerns about Houston's chances after news that Marcus Sasser re-injured himself and Jamar Shead tweaked his knee. Both then proceeded to play against Auburn, playing 30+ minutes each and combining for 32 points. Houston knocked the doors off Auburn, winning by 17. Houston came into this tournament as the most well-rounded team on KenPom and knows damn well what it takes to get to a Final Four after doing so in 2021. No. 5 Miami, who made the Elite Eight last year, are next in their way.

With the Final Four in their home city and the team seemingly maintaining their health, we're sticking with one of our pre-tournament title picks.

Our bet: Houston (-115)

East

• Tennessee (+130)
• Michigan State (+320)
• Kansas State (+360)
• Florida Atlantic (+490)

The region of chaos! Purdue's Round of 64 loss blew this region wide open, and popular Final Four picks Duke and Marquette have also fallen. What's left is No. 4 Tennessee, Tom Izzo's Michigan State squad, No. 3 Kansas State and No. 9 Florida Atlantic.

Tennessee has been a great team all year, and our initial hesitation in riding with them was their injury to one of their best players, Zakai Zeigler, a few weeks ago. It hasn't seemed to matter, and their 13-point win over Duke confirmed as much.

Kansas State-Michigan State figures to be a great game, and the winner of that one figures to be in a great spot to advance to the Final Four. However, Tennessee's path is easier to project, so that's where our bet is headed.

Our bet: Tennessee (+130)

West

• UConn (+210)
• UCLA (+230)
• Gonzaga (+240)
• Arkansas (+500)

Oh man, this is going to be fun. All four teams have a legitimate crack at this thing. UConn has dominated thus far. Arkansas and Erik Musselman are looking to advance to their third straight Elite Eight. Drew Timme and Gonzaga and this deep UCLA team both also have plenty of March experience.

So what to do? Woof. We loved Arkansas and Musselman's consistent March success prior to their game against top-seeded Kansas, and in a region that feels like a relative (four-sided) coin flip, we're opting for the value. Here's to the Razorbacks making it over the hump.

Our bet: Arkansas (+500)

Is it Thursday yet?

In the news ...

United States advances to World Baseball Classic final — Led by Trea Turner's two homers, the US advanced past Cuba 14-2 on Sunday to advance to the World Baseball Classic championship. The U.S. await the winner of Mexico and Japan tonight, with the WBC Championship set for Tuesday at 7 p.m. ET. Japan is the heavy favorite to advance, -255 to the moneyline.

Brandin Cooks traded to Dallas — For the fourth time in his career, wide receiver Brandin Cooks has been traded. The Dallas Cowboys acquired the former Houston pass catcher for a pair of late-round picks, adding a speed element to their offense and a nice running mate for CeeDee Lamb. Cooks no doubt has talent, but after a certain point, one has to wonder if there's something we're not seeing. Four trades for one player is unprecedented. Cooks became just the third NFL player in history to be traded four times.

Carlos Alcaraz back to world No. 1 in men's tennis — 19-year-old Carlos Alcaraz cruised past Daniil Medvedev in the Indian Wells final to claim his eighth ATP Tour singles title, giving him back the top-ranked spot in the world. Alcaraz will next play in the Miami Open, an event he won last year. The next major tournament isn't until the French Open in May, Alcaraz is +175 to bring home the win there.

Today's Bark Bets is written by Griffin Carroll