The Sweet 16 bracket is officially set! While several teams that were predicted to make it to the round of sixteen have arrived, a few bracket busters are still hanging onto the hope of charging forward and making it to the Final Four. If you are picking at an 80-90 percent rate right now in your bracket, you are a March Madness guru!

What in the world happened?

Two games into the Ncaa Tournament, the Villanova Wildcats have proven that they are living up to their billing as one of the toughest teams in the land. According to a CBS Sports report, the Wildcats took no prisoners on their way to cruising into the round of sixteen, and are playing with a serious chip on their shoulder to prove to the college basketball world that they mean business.

Several people close to the program believe that Nova was being seriously overlooked by college hoops experts as most raved on about Michigan State and Virginia - both of whom are already out of the tourney.

Along with MSU and UVA, several other giants have already fallen, making next weekend's Sweet 16 all that more interesting for college hoops fans.

Gone are the Michigan State Spartans, Xavier Musketeers, Arizona Wildcats, Tennessee Volunteers and Wichita State Shockers. Oh yeah, so is the No. 1 overall selection of the 2018 tournament, the Virginia Cavaliers. UVA was the first team in NCAA Tournament history to lose to a No. 16 seed when UMBC totally dominated them to the tune of 74-54.

While those big named schools are now on the outside looking in, longshot teams like Loyola-Chicago, Florida State, Syracuse, and Nevada are all still holding out hope for a Cinderella-like ride right to the Final Four.

In a matchup that no one could have predicted, No. 11 Loyola-Chicago will face No. 7 Nevada on March 22 with a trip to the Elite Eight at stake. Yes, March Madness has truly lived up to its name!

Schedule, Title odds

With Virginia and Michigan State out of the tourney, the new odds-on favorite to capture the 2018 NCAA championship belongs to Villanova.

The Wildcats are clicking on all cylinders and will be a tough team to beat from here on out. Listed at 3/1, Nova is now in the driver's seat to win the 2018 NCAA Tournament, but if this tourney follows protocol, expect the unexpected!

Two great examples are Nevada and Loyola-Chicago. Listed as high as +70000 when the tournament started, they are both currently slated at +2000.

That is an incredible jump.

Below is a look at the compete Sweet 16 schedule, odds for each game, along with the updated odds to win the 2018 NCAA championship.

Thursday, March 22

  • 7:07 p.m. -- No. 7 Nevada -2.5 vs. No. 11 Loyola-Chicago (CBS)
  • 7:37 p.m. -- No. 3 Michigan -3 vs. No. 7 Texas A&M (TBS)
  • 9:37 p.m. -- No. 5 Kentucky -5 vs. No. 9 Kansas State (CBS)
  • 10:07 p.m. -- No. 4 Gonzaga -5.5 vs. No. 9 Florida State (TBS)

Friday, March 23

  • 7:07 p.m., -- No. 1 Kansas -4 vs. No. 5 Clemson (CBS)
  • 7:27 p.m. -- No. 1 Villanova -5 vs. No. 5 West Virginia (TBS)
  • 9:37 p.m. -- No. 2 Duke -11.5 vs. No. 11 Syracuse (CBS)
  • 9:57 p.m. -- No. 2 Purdue -1 vs. No. 3 Texas Tech (TBS)

Odds to win NCAA Tournament

  • Villanova +300
  • Duke +350
  • Kansas +400
  • Michigan +500
  • Kentucky +700
  • Gonzaga +800
  • Purdue +850
  • Texas Tech +900
  • West Virginia +900
  • Texas A&M +1000
  • Clemson +1200
  • Florida State +1500
  • Loyola Chicago +2000
  • Nevada +2000
  • Kansas State +2500
  • Syracuse +3000
© ALL RIGHTS RESERVED