Plenty of people had No. 1-seeded Connecticut taking on No. 3-seeded Illinois in the East Regional final when they filled in their 2024 NCAA Tournament brackets shortly after Selection Sunday. But No. 4-seeded Alabama taking on No. 6-seeded Clemson in the West Regional final? Not so much.
As we head into the Elite 8 round of the tournament, though, that’s where things stand, as Connecticut and Illinois will square off on Saturday for a chance to advance to the Final Four before Clemson and Alabama play to decide who will face the East Regional winner to earn the right to play in the national championship game.
Check out our latest batch of betting nuggets for these Elite 8 matchups below.
March Madness Schedule For March 30th
| Team |  | | Team | Date/Time (ET) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| (1) Connecticut | -8.5 | 155.0 o/u | (3) Illinois | March 30, 6:09 PM |
| (4) Alabama | -3.5 | 164.5 o/u | (6) Clemson) | March 30, 8:49 PM |
All odds courtesy of 
(3) Illinois vs. (1) Connecticut – 6:09 p.m. ET
- Connecticut has been on an absolute tear against the spread over the last month, as the Huskies have covered in nine of their last ten games, but Illinois has also been solid against the spread over its last ten games, going 7-3 with the Fighting Illini covering the spread in five straight games.
- Connecticut has assembled an impressive 11-4 record against the spread this season when favoured by under 10 points, while Illinois has been the betting underdog in just seven games this season and has put together an equally impressive 5-1-1 record against the spread during these contests.
- Connecticut has gone under the game total in five out of the six postseason games it has played, including going under in all three of the Huskies’ NCAA Tournament games, while Illinois has gone over the game total in five out of the six postseason games it has played, including going over in two of the Fighting Illini’s three NCAA Tournament games.
- Connecticut has held opposing teams to an average of just 63.6 points per game this season (6th-lowest in the nation) and just 54.0 points per game during the Huskies’ first three games of the NCAA Tournament, while Illinois has averaged 84.2 points per game this season (8th-best in the country) and 82.0 points per game thus far in the NCAA Tournament.
- Illinois has allowed opposing teams to score an average of 73.2 points per game this season (good for just 200th-best in the nation), while Connecticut has put up 81.6 points per game on average (17th-best in the country) this year and has averaged 82.7 points per game through its first three NCAA Tournament games.
- Illinois has gone 0-3 this season during games in which the Fighting Illini didn’t shoot at least 40% from the floor, while Connecticut has limited opposing teams to shooting just 39.4% from the floor (fourth-lowest in the country) this year.
- Connecticut has made history by winning nine straight NCAA Tournament games by at least 13 points, obliterating a record previously set by the 1954-55 LaSalle and 1981-82 Indiana teams that both won six straight March Madness games by at least 13 points.
- Illinois has a 1-8 record all-time when playing against No. 1 and No. 2 seeds in the NCAA Tournament with the Fighting Illini’s lone win against a top-seeded team coming back in 1989 when they beat Syracuse in an Elite 8 matchup.
Bet on Illinois vs. UConn.
IL +8.5
UCONN -8.5
(4) Alabama vs. (6) Clemson – 1:45 p.m. ET
- Alabama has covered the spread in all three of its NCAA Tournament games, but the Crimson Tide have failed to cover the spread in six of their last ten games overall, while Clemson has also covered the spread in all three of its NCAA Tournament games and gone 6-3-1 against the spread in its last ten contests.
- Alabama has gone just 2-2-1 against the spread this season when favoured by 5 or fewer points, while Clemson posted a 5-1 record against the spread this year when getting 5 or fewer points during games, including a 2-0 record against the spread when getting 5 or fewer points during the NCAA Tournament.
- Alabama won more than 81% of its games this season (an 18-4 record) when it was favoured by at least -150 on the money line, while Clemson managed to win more than half of the games in which it was a betting underdog with +130 odds or worse on the money line.
- Alabama has continued its season-long tear by going over the game total in eight of its last ten games, including two of its three NCAA Tournament contests, while Clemson has gone under the game total in eight of its last ten games, including all three of its NCAA Tournament games.
- Alabama was the highest-scoring team in the country during the regular season, averaging 90.7 points per game, and the Crimson Tide have continued to average 90.0 points per game through their first three NCAA Tournament games, while Clemson has given up 70.4 points per game (good for just 118th-best in the nation) this season.
- Clemson has scored 77.2 points per game this season (60th-best in the country) and 75.3 points per game through the Tigers’ first three games of the NCAA Tournament, while Alabama has given up 81.1 points per game this season (15th-worst in the nation) and 81.3 points per game through the Crimson Tide’s first three games of the NCAA Tournament.
- Alabama and Clemson have faced off six times since the 2007-08 NCAA season, with Clemson winning five of these six games and going 4-2 against the spread during this stretch.
- Alabama and Clemson already played against one another once this season back in late November when the Tigers went into Coleman Coliseum in Tuscaloosa and beat the Crimson Tide 85-77 as an 8.5-point underdog in a matchup that went over the game total of 159.5 points.
Bet on Alabama vs. Clemson
AL -3.5
CLE +3.5
