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Arizona Wildcats head coach Sean Miller is the third highest-paid head coach in the NCAA Tournament and can earn close to $1 million in bonuses for winning the national title.
Wochit
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Take a look at some at the faces of celebration and dejection from the tourney.
USA TODAY Sports
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USA TODAY Sports’ Nicole Auerbach breaks down what you need to know ahead of the NCAA tournament’s second weekend.
USA TODAY Sports
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The Arizona Wildcats men’s basketball team rallied to beat Saint Mary’s 69-60 in the NCAA Tournament second round and advance to the Sweet 16 against Xavier, Sean Miller’s old team.
Wochit
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The massive scoreboard known as “Colussus TV” is installed at University of Phoenix Stadium for the upcoming NCAA Final Four games. David Wallace/azentral.com
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Now that the field has been set, USA TODAY Sports’ Nicole Auerbach examines the NCAA Tournament bracket and which teams have the best shot at making it to the Final Four.
USA TODAY Sports
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March Madness is finally here. The field is set for the 2017 NCAA tournament, with Sunday night’s selection show revealing this year’s bracket.
Time
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Being on network TV means this years NCAA tourney should easily overtake last year’s viewership. Richard Deitsch explains how to watch the Madness.
Time
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A closer look at Sean Miller’s salary and bonuses
March Madness: Craziest faces of the NCAA tournament
March Madness: Sweet 16 preview
Arizona advances to Sweet 16 to face Xavier
Scoreboard installed at University of Phoenix Stadium for Final Four
NCAA tournament preview: Title favorites to biggest snubs
2017 NCAA tournament bracket revealed
Media circus: A guide to March Madness
THE READ OPTION
Arizona tips off its Sweet 16 game against Xavier on Thursday night shortly after 7 p.m. and, as the pregame.com odds from Las Vegas insider R.J. Bell would have it, the Wildcats – along with North Carolina – are the heaviest favorites to win their Sweet 16 openers.
Both schools are 7 1/2-point picks to beat their opponents, and through two weekends of tournament games entering Thursday, favorites have won 40 and lost only eight.
Xavier, at 75-1, is the longest shot on the board to cut down the nets at University of Phoenix Stadium. So the ‘Cats have that goin’ for them.
RELATED: Arizona, Oregon, UCLA have chance to end Pac-12’s Final Four drought
Here’s a look at the updated Las Vegas odds to win it all:
The odds to cut down the nets
- N. Carolina 5/1
- Kansas 6/1
- Gonzaga 7/1
- Arizona 7/1
- Kentucky 11/1
- UCLA 13/1
- Florida 16/1
- Wisconsin 16/1
- Michigan 18/1
- Baylor 18/1
- West Virginia 21/1
- Purdue 24/1
- Oregon 27/1
- S. Carolina 40/1
- Butler 45/1
- Xavier 75/1
RELATED: Pac-12 delivering in NCAA Tournament
So what happens if Arizona advances to the Elite Eight, with a date on Saturday against the Gonzaga-West Virginia winner? The Wildcats are still favored to get to Glendale, listed as a +150 favorite (bet 100 to win back 150) to move forward — even over the No. 1 West Region seed Gonzaga.
Kansas and North Carolina, also No. 1 regional seeds, are the strongest favorites to make the Final Four.
BEAT BICKLEY: NCAA Tournament contest
Region favorites
- Midwest Region: Kansas +115
- South Region: North Carolina +115
- West Region: Arizona +150
- East Region: Baylor +200
RELATED: Complete NCAA Tournament schedule, with results
And, if you like the UConn women, a seemingly invincible team, you can support your beliefs with hard-earned cash by laying -400 that they’ll win the NCAA Women’s Tournament title.
Easy way to make a million, right? Just find a spare $4 million lying around and head to your favorite Nevada casino.
MORE: Arizona Wildcats have come a long way since last Sweet 16 trip
For more from The Heat Index, go to heatindex.azcentral.com.
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