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24 March, 2025

It's a quiet Monday in the world of sports betting with the first two rounds of the NCAA Men's College Basketball Tournament behind us.

Lakers vs. Magic

The only game Monday seeing more action than the upcoming Sweet 16 matchups was in the NBA with the Lakers vs. Magic.

The Lakers had dropped from a -4 road favorite to -3.5 Monday morning.

The Magic have gone 18-17 at home. Orlando leads the NBA giving up just 106.1 points per game while holding opponents to 47.0% shooting.

The Lakers are 15-18 on the road. Los Angeles is eighth in the Western Conference with 15.8 fast break points per game led by LeBron James averaging 4.9.

The Magic average 10.9 made 3-pointers per game this season, 2.4 fewer makes per game than the Lakers give up (13.3). The Lakers are shooting 47.8% from the field, 0.8% higher than the 47.0% the Magic's opponents have shot this season.

TOP PERFORMERS: Franz Wagner is averaging 24.2 points, 5.7 rebounds and 4.7 assists for the Magic. Paolo Banchero is averaging 30.0 points over the last 10 games.

James is averaging 25 points, 8.2 rebounds and 8.5 assists for the Lakers. Luka Doncic is averaging 21.8 points, 6.6 rebounds, 5.9 assists and 1.6 steals over the last 10 games.

Michigan vs. Auburn

Despite this game being played on the second day (Friday) of the Sweet 16 slate, Michigan vs. Auburn comes in as the most wagered on college basketball game early on with a line that opened at Tigers -8.5 before dropping to -8.

Michigan is going back to the Sweet 16 a year after a 24-loss season, using Roddy Gayle’s surge and a surprising advantage on the boards to trounce Texas A&M 91-79 on Saturday in the NCAA Tournament.

Gayle scored 21 of his season-high 26 points in the second half to help the restocked Wolverines overcome a 10-point deficit and advance to Atlanta to face Auburn in the South Region.

Auburn coach Bruce Pearl said a trip to the second weekend of the NCAA Tournament was no sure thing, and experienced Creighton made his top-seeded team work for it before the Tigers found their defensive mojo in the second half and closed out the ninth-seeded Bluejays 82-70 on Saturday night to reach the Sweet 16.

Tahaad Pettiford scored 16 of his 23 points after halftime and Chad Baker-Mazara added 17 points for Auburn, which held Creighton scoreless for more than six minutes during a 10-0 second-half run. Pettiford scored six points during that burst to push the Tigers to a 68-54 lead.

“We knew the shots that we were going to get,” said Pettiford, who made 7 of 14 attempts and 7 of 8 from the foul line. “My guys helped me get the ball, get me open and helped me find the shots that I wanted to get.”