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Four spots in the Elite Eight will be on the line when the Sweet 16 tips off on Thursday with two games each in San Francisco and San Antonio. In the first game of the night, the 2022 NCAA Tournament's top overall seed, Gonzaga, faces Arkansas in a West Region game at the Chase Center in San Francisco. The Bulldogs are 9.5-point favorites in the latest Gonzaga vs. Arkansas odds at Caesars Sportsbook. That game will be followed by Duke vs. Texas Tech. The Red Raiders are one-point favorites in the latest Texas Tech. vs Duke odds. 

Meanwhile, Villanova meets Michigan in the first game in the South Region. The Wildcats are five-point favorites in the Villanova vs. Michigan odds. The night concludes with Arizona vs. Houston. The Wildcats are 1.5-point favorites in the Houston vs. Arizona odds. Before making any 2022 NCAA Tournament picks or building any college basketball parlays for Thursday's Sweet 16 games, you need to see who SportsLine college basketball expert Larry Hartstein is backing during March Madness.

A former lead writer for Covers and The Linemakers, Hartstein combines a vast network of Vegas sources with an analytical approach he honed while working for Pro Football Focus. Hartstein has dominated college basketball, going 366-311-13 ATS since March 1, 2020, for a profit of $2,323. And in his last 151 against-the-spread picks in college basketball, Hartstein is an outstanding 88-61-3, returning $2,093 to $100 bettors. Anyone who has followed him is way up.

Now, Hartstein has looked at the entire Sweet 16 schedule from every angle and has come up with his best bets for Thursday's games. Parlaying these four 2022 NCAA Tournament picks would pay more than 12-1. You can only see his March Madness picks at SportsLine. 

Top Sweet 16 selections, NCAA Tournament picks for Thursday

After closely studying all eight teams in Thursday's Sweet 16 games, Hartstein is leaning toward Duke (+1) covering the spread against Texas Tech (9:39 p.m. ET). The Blue Devils (30-6) advanced to the Sweet 16 by rallying for a victory over Michigan State in the round of 32. Meanwhile, the Red Raiders (27-9) knocked off Notre Dame in the second round to move on in the March Madness bracket.

Even though Texas Tech leads the country in adjusted defensive efficiency (84.4 points per 100 possessions, according to KenPom), Hartstein believes that the Blue Devils have the players to solve that defense. "Led by Paolo Banchero (17.0 points per game), the Blue Devils have five double-digit scorers," Hartstein told SportsLine. "They'll break down the Red Raiders in isolation, create open treys and squeak out a win."

How to make NCAA Tournament predictions, parlays for Thursday

Hartstein also has locked in three other spread picks, including one best bet on a team that he says has "yet to play their best game." You can find out who they are, and see the rest of Hartstein's NCAA Tournament picks and predictions at SportsLine.

Which college basketball teams should you target in a four-way parlay for Thursday's NCAA Tournament matchups? And which underdogs are must-backs? Visit SportsLine now to see the top four-way NCAA Tournament parlay for Thursday, all from the expert who has crushed his college basketball picks, and find out.