March Madness betting: St. Peter's miracle run leads Sunday's Elite 8 picks

Before this March Madness, no No. 15 seed had ever made the Elite Eight. No 13, 14 or 16 seed had made it either.

What St. Peter's has done, win or lose on Sunday, is historic. With a win on Sunday, they'll be one of the greatest stories the NCAA tournament has ever seen. Really, the Peacocks already are one of the all-time great stories.

Here are the picks for Sunday's Elite Eight games, with spreads from BetMGM:

Kansas (-6.5) over Miami

Kansas has somewhat been overlooked in a crazy tournament. The Jayhawks are the lone No. 1 seed and while they haven't been dominant — KU has failed to cover the spread in each of its last two games — they haven't really been on the ropes either. They were the favorite to win it all after the Sweet 16 games, partially by default but also because they deserve that spot.

Maybe Miami can keep it close. The Hurricanes haven't lost a game by more than four points since Feb. 5. Their guards don't give away the ball and they're efficient on offense, making a high percentage of shots inside the arc. Jim Larranaga is a good veteran coach. It isn't crazy to think Miami could win; the Hurricanes already blew out Auburn in this tournament and had a regular-season win over Duke too.

Still, I prefer the Jayhawks here. Remy Martin's reemergence in this tournament has made Kansas even deeper. It's not a classic, strong Kansas team but these Jayhawks are good across the board. They really don't have any clear weakness. In this wild tournament, Kansas making a Final Four as a No. 1 seed is something that makes sense.

St. Peter's (+7.5) over North Carolina

St. Peter's became the first team to win multiple games in the same tournament as a double-digit underdog, according to ESPN Stats and Info. They won't get the chance, at least in this round, to extend that record. Finally the Peacocks are getting some respect on the betting line.

If not for St. Peter's, North Carolina would be getting a lot more attention. The Tar Heels were a No. 8 seed, a team whose tournament resume wasn't all that impressive until a season-ending win at Duke, have caught fire. UNC has played to its talent level the past few weeks. Now all that is between the Tar Heels and a Final Four trip is a win over a No. 15 seed.

St. Peter's didn't have a profile of a team that could make one of the most unexpected runs in March Madness history. They're a good defensive team but hadn't been very good on offense over the course of the season, don't have a random transfer star from a big school or any special mid-major college player. St. Peter's is why the tournament is great. The Peacocks' run was entirely unpredictable. But after wins over Kentucky, Murray State and Purdue, St. Peter's is one win away from a Final Four. For years we'll have happy memories with there mere mention of St. Peter's, the same way we do for Florida Gulf Coast, UMBC, George Mason or Loyola Chicago. It's possible the Peacocks run out of gas this round. But it's a lot more fun to bet on one of the great tournament stories we'll ever see.