Archived: March Madness Betting Odds

March Madness is a 68-team, single-elimination tournament that annually crowns college basketball’s NCAA Division 1 men’s national champion.

The event is aptly named, considering it features a frenetic 67 games over a 19-day period. The participating schools are announced on “Selection Sunday”, along with the exact seeding and brackets. This year, Selection Sunday unfolds March 17.

The annual college basketball rite of spring is sports betting’s most prolific multi-day event. Below you’ll find the current betting odds for the favorites to win the NCAA Tournament, along with key tournament details and betting strategy to help you during the month-long madness.

March Madness futures odds

Given the aforementioned betting popularity of March Madness, futures odds on winning the National Championship have been made available for approximately 50 or so top schools on all major sportsbooks for some time.

Current futures odds for the top projected tournament participants.

March Madness Power Rankings:

Top 25 for Week 16

1. Baylor 23-2 (12-0)

Baylor remains on top of the Power Rankings because, well, they haven’t lost. They sit 6-0 against ranked teams this season and have consistently suffocated opposing offenses. They still have upcoming dates with #3 Kansas, #24 Texas Tech, and #14 West Virginia, but the Bears show no signs of slowing down.

2. Gonzaga 26-2 (12-1)

The Zags have been on cruise control, having played in just two games within 10 points since the turn of the new year. In their last 10, Gonzaga is winning games by 24.8 points per game, including a 50-point drubbing of Santa Clara and a 30-point blowout of St. Mary’s. Their toughest remaining game is BYU, who is by no stretch a guaranteed win.

3. Kansas 23-3 (12-1)

Kansas continues to beat all their opponents at their games. When held to less than 65 points, the Jayhawks allow just 45.8 points per game and have posted a 5-2 record. In what might be the biggest regular season game of the year, Kansas plays at Baylor on Saturday– a team that held Kansas to just 55 points last outing (and delivered them a loss).

4. Duke 23-3 (13-2)

After pulling out an impossible win at UNC last weekend, Duke earned one of their biggest wins of the season against #8 Florida State. With no ranked opponents in their last six games and handling UNC at home, Duke (+1000) is still a solid bet to take home the NCAA title in what is, unequivocally, “Duke’s year.”

5. San Diego State 26-1 (15-1)

The Aztecs have yet to break a sweat. After beating New Mexico and Boise State to a pulp this past week, SDSU looks forward to powerhouse UNLV and Colorado State this coming week. Important note: the last time an unbeaten team won the Big Dance was Bob Knight’s Indiana Hoosiers in 1976.

6. Dayton 23-2 (12-0)

Dayton continues to shock the basketball world; for the first time since 1967, the Flyers are ranked in the AP Top 10. Superstar Obi Toppin extended his streak of scoring at least 15 to 13 games in a row (the last time coming December 30, where he attempted just five field goals). In March, stars win games.

7. Maryland 22-4 (11-3)

The last two times Maryland has been ranked inside the top five, they made the Elite Eight (2015-16), and won the national title (2001-02). Basically, when they get hot, that hot streak lasts well into March. They continue to dominate in points allowed (23rd) and keeping the opponent off the charity stripe (15th in free throws allowed). Those two stats matter greatly come tournament time.

8. Louisville 21-5 (12-3)

This past week was not kind to Louisville, as they dropped games to sub-.500 Georgia Tech and Clemson. Despite winning the turnover battle, shooting more free throws, and shooting a higher three-point percentage, the Cardinals scored just 58 points against a Georgia Tech defense that ranks 102nd in points allowed per game. It seems the focus just wasn’t there, but better now than in four weeks from now.

9. Auburn 23-3 (10-3)

While not being the most defensively-imposing team in the country, Auburn allowed 90 points to #25 LSU, 91 points to 14-11 Alabama, and 85 points in a loss to sub-0.500 Missouri. The good news, the Tigers maintain a top-20 scoring offense in the nation. They still have a big regular-season matchup with #12 Kentucky and some winnable games ahead.

10. Florida State 22-4 (12-3)

A loss at Duke is nothing to hit the panic button over, especially since the Seminoles took care of Syracuse at home. The issue with this Florida State team is they’ve posted the least remarkable five-or-less-loss record in the country. They have more losses against unranked opponents (3) than they have wins against ranked opponents (1). We might not truly know what this team is made of until tournament time.

11. Kentucky 21-5 (11-2)

The silent killers of the SEC remain atop the conference while also being the least-talked about Kentucky team in over a decade. The offense is average (81st in points per game), the defense is alright (73rd in points allowed per game), and have the lowest-graded team in John Calipari’s tenure according to Sports Reference. However, the Wildcats just keep getting it done and that’s what ultimately matters.

12. Oregon 21-6 (10-4)

Oregon scored a major win over a very good Colorado team at home and immediately followed it up with a convincing win over Utah. This followed up a tough week by the Ducks where they lost back-to-back games against unranked opponents. Resilience is important in this league, but resilience is redundant when your season is over in March.

13. Villanova 20-6 (9-4)

Villanova was battered in one of the toughest stretches of basketball in the entire country (vs #23 Creighton, @ #19 Butler, vs #10 Seton Hall, vs #18 Marquette). However, they were able to finish the four-game gauntlet with a big win over # 18 Marquette. That 1-3 stretch dropped Nova’s odds to win it all to +3700 — one of the best dark-horse deals in the country. We still like Villanova.

14. Penn State 20-5 (10-4)

The Nittany Lions’ impressive run continues, as their winning streak continues to eight. Penn State has a tough home stretch of the season in one of the toughest conferences in the nation. They’ve remained steady and braved the winds so far, but #22 Illinois will be sure to test them this coming week.

15. Seton Hall 18-7 (10-3)

Over the last eight games of the regular season, the Pirates saw six ranked opponents, and a loss to 14-12 Providence doesn’t bode well for a team that has been on fire lately. A second loss earlier in the week to #23 Creighton sees Seton Hall fall the farthest of any team in this week’s power rankings.

16. Colorado 20-6 (9-4)

Despite a loss at #17 Oregon, Colorado jumps the highest in this week’s rankings. There’s no doubt this is a very good basketball team with a clear path through the rest of the regular season. The Buffs are in excellent position to take the PAC-12 and have a solid potential seeding in next month’s NCAA tournament.

17. West Virginia 18-7 (6-6)

Ranked teams have been the Achilles’ heel of the Mountaineers so far this year, accounting for three of their losses. This past week, a nearly impossible task was asked of WVU where they faced #3 Kansas and #1 Baylor. As tough a week as this is, losses are losses, and West Virginia is showing they might not be a great choice for a deep tournament run this year.

18. Creighton 20-6 (9-4)

Creighton has been the bearer of bad news so far this season, earning three wins against ranked conference foes. They scored an impressive win at #10 Seton Hall earlier this week and have opportunities to collect some more impressive wins, as they see three ranked opponents over their last five games. The offense (24th in scoring) continues to be a flamethrower.

19. Arizona 18-7 (8-4)

Arizona quietly got the job done this past week when they beat Cal and Stanford, both who have sub-0.500 conference records. The freshman trio of forward Zeke Nnaji, guard Nico Mannion, and guard Josh Green are accounting for nearly 54% of Arizona’s offensive production so far and make the Wildcats a dangerous team for a few years to come.

20. Butler 19-7 (7-6)

The Big East might be the best conference in basketball, but Butler continues to stumble their way through conference play at just 7-6. Butler dropped an ugly game this week against unranked Georgetown who was missing their top two scorers. The Bulldogs’ depth has tapered as the season continues, dropping to just an eight-man rotation in the past few games. A lack of depth is a near death sentence for teams in March.

21. LSU 18-7 (9-3)

LSU dropped a tough game against one of the most explosive offenses in the nation, Alabama, but was able to improve their 9-3 conference run against Missouri earlier in the week. Question marks still remain about this team’s ability in big games, but that will be tested this week against #12 Kentucky.

22. Cincinnati 17-8 (10-3)

It’s impossible to ignore Cincinnati’s impressive conference record anymore. The Bearcats earned a massive win against Memphis earlier this week and command a 3-0 record against the other top-three teams in the American (#20 Houston, Tulsa, SMU). ESPN has Cincinnati projected to be an 11-seed, making them an excellent first-round upset pick (11-seeds are 8-4 against 6-seeds in the past three tournaments).

23. Houston 20-6 (10-3)

A late-season upset on the road isn’t uncommon among ranked teams. Despite that loss against SMU this week, Houston remains one of the best teams in the country and has just one “bad loss” so far this year (Oklahoma State). The Cougars continue an impressive defensive season while spreading the wealth offensively. With so many scoring options, Houston makes for a tough team to defend.

24. BYU 21-7 (10-3)

BYU’s biggest issue this season has been living in the shadow of conference rival Gonzaga, but they have an impressive resume. They’ve faced the #2, #3, and #4 teams in the nation and hold a top-20 position on ESPN’s BPI. BYU has a great early-season win against #20 Houston, post the 18th-best scoring offense in the nation (80 points per game), and shoot the best three-point percent (42.6%). BYU could be a great dark horse Sweet 16 team this season.

25. Virginia 17-7 (9-5)

The defending national champions have continued their defensive dominance (1st in points allowed per game) while keeping their pace of play right where they want it (350th in points scored per game). The Cavaliers are incredibly disciplined (4th in fouls, 42nd in turnovers), but aren’t the same three-point shooting team of last year. Nonetheless, they sit 9-5 in the stacked ACC complete with a win over #8 Florida State.

Dropped out: Michigan State, Marquette, Texas Tech