March Madness Odds

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  2. March Madness Odds Perfect Bracket
  3. March Madness Odds 2021
  4. March Madness Odds 2021
  5. March Madness Odds 2020
  6. March Madness Odds Espn
  7. March Madness Odds Sportsbook

The 2020-21 NCAA college basketball season tipped off on Nov. 25. That began a four-and-a-half month journey that will culminate with the 2021 Final Four. This year’s March Madness tournament will take place entirely in the state of Indiana due to COVID-19 precautions.

March Madness 2021 National Championship odds favor Gonzaga, Baylor and Michigan. Ronald Martinez/Getty Images The much anticipated 2021 NCAA Tournament begins Thursday, March 18 with the First Four followed by full opening round action on Friday, March 19. NCAA Tournament Bracketology 2021. Every day, we run thousands of computer simulations of the college basketball season, including all remaining regular season games, all conference tournaments, NCAA selection and seeding, and the NCAA tournament itself. March Madness futures odds Operators will undoubtedly have a generous array of wagering options on each March Madness game, including moneyline bets, point-spread bets, over/under bets, parlay bets, prop bets, teasers and in-play bets. Those wagering options will be made available soon.

Last season, the NCAA Tournament was canceled. It had survived World War II, Black Monday, and half a dozen virus outbreaks; but for the first time since 1939, the NCAA was without a true champion.

The cancelation of March Madness was not only a major blow to TV viewership and ticket sales, but it erased the biggest sports betting event of the year. The American Gambling Association (AGA) reported that $8.5 billion was bet on the 2019 March Madness tournament. According to Legal Sports Report, sports gambling in the US jumped an average of 6.8% through the beginning of 2020 following a swath of passed legislation decriminalizing sports gambling. Based on those numbers, it can be projected that the cancelation of the NCAA Tournament lost nearly $9.1 billion in bets.

The First Round of March Madness takes place Friday, March 19, and Saturday, March 20. The Final Four is scheduled for April 3 and 5. The National Championship game is scheduled for April 5, 2021. March Madness National Championship Odds. March Madness odds via BetMGM Sportsbook, last updated Feb. Place your legal, online bets in CO.

With the last NCAA tournament game having taken place nearly two years ago, anticipation is huge for this year’s March Madness tourney. Here is a look at the National Title odds with the start of the Big Dance just a week away.

March Madness futures odds

Operators will undoubtedly have a generous array of wagering options on each March Madness game, including moneyline bets, point-spread bets, over/under bets, parlay bets, prop bets, teasers and in-play bets.

Those wagering options will be made available soon. However, here are current futures odds for the top projected tournament participants in the 2020-21 season. Gonzaga was the top favorite entering the 2020-21 season at FanDuel Sportsbook with odds of +700. The Bulldogs remain the favorites with current odds of +250 to win it all at FD.

Here is a look at March Madness odds for 2021.

To view more NCAA national title odds, go to DraftKings Sportsbook, FanDuel Sportsbook and/or BetMGM.

NCAA title odds: Futures report (March 8)

Baylor had been the co-favorite with Gonzaga at several books in the past few weeks but the Bears’ Feb. 27 loss at Kansas allowed Gonzaga to occupy the top spot at sportsbooks’ odds boards.

The Favorites

Gonzaga (+250): Gonzaga’s run over the past decade-plus has been remarkable. They haven’t lost double-digit games in a season since 2010-11 and are 24-0 this season thus far. They lead the nation in scoring (92.9 points per game; second place, Baylor) and scoring margin (+23.5 points per game). They’re also tops in field goal attempts per game and field goal percentage.

Baylor (+275): The Bears are making a difficult schedule look easy. They secured the regular season Big 12 championship after a year where the conference was at its best – fielding two top-10 teams and seven ranked teams. Baylor is second in points scored per game (85.3), first in 3-point percentage, and sixth in 3-point makes. They’re almost a lock for a top seed in the NCAA Tournament.

The Next Group

Michigan (+450): The Wolverines dropped a pair of big games down the stretch, pushing their final regular season record to 19-3. While those losses might raise a red flag to bettors, trends say that may not be a bad thing. Indiana is the last team to go completely undefeated and win the NCAA Tournament (back in the late 1970s) and just one team since 2000 has won the NCAA Tournament with less than three losses (2012 Kentucky). Michigan is still a team built to win in March.

Illinois (+900): The Illini have gone through the complete cycle – unknowns to favorites, back again, and back again. Kofi Cockburn is one of the most elite players in the country amid a resurgence of talented big men, leading the team with 9.9 rebounds. Ayo Dosunmu is a top-scorer in the nation, too, with 21 points scored per game. A dominant win over Michigan in the final few games turned heads and might provide the fuel Illinois needs to make a tournament run.

Alabama (+1300): The Tide are top-five in 3-point shooting this year, and the philosophy of throwing up as many 3s as possible seems to be working out. Three straight wins to close out the year secured them the SEC regular season title and the top seed in the conference tournament. Some might be worried about Alabama’s scoring defense, but their high-tempo offense naturally leads to opposing teams scoring more. They’re solid in most defensive metrics.

The Longshots

Ohio State (+1500): A loaded Big Ten saw an 18-8 Ohio State team land just fifth in the regular season race. A concerning mark was the Buckeyes’ three-game losing streak to close out the year that included to arch-rival Michigan, top-five Iowa, and a red-hot Michigan State team. While they have the talent to make a run at the Final Four, Ohio State could also be on first-round upset alert if they don’t find their groove in the Big Ten tournament.

Iowa (+1500): Contrary to Ohio State, Luka Garza and the Iowa Hawkeyes finished on a three-game winning streak highlighted by ranked wins over the Buckeyes and Wisconsin. They’re a dangerous team capable of lighting up the scoreboard. Iowa hit triple digits four times this season. They’ve cleaned up their scoring defense and are ready to make a March run. Which region and matchups they’re dealt, though, will make a real difference in Iowa’s chances.

March Madness betting sites

How the NCAA Tournament works

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.

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.

The first 32 teams to gain entry into the tournament do so automatically by winning their conferences. The remaining 36 slots are filled by “at-large” teams. A 10-member selection committee consisting of athletic directors and conference commissioners undergoes an arduous and multi-layered process to determine the 36 at-large teams and subsequently finalize seeding and brackets.

This year, the committee will employ the NCAA Evaluation Tool (NET) as its primary sorting method for determining at-large entrants. The NET replaces the RPI (Rating Percentage Index), which had been utilized since 1981.

The NET utilizes the following metrics:

  • Game results
  • Strength of schedule
  • Game location
  • Scoring margin
  • Offensive and defensive efficiency
  • Quality of wins and losses

The NCAA has a detailed, step-by-step breakdown of seeding and bracket protocol on this page within its website.

March Madness betting history

The first NCAA basketball tournament took place in 1939 in Evanston, Illinois. Since then, 36 teams have won it all and five teams have won the tournament at least five times (Indiana, Duke, UNC, Kentucky, UCLA). Since seeding began in 1979, number-one seeds have won the tournament 24 times and have accounted for almost 49% of all championship appearances. Just three times has a team seeded lower than four won the title, and no team seeded below eighth has won, nor made a championship appearance.

Since betting lines were released for NCAA tournament games in 1985, underdogs have covered 44% of the time, winning outright 29% of the time. Games have gone under the total in 56% of games. Since 2010, games have gone under the total in 70% of games and favorites have covered in seven out of ten games. Three teams have won more than one championship since 2010 (Duke, UConn, Villanova), but none have won back-to-back titles (despite Butler & UNC appearing in back-to-back title games).

Since 2000, the top overall seed has made the championship game just four times but won the game three of those times (75%). In total, top overall seeds in the tournament have comprised of just 8% of the total Final Four teams (missed 13 out of 20 years). Besides 1-seeds, 2-seeds have the most championship appearances since 2000 (7 times), followed by 3-seeds (6 times), and 5- and 8-seeds (2).

Just eight percent (52/640) of all Sweet 16 teams have been seeded 11 or lower, and only 2.8% of teams in the Elite Eight were seeded 11 or lower. Four 11 seeds advanced to the Final Four (Loyola Chicago, 2018; VCU, 2011; George Mason, 2006; LSU, 1986). UMBC is the only 16-seed to upset a 1-seed in the tournament’s history (2018), and just eight 15-seeds have prevailed (5%). In 2015, two 15-seeds upset 2-seeds (25% of all such upsets) and two 14-seeds upset 3-seeds.

Using historical data when filling out brackets and betting March Madness, err caution; stats should be used in the long-run but when choosing individual games, be sure to study matchup statistics. The most important thing to remember, though, is this is March Madness, and anything can (and will) happen.

Tournament betting strategies

The historical ATS data for each team in tournament play is just one of countless data points that can constitute March Madness betting research. Other factors that can hold considerable relevance include:

  • A team’s late-season performances, including in their conference tournament
  • Key injuries
  • A team’s defensive proficiency, as this typically has more carryover into tournament play than a high-powered offense
  • “Fading the public” when the line appears to be significantly affected by a team’s popularity, as opposed to actual recent performance
  • Examining various tournament-specific historical trends, such as how high-seeded mid-majors have done in each round in terms of straight-up wins and losses.

Another overarching data set that could prove highly valuable is the performance of each seed in each round versus the spread. Courtesy of BoydsBets.com, below is an overview of historical first-round performance by seeds 1-16 against the number:

SeedWinsLossesPushesWin %
12725051.92
22227344.90
32824053.85
42823154.90
52229143.14
62229143.14
72922156.86
82722355.10
92227344.90
102229143.14
112922156.86
122922156.86
132328145.10
142428046.15
152722355.10
162527048.08

Where can you legally wager on March Madness this year?

Bettors physically located within the following states will be able to place a legal sports wager on March Madness games:

  • New Hampshire

Then, there will be a flurry of sports betting legalization efforts unfolding at statehouses around the country during 2020 legislative sessions. Thus, hundreds of thousands of potential new bettors are expected to be part of the fun when the 2021 version of March Madness rolls around.

Based on recent progress and momentum, many states appear to have at least a fighting chance of implementing legalized sports betting in time for next year’s tournament.

College basketball plays host to one of the most popular postseason tournaments in sports: NCAA March Madness. Every year, millions of NCAA basketball fans fill out brackets and place bets with the hope that they can predict the season’s eventual champion.

Sure, a perfect bracket will certainly win a prize worth several thousand, or possibly even a million-plus dollars, but payouts can be earned much easier by using legal March Madness betting options to wager on college basketball odds.

Betting odds for March Madness games won't appear until after Selection Sunday, but NCAAB championship futures are available nearly year-round, making it easy for casual bettors and seasoned vets to study, contemplate, and wager.

To compliment that information, we have created this guide to assist with March Madness betting odds. Here, we offer legal info, betting odds, historical data, and more to help ensure you have everything you need to be the most informed NCAAB bettors possible.

Is It Legal To Bet On NCAA Tournament Odds?

Yes, it is. Not only is online sports betting legal throughout most of the United States, but many states have legalized domestic sports betting within their jurisdictions. If you are in one of those states, all that is required to bet on the NCAA March Madness College Basketball Tournament is a visit to a local venue.

US bettors can wager on March Madness at international betting sites like the ones we feature in the table below, and there are no federal laws that forbid it. CT and WA have passed laws forbidding local online gambling, but many of our top-rated betting sites accept members from those two states.

That's why we recommend reading through all regional gaming laws, as well as the terms and conditions of offshore sportsbook membership, before placing any good March Madness bets.

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Odds To Win The 2021 NCAA Men's Basketball National Championship

Each year, sportsbooks will roll out money line odds for which team will win the March Madness Tournament and become the men's basketball national champion. These March Madness money line odds indicate how much can be earned by betting on them, and what their odds of winning are.

Since there are so many teams included in the betting line, even the most favored team will be listed with positive odds, meaning that there'll be a payout higher than what bettors risk no matter which team they select.

March Madness Odds Final Four

The NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Championship betting odds featured below is on the boards all year, and typically gets posted at legal NCAAB sportsbooks right after the national champion is crowned for the previous season. The only downside is that bets can take months to payout.

Picking

🏀 Odds via Bovada:

  • Gonzaga +250
  • Baylor +250
  • Michigan +350
  • Ohio State +1200
  • Villanova +1600
  • Illinois +1500
  • Texas +2500
  • Iowa +1600
  • Alabama +1800
  • Houston +2500
  • Florida State +1600
  • Texas Tech +4000
  • Creighton +3000
  • Virginia +3000
  • Oklahoma +3500

Legally Betting On The Sweet 16

The official title of the third round of the NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Tournament is the Sweet 16 because that's exactly how many teams are remaining. Legal betting odds for the Sweet Sixteen feature money lines, point spreads, and totals for all 8 games. The right to venture on to the Elite Eight is on the line, and bettors have the right to earn large cash paydays on the proceedings.

Elite Eight Odds: How To Bet On The Elite 8

At the point in the March Madness Tourney, teams are only two wins away from winning it all. NCAAB bettors can win it all, too, because legal online Elite Eight sportsbooks feature action on all four games involved in the Round of 8. Standard college basketball bets are available, as well as props and parlays. All that is required is a membership and money to bet with.

NCAA Final Four Odds To Win

The semifinals of March Madness are otherwise known as the NCAA Final 4. The winners of each semifinal game advance to the National Championship for a chance to cut down the nets, but first, the Final Four odds must payout. Four college basketball teams enter the semis where it's win or go home. Whether it's a Cinderella squad or your alma mater, odds for all Final Four college basketball games can be found at the online sportsbooks we recommend.

March Madness Odds Perfect Bracket

Odds To Win March Madness Final

There are two ways to bet on the college basketball national championship - betting lines, or NCAAB National Championship futures. The college basketball futures are listed in a collapsible menu above and list each of the top team's chances at winning it all this year in money line odds.

Lines for the National Championship Game for NCAA Basketball are released following the conclusion of the Final Four. Once that happens, betting lines will be produced featuring a point spread, money line odds for each team to win, and an over-under for the March Madness title game.

Bitcoin Betting On NCAA Tournament Odds

Bitcoin (BTC) and other forms of cryptocurrency are the preferred legal methods of banking at offshore betting sites.

Bitcoin sportsbook deposits can be made quickly and will allow patrons to bet on March Madness online within minutes. Bitcoin withdrawals are the only transaction method that can be completed within 24 hours of its request - an exclusive in the online betting industry. Crypto also features built-in encryption for the ultimate in secure transactions.

Other cryptocurrencies we've seen in play at online betting sites include Bitcoin Cash, Ethereum, Litecoin, Ripple, Tether, and Cardano (ADA).

Madness

Mobile March Madness Betting Apps

You never know where you might end up when watching college basketball's final 68-team tourney, but as long as you have an up-to-date smartphone or tablet with you, you can access the ultimate March Madness betting apps on the planet.

Don't worry about visiting the Google Play or App Stores, just click any of the sportsbook links in the table above using a mobile browser (Google, Safari, Opera, Chrome, Firefox), and your portable device brings all the options of Las Vegas and places them in your hand. Odds for NFL games, college football futures, and casino favorites like poker and blackjack, can be found there as well.

March Madness Odds 2021

NCAA Tournament Sportsbook Promotions

One of the many benefits of doing business with an online sports betting site is that they routinely offer sportsbook sign-up bonus offers and promotions that stack your bankroll with extra cash for wagering on March Madness. Sportbook bonuses differ depending on which betting site you visit, but they can reach as high as 4-figures.

Accepting a bonus is not required to become a member at a NCAAB betting site, so read through the attached conditions first.

Live Betting On March Madness

March Madness Odds 2021

Ok, we just told you how to bet from anywhere with an internet connection using your smartphone. Now we're going to let you in on the secret to betting on any tournament game at any time you want, even when the clock is ticking - live betting odds.

Bet at the time of your choosing, be it in the middle of halftime or with minutes remaining. The point spread, over/under, and money line odds adjust as the game progresses, and the only limiting factor is the final buzzer. Some online books feature a live betting or an in-game odds section, while others simply allow the pregame lines to go live.

How To Bet On March Madness?

As discussed previously, US bettors that want to know how to bet on March Madness can visit a domestic sportsbook or wager at one of the international college basketball betting sites we recommend in this guide. Futures bets can be made on the eventual champion, or March Madness betting lines allow for wagers to be made on individual games inside of the tournament.

Individual game bets allow for action to be placed on point spreads, money line winners, over/unders, prop bets, and even allows for live bets to be placed in-game. While not exactly betting, the most popular option for predicting March Madness results is completing brackets where each fan attempts to attain a perfect bracket. It's never happened, but if and when it does, the winner will earn a hefty payday.

Tips For March Madness Betting

March Madness Odds

March Madness Odds 2020

Bankroll management is a priority when declaring your March Madness betting strategy because there are so many games that funds can get depleted quickly. Declare a budget for March Madness betting odds and ensure that it is sourced from disposable incoming - meaning assets remaining after all bills have been paid.

Set a betting limit of 3%-5% of your total bankroll for each game. This will allow at least 20 bets to be made, assuming all of them fail, which is not a likely outcome. It will keep bettors from making hasty wagers and will keep gamblers in the action much deeper into the tournament.

We also suggest belonging to more than one sportsbook because odds are different at each site. If the Duke Blu Devils are favored by 10 at one book and by 12 at another, selecting the line that favors them by 10 will provide an easier path to a win. Being mindful of these three bankroll management strategies will go a long way toward maximizing

Important March Madness Dates

The 2020-21 NCAA college basketball regular season runs from November 25 through March 7. After the end of the regular season, though, the real action begins in mid-March. The following dates are ones to remember when betting on the March Madness tournament.

2021 March Madness dates

  • Selection Sunday: March 14, 2021
  • First Four: March 16-17, 2021
  • NCAA Tournament Round 1: March 18-19, 2021
  • NCAA Tournament Round 2: March 20-21, 2021
  • Sweet 16: March 25-26, 2021
  • Elite 8: March 27-28, 2021
  • Final Four: April 3, 2021
  • Championship: April 5, 2021

2021 March Madness Brackets

Every year, 70 million March Madness brackets are completed and entered into contests. Even former President Barack Obama filled out a bracket on ESPN each year he was in office. The tournament bracket is a grid of every matchup in the single-elimination tournament.

“Bracketologists” must then predict as many correct winners as possible from the First Round all the way through the Championship game. This is no easy task. There has never been a verified perfect bracket, probably due to the 1 in 9.2 quintillion probability of it actually happening.

March Madness Odds Espn

Teams With The Most March Madness Appearances

  1. Kentucky Wildcats - 58
  2. North Carolina Tarheels - 50
  3. Kansas Jayhawks - 48
  4. UCLA Bruins - 47
  5. Duke Blue Devils - 43
  6. Syracuse Orange - 40

Past NCAAM basketball championship winners

The Oregon Ducks were the first team to ever win the men’s college basketball championship in 1939. Since then, many teams have gone on to hoist the trophy and cut the nets, including 11 from UCLA, eight from Kentucky, six from North Carolina, and five each from Duke and Indiana.

The following list is the most recent winners from the beginning of the 21st century:

  • 2020: Canceled Due To COVID-19
  • 2019: Virginia
  • 2018: Villanova
  • 2017: North Carolina
  • 2016: Villanova
  • 2015: Duke
  • 2014: Connecticut
  • 2013: Louisville (later vacated)
  • 2012: Kentucky
  • 2011: Connecticut
  • 2010: Duke
  • 2009: North Carolina
  • 2008: Kansas
  • 2007: Florida
  • 2006: Florida
  • 2005: North Carolina
  • 2004: Connecticut
  • 2003: Syracuse
  • 2002: Maryland
  • 2001: Duke
  • 2000: Michigan State

March Madness Odds Sportsbook

NCAAB Pages

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