Online Betting Ncaa Tournament
That time of year has arrived, folks! The time of year when even non-gamblers become sports bettors. The time for NCAA Tournament betting. March Madness is upon us and after missing out in 2020, college hoops fans and bettors are ready.
Before seedings begin to roll out, let’s take a look at the NCAA Tournament futures odds, as well as odds to make the Final Four from FanDuel Sportsbook. Where is the smart money at? Let’s find out!
With legalized online sports betting in more states than ever before, the NCAA men’s basketball tournament continues to be a massive gambling event from Selection Sunday through to the Final Four. Huge amounts of money swing on every blocked shot and dunk as the upsets and buzzer-beaters create an electric atmosphere for March Madness betting. 22 hours ago NCAA Tournament bracket betting is a hugely popular part of March Madness each year. Participants attempt to predict the winner of every March Madness game before the tournament has.
NCAA Tournament Betting Odds: The Top 8
- Gonzaga Bulldogs (+280)
- Baylor Bears (+310)
- Michigan Wolverines (+700)
- Villanova Wildcats (+1100)
- Illinois Fighting Illini (+1600)
- Iowa Hawkeyes (+1600)
- Alabama Crimson Tide (+1800)
- Houston Cougars (+1900)
If you plan to place your bets pre-tournament on a winner, the Gonzaga Bulldogs come in as a 3-to-1 favorite. The West Coast Conference regular-season champs finished the season undefeated at 24-0, 15-0 in conference play. The question is, are they the smart play at only (+280)?
- 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.
- 1 seed is becoming a hotly contested debate. Several teams are vying to be on the one line on Selection Sunday, and FanDuel Sportsbook is providing odds as to who that team will be.
The Bulldogs haven’t played a close game since December 2nd of last year when they beat West Virginia by only 5. Gonzaga won every other game this season by double digits which is insane, but they haven’t played a ranked opponent since December 26th. They only played 4 teams that are currently ranked all season.
The Low-Risk, Low-Reward Pick
If you’re going to take a low-risk, low-reward team, you may want to look at the Baylor Bears at +(310). Baylor has proven that they can play top-ranked opponents in close games and still come out on top. They have played 8 teams that are currently ranked in the AP Top 25, and came out 7-1 in those battles. Including a 13-point win over 4th ranked Illinois.
The Kansas Jayhawks were the only team that was able to 1-up Baylor this season. The Bears will close out the regular season playing 2 ranked opponents at home. Fortunately for the Bears, they’ve already beaten Oklahoma State and Texas Tech on the road, so they should be able to take care of business at home.
The outliers in favor of Gonzaga are that they remain ranked #1 on KenPom and are 5-0 at neutral sites this season. That being said, Baylor is 3-0 at neutral sites and Baylor’s Big 12 schedule was a much more difficult path than Gonzaga’s West Coast schedule.
Of the top few teams, Baylor at (+310) is where my money would go. Gonzaga has a slight edge on offense, but Baylor’s defense may have the upper-hand, and defense travels.
Upping Your Return
If you’re going to stay near the top for better odds of a win, but would like a higher return, there are 2 teams you should keep an eye on. It must be the 80’s again because we’re talking about the Illinois Fighting Illini and the Houston Cougars.
Whether either of these teams will live up to the “Flyin’ Illini” or “Phi Slama Jama” remains to be seen, but both teams dominated their conferences this season and both are currently in 2nd in their respective conferences. Both teams have one game remaining on their schedule with Illinois’ matchup against #7 Ohio State being the tougher of the two games.
While Houston may have the more attractive odds, they have only played 1 currently ranked team all season. They beat Texas Tech on November 29th, in their 3rd game of the season.
Illinois has had a much tougher schedule in the Big Ten, which has been absolutely ferocious this season. The Illini are 4-2 against ranked opponents including a dominant win over the #2 Michigan Wolverines.
Illinois’ only question mark heading into March Madness is Big Ten and National Player of the Year contender Ayo Dosunmu’s status. Dosunmu suffered a facial injury during Illinois’ recent loss to the Michigan State Spartans. However, they were also without him when they wiped the floor with Michigan.
If Ayo is on the floor for the NCAA Tournament, you should consider putting your money on Illinois at (+1600). If he is unable to return, maybe consider Houston at (+1900). Great odds for such a good team.
Top 10 Odds to Make the Final Four
- Baylor Bears (-300)
- Gonzaga Bulldogs (-300)
- Michigan Wolverines (+100)
- Villanova Wildcats (+190)
- Texas Longhorns (+230)
- Ohio State Buckeyes (+230)
- Houston Cougars (+280)
- Alabama Crimson Tide (+300)
- Illinois Fighting Illini (+300)
- Iowa Hawkeyes (+350)
Not much changes as we look at Final Four betting odds. Baylor and Gonzaga are the favorites at (-300), and either team is a worthwhile bet if you’re betting enough to maximize your return.
A little further down the list, you have Illinois at (+300) and the Iowa Hawkeyes at (+350). With 2 of the best players in the tournament in Dosunmu and Luka Garza, both of these feel pretty safe as well, and of course, your betting account would look much nicer if one of these teams makes a run for you.
Let the Madness Begin
As conference tournaments begin, and regions are seeded and put together on Selection Sunday, our March betting picture will only become clearer. As the odds change in the weeks leading up to the tournament, the teams that are locks don’t. Regardless of the odds and matchup, any of these top-tiered teams could become a moneymaker for you in the tournament.
So let’s wait for the seedings and matchups, and revisit these odds as Vegas and FanDuel update the lines. Let’s see if we can maximize that return for you.Let the March Madness begin!
Contents
What is March Madness?
A popular annual NCAA men's basketball tournament, the event takes place over a three-week period and the betting action on the tournament brings in record handles for sportsbooks in the United States.
Online Betting On Ncaa Tournament
The tournament is a single-elimination format that consists of 68 teams and those schools are announced on “Selection Sunday” – which is an event in itself. The 2021 selection show takes place on Sunday March 14, 2021 at 6:00 p.m. ET and is televised nationally in the United States on CBS, one of the largest broadcast companies.
Pundits often try to predict the full bracket before the event and the term “Bracketology” is used in many sports betting circles. The brackets are divided into four regions, split up geographically in the United States. All of the March Madness games are played on neutral courts and the regional final takes place at a large venue.
Sweet 16
With over 350 NCAA men's teams eligible to compete and earn a bid to the NCAA Tournament, securing a spot in the Sweet 16 is a major accomplishment. When betting on March Madness futures or competing in a Bracket Contest, predicting the Sweet 16 is essential for all of your wagers. In order to reach the Sweet 16, teams will have to win their first two games and sometimes three if schools had to qualify from the 'First Four' matchups.
Eight schools compete in the 'First Four' games on Thursday March 18 from two venues -- Mackey Arena and Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall -- located in Indiana.
The March Madness the field of 64 is cut in half to 32 and eventually 16 after the first and second rounds are completed. Even though there are 16 teams still standing, it's quite common to see mismatches on paper as far as the seedings go. A double-digit seeded school have made plenty of appearances in this round and they're often listed as healthy underdogs by the oddsmakers.
This year's 2021 Sweet 16 matchups will take place from two venues from the state of Indiana. These games are also known as the Regional Semifinals.
- Bankers Life Fieldhouse
- Hinkle Fieldhouse
Elite Eight
Even bigger than the Sweet 16 is the Elite Eight and schools playing in this round know how high the stakes are. The winners will advance to the Final Four while the losers are sent packing after winning three or possibly four NCAA Tournament games in a row. The point-spreads are usually much tighter in this round since the top contenders are left standing and the oddsmakers have a better understanding of the remaining clubs. It's not uncommon to see higher seeds last this long in the NCAA Tournament and plenty of those long shots or underdogs receive plenty of attention from bettors looking for upsets and major payouts.
Similar to the Sweet 16, the Elite Eight matchups will take place at the same venues with one day of rest between the games. These games are also known as the Regional Finals.
For the 2021 NCAA Tournament, the Elite Eight will take place at Lucas Oil Stadium on Monday March 29 and Tuesday March 30.
The Final Four is put simply, the final four teams left in the NCAA Tournament and those squads will meet in a pair of semifinal matchups. The winners will advance to the March Madness championship while the losers join many other schools who just missed out on a trip to the title game. The Final 4 always takes place on the first Saturday in April, this year's event taking place on April 3, 2021 at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis, Indiana.
Expecting at least one No. 1 seed to be playing in the Final 4 is very likely. Since the tournament expanded in 1985 to 64 teams, there have only been two years where the Final Four didn’t have a No. 1 seed which occurred in 2011 and 2006. Keep in mind that expecting all top seeds to advance is also rare. There has only been one instance where all four No. 1 seeds reached the Final Four, which took place in 2008 when Kansas, Memphis, North Carolina and UCLA earned regional bids.
Since the expansion of the NCAA Tournament occurred in 1985, Duke leads all schools with 12 all-time appearances in the Final Four while Kansas is next up with 18.
2019 Final Four Schools (Seeds)
Virginia (1)
Michigan State (2)
Texas Tech (3)
Auburn (5)
Lucky No. 11
The lowest seed to make the Final 4 was the No. 11. This happened four times since 1985 and most recently with Loyola-Chicago in the 2018 NCAA Tournament. Other teams included were Virginia Commonwealth (2011), George Mason (2006) and LSU (1986).
Along with that quartet, the only other double-digit seeds to make the Final 4 was Syracuse, who earned a trip in 2016 as a No. 10 seed.
UConn remains the lowest modern-day seeded team to win the NCAA Tournament. The Huskies of Connecticut accomplished the feat in the 2007 tournament as the No. 7 seed. Villanova, an eighth seed, captured the 1984-85 tournament over Georgetown.
Most Popular March Madness Tools
March Madness Bracket Explained
Betting on March Madness is one of the most popular sports betting events and it's format caters to the masses of not just sports bettors but for individuals who like to compete in a contests against friends, employees and strangers. The Bracket is a single-elimination contest where individuals must pick the winner of head-to-head matchups and forecast ahead before future matchups are determined.
Predicting a perfect March Madness Bracket is quite difficult and some experts have stated that you have a 1 in 9.2 quintillion chance. So if you see many websites and operators offering a guaranteed $1 Million Dollars for a perfect bracket, you can see that the odds are against you and the reward should be much higher. For those wondering, there has never
Nonetheless, the tournament has everybody glued to their Brackets especially for the first round since that's where many upsets take place. Going 32-0 isn't impossible and it's been done many times before but seeing your March Madness Bracket go unscathed through the opening weekend is rare and that would require you to post 16 more winners and improve to 48-0.
The Sweet 16 and Elite Eight weekend follows and participants will be following 12 games before the Final Four and Championship, which is a total of 63 games to predict. While the point-spread isn't used in the March Madness Bracket, predicting straight up winners isn't as easy as it looks -- especially when you don't know the matchups beforehand.
The VegasInsider.com Live Brackets is a great feature to follow your selections and our Printable Brackets will allow you to write-in your selections as you see fit.
March Madness Dates
The NCAA Tournament and March Madness Betting research begins on 'Selection Sunday' as the field of 68 teams are announced. After the brackets are filled in, the March Madness format is followed with all games being played at neutral sites.
- First Four - Thursday 18, 2021
- First Round - Fri/Sat, March 19-20, 2021
- Second Round - Sun/Mon, March 21-22, 2021
- Sweet 16 - Sat/Sun, March 27-28, 2021
- Elite Eight - Mon/Tue, March 29-30, 2021
- Final Four - Saturday, April 3, 2021
- NCAA Championship Game - Monday, April 5, 2021
Types of NCAA Tournament Bets
Bracket Pool
The March Madness Bracket Pool is a great contest that continues to rise in popularity among bettors and non-bettors. There is no barrier to entry and it's easy to participate, whether it be online or offline. All you need to do is find a group of colleagues and be on your way to predicting the outcome of the entire NCAA Tournament. The individual with the best prediction skills will be the overall winner of the Bracket Pool. Most pools start with an entry fee, decided by the pool leader, and all of the entries must be completed by the first matchup. That initial game usually takes place at 12:00 p.m. ET on the first Thursday after Selection Sunday, this year it will be on Friday March 19. For the 2021 March Madness event, your deadline to submit picks will be on Friday, Mar. 19, 2021.
Game Lines
The key to betting on March Madness is understanding the lines or betting odds. After 'Selection Sunday' takes place and the field of 68 is announced, the oddsmakers start to post opening lines on all of the matchups. Our Las Vegas Odds and Global Odds will begin to populate opening numbers for all of the matchups in the NCAA Tournament.
March Madness bettors can toggle between three different sections.
- Spread
- Money Line
- 1st Half
The game lines for the Spread show the point-spread odds, which are the most popular. Bettors playing totals or 'over/under' wagers are also listed on this page. The Money-Line odds cater to bettors looking to place wagers on the straight up outcome of a matchup, meaning the point-spread doesn't come into play. The 1st Half is catered to savvy bettors who like to get their juices going early. These bets are focused on the first 20 minutes of each March Madness matchup.
Point-Spread Bet
The point-spread was developed to provide a balance for both teams involved in a contest to entice bettors to potentially back the weaker team and receive points. The two squads in a game are listed with a title, either a favorite or an underdog. The favorite is usually the perceived better team in the game, as backing them means giving up several points.
Example - Point-Spread
Duke -10
Kansas +10
In the above example, if you wanted to back Duke as a 10-point favorite then you would need them to beat Kansas by 11 or more points to win your wager. If you wagered on Kansas, then you would need them to win the game outright or lose by less than 10 points.
Any victory by Duke by nine points or less would result in a loss, even though they won the game straight-up.
Assuming the final margin falls on 10 in this case, a ‘push’ occurs, which is a tie, meaning all tickets are refunded.
Money-Line Bet
In basketball, the standard betting practice is to lay (bet) $110 to win $100. When we learn about betting baseball and hockey, the money-line is the main form of wagering, meaning no point-spread. There is money-line betting in basketball in case you don’t want to worry about the points. However, the odds are adjusted accordingly for both the favorite and underdog.
Example - Money-Line
Duke -550
Kansas +400
In the above example, a straight-up wager on Duke would require you to invest more to win more since its been listed as a large favorite. Since Duke is -550, you would wager $550 to win $100. If you only had $100 to wager, then your return would be $18.18 (100/550). On the flip side, if you have enough faith in Kansas to beat Duke outright as a heavy underdog, then you can place $100 to return $400. You would receive $500, which includes your initial stake.
Over/Under Bet
Another popular betting option for March Madness games is the 'over/under' or what many may refer to as the total. This wager is a cooperative effort between the two teams to either go ‘Over’ or ‘Under’ the posted total. In March Madness, if Duke and Kansas have a game total of 150 ½, a winning 'Over' bet would mean the two clubs would combine for 151 points or more. On the flip side, a winning ‘Under’ ticket is 150 points or fewer between the two teams.
Parlay/Teaser
A Parlay is a single bet that links together two or more individual wagers for a high payout. Parlay wagers can include point-spread, money-line and over-under wagers.
In order for the parlay bet to win, every one of the wagers must win or push (tie). If any of the selections lose, your wager loses, regardless of the outcome or cancellation of the other games. Depending on the sportsbook, a parlay could still be alive if one or more of the selections ends in a tie, postponed game or canceled event. If that happens, the parlay is knocked down a straight wager or a lower parlay.
The VegasInsider.com Parlay Calculator is a useful betting resource for March Madness and it provides bettors with a chance to calculate winnings based on the fixed payouts.
Similar to a parlay wager, a Teaser is a type of bet that allows you to combine your bets on two or more different games. The return isn't as high as parlays but bettors will gain an advantage with these bets by adding or subtracting points to either a point-spread or a total (over/under). The majority of sportsbooks will offer 4, 4.5 and 5 point teaser wagers for March Madness.
Example - Original Line
Duke -10
Over 150 ½
Example - Teaser Bet (4 Points)
Duke -6
Over 146 ½
A bettor taking Duke (-10) and the Over (150 ½) in a two-team Teaser for 4 points would lower the point-spread on Duke to -6 and also drop the Over down to 146 ½. For the Teaser to cash, Duke must win by 7 or more points and the combined points in the game must exceed 147.
Replays Of Ncaa Tournament Games
Futures Bet
You can bet on a NCAA tournament championship pick throughout the season and during the year but the College Basketball Futures market always heats up in March. Betting and winning on the Men’s Division winner are obviously two different things but VegasInsider.com has all the resources to help guide you the right way. Figuring out how to make the bet is simple. All sportsbooks offer Future Odds and after selecting College Basketball Men’s Division winner, you’ll see the school and then the corresponding odds.
When you place a Future Odds wager, you’re locking up your money on an event that takes place at later time. The winner is crowned in April and bettors will winning wagers will be paid based on fixed odds when the bet was placed. To figure out your Win Amount, take the odds and multiply by the amount wagered.
Example
Duke 10/1 odds to win NCAA Tournament (Bet $100 to win $1,000)
Past NCAA Basketball Champions
The NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament determines winner of the national championship of the major college basketball teams in Division 1. The VegasInsider.com History page provides a comprehensive list of the past NCAA Basketball Champions and the betting results for the title game, which includes the outcome for the favorite-underdog and over-under.
Listed below are the last 10 NCAA Basketball Champions and their seeds.
- 2019 - Virginia (1)
- 2018 - Villanova (1)
- 2017 - North Carolina (1)
- 2016 - Villanova (2)
- 2015 - Duke (1)
- 2014 - Connecticut (7)
- 2013 - Louisville (1)
- 2012 - Kentucky (1)
- 2011- Connecticut (3)
- 2010 - Duke (1)