Duke, Arizona, Michigan And Florida Lead Title Odds For March

LAS VEGAS (AP) - The No. 1 seeds had a clear separation over the rest of the field when last year's NCAA Tournamentbracket was and it played out that method with all those teams reaching the Final 4.


This year's front runners - Duke, Arizona, Michigan and safeguarding national champion Florida - are the favorites at BetMGM Sportsbook to win the national title.


Bruce Marshall, handicapper for WagerTalk/Gold Sheet, said he might see a number of other teams breaking through to make the Final Four in Indianapolis.


"I do not believe we'll see all of them (No. 1 seeds) in the Final 4," Marshall said. "Maybe someone sneaks through on the three-line. I 'd enjoy Virginia potentially. They've got a pretty great potential road in their region. That's Michigan's region. I think Michigan is beatable now."


That said, Marshall stated it's not that various from last season in which just a few teams have a practical chance to win everything.


The NCAA selection committee also appeared to get most of the first-round matches right, a minimum of if passing the odds. There are only 2 favorites that are the lower-seeded teams, a set of 8-9 matches with Utah State favored by 2 1/2 points over Villanova and Iowa by the same number over Clemson.


"We ´ re expecting a fairly chalky tournament this year, comparable to what we saw last season," said Patrick Berbert, college basketball trader at Caesars Sportsbook. "The NIL period has actually actually widened the space in between the leading programs and the rest of the field. From a betting viewpoint, we ´ re predicting record engagement once again."


Connecticut is a huge preferred at BetMGM and Caesars to win the women's NCAA Tournament for the second year in a row.


The Huskies as a two-seed beat 3 No. ones to win the 2025 title, but there is no slipping up on this year ´ s field.


"UConn has actually been extremely dominant, winning 29 straight video games by double digits," Berbert stated. "It ´ s among the more exceptional runs we ´ ve seen in recent memory, which dominance is shown in their existing title rate of -280. ... In our view, UCLA presents the most significant potential obstacle, but in general, it ´ s hard to see many groups standing in UConn ´ s method if they continue dipping into this level."


On the guys's side, Michigan and Florida weren't penalized by the committee for losing in their conference tournament and were offered No. 1 seeds.


Duke endured two scares in winning the Atlantic Coast Conference Tournament, beating Florida State by a point and Virginia by 4 in the title video game.


Arizona had the very best week of the front runners however needed to be at its best to beat Iowa State and Houston by a combined seven indicate record the Big 12 Conference Tournament champion.


"When we get to the Big Dance, what takes place in the conference competitions normally doesn't matter," Marshall stated. "Teams that lose in the conference competitions typically wind up winning the entire thing. It might not be the very best thing to play 3, four days in a row in the week before the tournament, so I don't read too much into it."


Bettors typically look beyond the favorites in hopes of receiving a bigger payment by hitting on a team that fumes.


Johnny Avello, sports operations director for DraftKings Sportsbook, stated he is enjoying UConn and Arkansas. DraftKings lists the Huskies at 30-1 odds and the Razorbacks at 60-1 even though Arkansas won the Southeastern Conference Tournament.


"In the future book, there are a few clear favorites at the top of the board, but there ´ s also a lot of value in the middle of the pack," Avello stated. "Bettors can still find attractive prices on groups that have revealed they can play at a high level this season."


It's almost ended up being anticipated that a minimum of one No. 12 seed will beat a No. 5 in the preliminary.


Texas Tech is the shortest preferred at BetMGM, listed at 7 1/2 points over Akron. Wisconsin is favored by 9 1/2 over High Point, Vanderbilt by 11 1/2 over McNeese State, and St. John's by 11 1/2 over Northern Iowa.


Marshall said he could see Akron and McNeese pulling the upsets.


"I don't think St. John's will lose to Northern Iowa," said Marshall, who noted he thought the Red Storm were underseeded. "It'll just be a hard game. And I think Wisconsin will beat High Point, although High Point's type of fun to view."


AP March Madness bracket: https://apnews.com/hub/ncaa-mens-bracket and protection: https://apnews.com/hub/march-madness