Alabama forward Nick Pringle celebrates after an NCAA college basketball game against Texas A&M in the finals of the Southeastern Conference Tournament, Sunday, March 12, 2023, in Nashville, Tenn. Alabama won 82-63. (AP Photo/John Amis)
By Mark Anderson
LAS VEGAS — March Madness isn't just about filling out — and later trashing — brackets. There are more ways to bet the field in the NCAA Tournament, an event that will consume basketball fans over the next three weeks. Here's a look at the favorites, underdogs and longshots.
WHO’S FAVORED TO REACH THE FINAL FOUR?
Top-ranked Houston is the plus-120 favorite to emerge as the Midwest Region representative and play in Houston, according to FanDuel Sportsbook. That means a $100 bet pays $120. The next top team in the region is Texas at plus-450.
The most competitive region appears to be the West. No. 3 Kansas is a slight favorite at plus-320, just ahead of No. 2 UCLA at plus-350. No. 9 Gonzaga isn't far behind at plus-400.
No. 5 Purdue is at plus-300 to come out of the East, with No. 6 Marquette next at plus-420.
WHO’S FAVORED TO WIN THE TITLE?
Oddsmakers agree with the NCAA selection committee that the No. 1 seeds are the favorites — Houston at plus-500, Alabama at plus-800, Kansas at plus-1,000 and Purdue at plus-1,200.
After that, oddsmakers favor UCLA at plus-1,400, Gonzaga at plus 1,500, Arizona at plus-1,600, No. 7 Texas at plus-1,900, and No. 10 Baylor and Marquette each at plus-2,100.
WHO IS THE BIGGEST UNDERDOG?
If you're looking for the next Saint Peter's or Loyola-Chicago, check out these options.
Sixteen teams are listed at plus-50,000: Colgate, Furman, Grand Canyon, Howard, Kennesaw State, Kent State, Louisiana, Montana State, Nevada, Northern Kentucky, Southeast Missouri State, Texas A&M-Corpus Christi, Texas Southern, UC Santa Barbara, UNC Asheville and Vermont.
WHAT’S THE BIGGEST SPREAD DIFFERENCE?
Kansas is a 21 1/2-point favorite over Howard in their first-round matchup. Beyond that, Houston is favored by 19 1/2 points over Northern Kentucky, UCLA by 17 1/2 over UNC Asheville and Gonzaga by 15 1/2 over Grand Canyon.
WHAT’S THE BIGGEST OVER/UNDER?
The old saying is that life is too short to bet the under, but it's often the wise play. Some of these totals may give bettors second thoughts before taking the over, but that doesn't mean it's the wrong move. The highest totals are Gonzaga-Grand Canyon at 156 1/2, Missouri-Utah State at 154 1/2, Texas A&M Corpus Christi-Southeast Missouri State at 153 1/2, Auburn-Iowa and Xavier-Kennesaw State each at 151 1/2 and Florida Atlantic-Memphis at 150 1/2.
NOT REAL UNDERDOGS
Just because the committee seeds one team over another doesn't necessarily mean it's the better team in the minds of the oddsmakers. Here are the games where the lower seed is the favorite on the early line: Tenth-seeded Utah State by 2 1/2 points over seventh-seeded Missouri, 10th-seeded Boise State a half-point over seventh-seeded Northwestern and ninth-seeded West Virginia by 2 1/2 over eighth-seeded Maryland,
BRACKETS
More information will be available later this week on this year's brackets, but history can be a guide. Looking back at 2022, there were no perfect brackets on ESPN’s Tournament Challenge bracket game after the first round, and only 13 of 17.36 million got 31 of the 32 games right. There were 12,529 brackets that correctly picked the Final Four and 7.02% of brackets made the right call on Kansas winning the national championship.
New York quickly became the sports betting capital in the United States following an electric debut earlier this month. Cheddar News was joined by Chad Kornett, VP of Government Relations for Gaming at Geocomply to dive into the numbers.
Exercise equipment maker Peloton is attempting to run away from a recent bout of controversy. CEO John Foley published an open letter to employees on Thursday after reports that said Peloton was pausing production of its Bike and Tread products, delaying the opening of a new U.S. factory, and considering job cuts. In the letter, Foley wrote that the information in the reports was 'incomplete,' 'out of context,' and not reflective of Peloton's strategy. Peloton's stock responded on Friday, with shares bouncing back after falling nearly 24% in the regular session on Thursday. CFRA Research's Director of Research Ken Leon joined Cheddar News' Closing Bell to discuss.
The NCAA has updated its policy on transgender athletes, allowing each sport’s national governing body to make its own decisions for transgender participation. The new rule is in line with recent changes from the U.S. and International Olympic and Paralympic Committees. Joanna Hoffman, communications director of Athlete Ally, joined Cheddar News to discuss the potential impact of the new rule on the transgender community.
The NCAA voted to streamline their constitution at their annual convention on Thursday. Each of the three college divisions can decide how student-athletes can make money from outside sources but still restricts schools from directly paying its players.
With New York recently announcing the legalization of sports betting, even a greater number of bettors are looking forward to the NFL's divisional round. Derek Carty, a fantasy sports and sports betting analyst, talked to Cheddar about betting strategies for the four upcoming playoff games. "I feel like the Chiefs are a little bit overrated by the markets, and so the Bills here really look good to me," Carty said for the Kansas City and Buffalo matchup. He also pointed to the Green Bay Packers to be the likeliest team to win the Super Bowl this year.
Olivia Harlan Dekker and Sean Green break down and provide their top picks for the NFL Divisional Round this weekend, while Frank Schwab dissects NBA futures and gives his take on the ongoing Nets drama.
Sean Green, co-founder of The Sports Gambling Podcast Network, joins Cheddar Bets to break down the best plays across the AFC Divisional Round matchups.
Sponsored by BetMGM
Frank Schwab, sports betting writer for Yahoo! Sports, joins Cheddar Bets to find the best value down the MVP contender list and make sense of how to bet the Nets at home and on the road.
Sponsored by BetMGM
The drama surrounding tennis star Novak Djokovic continues after he was deported from Australia over the weekend due to the nation's COVID-19 vaccine requirements. Djokovic was forced to leave the country on the eve of what was to be his first match in defense of his Australian Open title after three judges ruled in favor of his removal and revealed their reasoning for doing so. Adding to his woes, a law recently passed in France is putting his chances of defending his French Open title in jeopardy. The director of Marist's Center for Sports Communication, Jane McManus, joined Cheddar to discuss the ongoing fallout.
