Betting Public Off to Hot Start in NCAA Tournament | March Madness

The public was on fire through the first round of the NCAA tournament, going 25-10 against the spread with a 36.5% ROI.

They picked up right where they left off on Saturday, going a remarkable 7-1 after Creighton covered in a double-overtime thriller to end the night. The public is now 32-11 ATS in the tournament hitting at a 74% clip.

The public nailed the first four spread picks of the day before N.C. State failed to cover by a single point. It snapped a streak of 12 straight games in which they picked the right side. The breakdown included 51% of bettors backing Arizona -9, 74% of bettors on Gonzaga -4, 54% on UNC -3.5, 57% on Iowa State -6.5, 55% on Texas +7, 54% on Illinois -10 and 54% on Creighton -3.5. The lone game the public lost was N.C. State -6.5, which was a crushing blow for betters as they won by six.

Meanwhile, favorites went a perfect 8-0 on Saturday. That’s the polar opposite of the first few days of the tournament when underdogs won at unprecedented levels. Fourteen 'dogs won outright, which was the most upset wins entering the Round of 32 in the entire First Four era (since 2011). That included 12 dogs winning outright in the first round, which was the most since 2001 and tied for the second-most since 1985.

For those of you who are considering playing all these trends, as of midnight on the East Coast, Sunday’s favorites include Marquette, Purdue, Duke, Baylor, Alabama, UConn, Houston and San Diego State.

Additionally, the public is backing Marquette -4 against Colorado (57%), Utah State +11.5 against Purdue, JMU +7.5 vs. Duke (82%), Baylor -4.5 against Clemson (58%), Grand Canyon +6.5 vs. Alabama, Northwester +13.5 vs. UConn (57%), Texas A&M +9.5 vs. Houston (65%) and San Diego State -5 vs. Yale (66%).