March Madness College Basketball Odds: The Trend to Know When Betting Top 25 Teams
Photo by Carly Mackler/Getty Images. Pictured: Alabama head coach Nate Oats.
March Madness is known for upsets. It wouldn’t be madness if it didn’t contain upsets.
As some people worry about upsets in their bracket, there is also an upset-related related stat that impacts spread betting.
Over the past decade, top-25 teams in the AP Poll have gone 43% against the spread when playing against unranked teams in the NCAA Tournament.
That means a $100 bettor would be down around $10,000 if he bet on every ranked team playing against unranked teams in the NCAA Tournament over the past 10 years.
Let’s take a look at the teams and odds that will fit this criteria in the first round.
No. 1 Alabama vs. Texas A&M Corpus Christi
Consensus odds: Texas A&M CC +24.5
Best underdog odds: Texas A&M CC +24.5 (PointsBet, FoxBet, BetMGM)
No. 2 Houston vs. Northern Kentucky
Consensus odds: Northern Kentucky +18.5
Best underdog odds: Northern Kentucky +19.5 (Caesars)
No. 4 Kansas vs. Howard
Consensus odds: Howard +22
Best underdog odds: Howard +23 (BetRivers)
No. 5 Texas vs. Colgate
Consensus odds: Colgate +13.5
Best underdog odds: Colgate +13.5 (Most Books)
No. 6 Marquette vs. Vermont
Consensus odds: Vermont +10.5
Best underdog odds: Vermont +10.5 (Most Books)
No. 7 UCLA vs. UNC-Asheville
Consensus odds: UNC-Asheville +17.5
Best underdog odds: UNC-Asheville +18 (FoxBet, BetRivers, PointsBet)
No. 8 Arizona vs. Princeton
Consensus odds: Princeton +14.5
Best underdog odds: Princeton +14.5 (PointsBet, BetMGM, FoxBet)
No. 9 Gonzaga vs. Grand Canyon
Consensus odds: Grand Canyon +15.5
Best underdog odds: Grand Canyon +16 (BetRivers)
No. 10 UConn vs. Iona
Consensus odds: Iona +9.5
Best underdog odds: Iona +9.5 (Most Books)
No. 11 Baylor vs. UC-Santa Barbara
Consensus odds: UCSB +10.5
Best underdog odds: UCSB +11 (BetRivers)
No. 12 Duke vs. Oral Roberts
Consensus odds: Oral Roberts +6.5
Best underdog odds: Oral Roberts +6.5 (Fanduel, BetMGM)
No. 13 Xavier vs. Kennesaw State
Consensus odds: Kennesaw State +12.5
Best underdog odds: Kennesaw State +12.5 (Most Books)
No. 14 Virginia vs. Furman
Consensus odds: Furman +6
Best underdog odds: Furman +6.5 (BetMGM)
No. 15 Kansas State vs. Montana State
Consensus odds: Montana State +8.5
Best underdog odds: Montana State +8.5 (Most Books)
No. 16 Miami (FL) vs. Drake
Consensus odds: Drake +2.5
Best underdog odds: Drake +2.5 (PointsBet, BetMGM)
No. 17 Texas A&M vs. Penn State
Consensus odds: Penn State +3
Best underdog odds: Penn State +3.5 (BetMGM)
No. 18 San Diego State vs. Charleston
Consensus odds: Charleston +5.5
Best underdog odds: Charleston +5.5 (BetMGM, FanDuel, PointsBet)
No. 19 Saint Mary’s vs. VCU
Consensus odds: VCU +4.5
Best underdog odds: VCU +4.5 (BetMGM, FanDuel)
No. 20 Tennessee vs. Louisiana-Lafayette
Consensus odds: Louisiana-Lafayette +11.5
Best underdog odds: Louisiana-Lafayette +11.5 (Most Books)
No. 21 Indiana vs. Kent State
Consensus odds: Kent State +4.5
Best underdog odds: Kent State +4.5 (BetMGM, FanDuel)
No. 23 Missouri vs. Utah State
Consensus odds: Utah State -1.5
Best Utah State odds: Utah State -1 (Caesars)
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