Gonzaga, Michigan, & Illinois Are The March Madness Favorites
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Selection Sunday provided the public with the seeding, and now many will move to betting sites around the country in one of the largest sports betting events of the year. Odds have been released, and there are also plenty of tournament props on multiple sportsbooks. There is certainly one constant, and that is Gonzaga being an overwhelming favorite after an undefeated season. However, the Big 10 has had a strong showing in odds with Illinois and Michigan. Ohio State is also one of the public’s favorite bets.
Sportsbooks & Public View Gonzaga As The Team To Beat
Gonzaga finished the year 26-0 despite a scare from BYU late in the conference tournament. They have been ranked number one throughout the year and easily earned themselves a one-seed. With Gonzaga being one of the teams to be viewed as a clear favorite, there are various prop bets out there, like BetMGM’s Gonzaga vs. The Field prop. Gonzaga is +200 compared to the field being -250. Overall they are +275 to win it all and hold a ticket% of 16.6%. They are also the highest handle at 26.7% for BetMGM at the moment.
PointsBet is also seeing 24% of the handle on Gonzaga, and some larger bets have begun to come in. Gonzaga opened at +850 to win the tournament, midseason odds went up to +350, and now they are +200 for current odds.
Illinois & Michigan Next In Line
Illinois is sitting with the fourth-best odds on PointsBet to win it all. They were +6000 at the beginning of the year and +2000 at the midseason mark. Illinois is seeing 7.7% of the bets on Pointsbet and 7% of the handle. Michigan is seeing a higher percentage on both for PointsBet. However, on BetMGM, they have the second-highest ticket% and the second-highest handle%. They share +600 odds with Michigan to win the entire tournament. BetMGM is also offering the same prop bet as they are for Gonzaga, where you can take the field or Illinois. The field is -900, and Illinois is +600. Both Big Ten schools are in a great spot to make a deep run in the tournament. Although, Michigan struggled a bit down the stretch. In a crazy year, it seems unlikely we get a chalky Final Four.
Other Public Favorites
Baylor isn’t getting as much talk among the top one-seeds but is seeing 12% of the handle and 8% of bet count, putting them within the top three teams on PointsBet. On BetMGM, Baylor does not rank inside the top five for the handle. Tennessee and Iowa are 4th and 5th in the handle on BetMGM. Iowa is a popular team within the top odds around multiple sportsbooks. They were one of the few stronger Big Ten teams and certainly a contrarian pick out of the top-eight teams.
Creighton is seeing around 4-5% of the handle on PointsBet and is also seeing a $10,000 bet on them at +2000 odds. Creighton fell in odds from the beginning of the year as they opened +1400, midseason were +1500, and now they are +5000. Houston, Ohio State, Alabama, and Oklahoma State are also drawing a lot of attention.
