NCAA Tournament odds: Sportsbooks win big after weekend upsets
After a wild opening weekend to the NCAA men's basketball tournament, bettors are ready to place some action on the Sweet 16 round.
But first, let's take a peek back at any lessons learned from the opening weekend and a look forward to the lines for the Sweet 16 games (with all odds via FOX Bet).
The opening weekend saw a No. 1 seed — the Baylor Bears — and a pair of No. 2 seeds (Kentucky Wildcats and Auburn Tigers) ousted from the tournament. The three surviving No. 1s — the Gonzaga Bulldogs, Arizona Wildcats and Kansas Jayhawks — escaped with difficult single-digit wins in the second round.
"I think the tournament so far has really followed the narrative we had going in, that it is wide open," FOX Bet commercial manager Jacob Blangsted-Barnor said. "Normally we have a team or two as short favorites but this year it feels like anyone could win, all the one seeds have been scared or knocked out."
When it comes to sportsbooks and gambling, people flocked to Las Vegas for March Madness over the weekend.
"It was our biggest March Madness ever as far as the handle and number of tickets written," Director of Trading for BetMGM Jeff Stoneback said. "For us, 2019 (pre-pandemic) was a record year. This year, we easily topped that. The trend continues that every year, we're writing more and more tickets."
Blangsted-Barnor said he sees John Calipari's Wildcats as this year's bracket buster, and wouldn't be surprised if the North Carolina Tar Heels, well, pulls off another surprise.
"The biggest shock to me has to be Kentucky. This is a team that three of our talent had in their Final Four picks, so to be out that early was a huge shock," Blangsted-Barnor said. "Going into the next round, UNC feel like the best underdog with a shot to upset, after already knocking out Baylor and now facing a UCLA team that I have long thought are shaky this year."
Stoneback said St. Patrick's Day (March 17, the first day of the round of 64 games) was a good one for the sportsbooks as No. 15 seed Saint Peter's upset Kentucky in overtime and No. 5 Saint Mary's routed No. 12 Indiana, a five-time NCAA champion. The next day, No. 11 Notre Dame upset No. 6 Alabama.
"On St. Patrick's Day, Saint Mary's and Saint Peter's were our two biggest winners," Stoneback said. "And Notre Dame played the next day, and it was our biggest winner."
The remaining No. 1 seeds — Gonzaga, Arizona and Kansas — are popular with bettors.
"Gonzaga is our only liability left in the tournament, and Arizona isn't great for us," Stoneback said.
Blangstead-Barnor likes the path to the title game for the Jayhawks as the second and third seeds in the Midwest Region have been eliminated.
"I think Kansas probably looks like the strongest team from what we’ve seen so far," he said.
Are you riding with the Tar Heels to pull off yet another upset this week? Or will you go chalky with the Jayhawks? If you would like to get a few bucks down on the Sweet 16, head over to FOX Bet to place your wagers.
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