Bettors Like the Tar Heels for the Championship
Man are we ever close to the start of March Madness.
Selection Sunday is a little more than a week away and the opening-round game in Dayton, Ohio takes place on St. Patrick’s Day…it all starts very soon.
As the clock ticks down the Big Dance, bettors at online sportsbooks have been taking aim at the NCAA Championship Future Odds.
As it stands right now, the University of Connecticut Huskies and the North Carolina Tar Heels are the consensus No. 1 and No. 2 teams in both the Associated Press and ESPN/USA Today polls respectively and after that some combination of Oklahoma, Pittsburgh and Memphis to round out the Top 5.
– While currently the top team in the nation, UConn isn’t the odds-on favorites to take the national championship but they are one of the favorites at +600.
Tied with Louisville for the Big East lead with a conference record of 15-2, the Huskies have an overall record of 27-2 SU and a barely profitable ATS record of 13-12; UConn hasn’t been good at home ATS at 6-9 but has been very profitable on the road at 7-3 ATS.
Historically, the Huskies don’t really look like a team that bettors should hitch their March Madness wagons to as they are only 11-9 SU and a wallet-draining 4-15-1 ATS in their last 20 games in the month of March.
Where Connecticut has been profitable however, is the Total as they have gone 14-6 on the Over/Under in the same time and are currently on a 6-0 Over streak.
12% of the futures wagering volume is coming in on the UConn.
– Sitting as the No. 2 team in the nation with an overall record of 26-3 and tops in the ultra-competitive ACC with a 12-3 conference record, the North Carolina Tar Heels find themselves listed as the odds-on favorite to win March Madness at +300.
They are receiving 21% of all the future odds wagering action at SPORTSBETTING.COM.
– Ranked third in the AP poll and fourth in the ESPN/USA Today poll, the Pittsburgh Panthers have been a very solid college hoops team in more than one way standing with a 27-3 record SU and a 16-8 record ATS (10-4 ATS at home and 6-4 on the road).
In Pitt’s last 20 March games, it is 13-7 SU and 11-9 ATS and like the two aforementioned teams, it tends to go Over the Total in the same 20 games with an O/U record of 14-6.
Listed at +400, the Panthers are seeing 14% of the futures betting action.
– Like their college football brothers, the Oklahoma basketball Sooners will seek to make a trip to the national championship, although these Sooners would like to actually win; OU is listed at +800 and is the AP’s fourth-ranked team and the ESPN/USA Today’s No. 5.
Oklahoma owns a 26-4 record SU, 12-3 Big East conference record and a 14-11 ATS mark; 6-7 at home and 8-4 on the road.
The Sooners’ last 20 games in March have yielded more losses than wins as they are 9-11 SU and 6-14 ATS and unlike UConn, UNC and Pitt, Oklahoma’s March Totals tend to be on the low side with only 7 Overs and 13 Unders.
Oklahoma is only seeing 11% of the action.
– The Louisville Cardinals are not in the Top 5 but they aren’t far off either, currently ranked sixth in both polls and as mentioned, tied with UConn for the lead in the Big East—they are also listed at +1000 to take the NCAA hoops title.
While owning three more losses (24-5) than the Huskies, the Cards have been a more reliable bet going 17-12 against the spread.
They have been profitable in March as well going 12-8 SU and ATS.
The Cardinals are seeing the least action of this group with only 10% of the wagers going on Louisville.
There are some great contests arriving now that March Madness is so close.
SPORTSBETTING.COM has announced their $1 Million Hoops Madness Contest.
