After a wild conference tournament weekend, and a surprise-filled Selection Sunday, the 2014 March Madness bracket is finally here. The Virginia Cavaliers ended up locking up the last No. 1 seed after beating Duke in the ACC Championship, and now lead a East region that many predict Michigan State will win.
With the field set, it’s time for our biggest NCAA tournament odds update of the year. 68 teams are left standing in the quest to cut down the nets on April 7th, here’s a look at the most prominent betting storylines in each of the four regions now that bracketology is in full swing.
[sc:MarchMadness ]March Madness Odds Update
East Region Favorite Michigan State Rockets to the Top
[sc:NCAAB240banner ]After defeating the Michigan Wolverines in the Big Ten Championship on Sunday, thus denying them a probable No. 1 seed, the Michigan State Spartans are riding high. They have now defeated two teams ranked in the top 12 in the nation in the last week (Wisconsin and Michigan), won four of their last five, and are 5-0 against the spread during that time.
Making the situation even rosier for the Spartans, they’ve drawn themselves a cushy spot in the bracket. The top seed in their region, the East, is the weakest of the four No. 1s, and many expect the toughest test for Branden Dawson and co could be as late as the Elite 8, where they could meet Iowa State, who are priced at +650 to win the region.
Oddsmakers agree it’s a good time to be a Sparty fan. Michigan State is favored to win the NCAA East Region at +230, just ahead of the +280 Virginia Cavaliers, who they will likely face in the Sweet 16. Michigan State is also the second favorite for the national championship at +500.
Louisville Favored in a Hyper-Competitive Midwest Region
Sunday was a tough day for Wichita State, who weren’t shown much respect by the Selection Committee despite going 34-0 this season. The Shockers were placed in easily the toughest quarter of the bracket, along with two of the other four Final Four participants from 2013. The odds reflect the Committee’s lack of respect, though, as they are just the third-favorite to make it to Arlington out of the Midwest at +400.
Rick Pitino’s Louisville Cardinals team has made an impressive push leading up to March Madness that has them favored to win this stacked region at +135. Last year’s champions put away a strong UConn team to win the AAC final 71-61.
Louisville comes in playing their best ball of the season and will be a handful for any team, including second-favorite Duke, who are +350 to win the region and +1,800 to win the entire tournament, the latter of which is up from +1,000 last week.
Creighton to Challenge Arizona in the West Region
The West Region isn’t nearly as loaded up as the Midwest, and Arizona is expected to have a relatively easy path to the Final Four as the regions favorite at +140. They are also near the top of the overall championship odds at +700.
Arizona’s most potent competition in the conference with be the Doug McDermott-led Creighton Bluejays, who are priced at +400 in the region and at a high-value +3,000 to win it all. McDermott is the leading scorer in the nation and could single-handedly pull his team to the Final Four. Standing in his way though is a tough Wisconsin Badgers team (+375) still smarting from their loss to Michigan State in the Big Ten semifinals.
Kansas Wildcats a Wildcard in the South
The Florida Gators are the No. 1-ranked team in the nation going into the Madness, are the favorite to win the national championship at +400, and will play their first two games in the very friendly city of Orlando Florida. And with the softest 3-seed in the field, the suddenly-terrible Syracuse Orange, they are +150 to win the South’s Final Four bid.
And yet, the Wildcats are far from safe. Many, many experts have predicted that the Kansas Jayhawks–the number 2 in the South–will beat the Gators and go on to (at least) the national final.
Why? Two reasons: Andrew Wiggins and Joel Embiid. Embiid is injured but his coach Bill Self has tweeted that the team is expecting Embiid back in the line up by the Sweet 16, just in time to face the Gators in their probable Elite 8 showdown. With Embiid’s injury report looking as good as it does, Kansas is +375 to win the region and the third favorite to cut down the nets at +700.
2014 NCAA National Championship Odds Round Up
| Rank | School | Odds to Win NCAA Title |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Florida | +400 |
| 2 | Wichita State | +1,200 |
| 3 | Virginia | +1,600 |
| 4 | Arizona | +700 |
| 5 | Louisville | +900 |
| 6 | Villanova | +1,600 |
| 7 | Michigan | +2,500 |
| 8 | Duke | +1,800 |
| 9 | Iowa State | +3,000 |
| 10 | Kansas | +700 |
With that, you’re all set to bet on the NCAA Championship today! And don’t forget you can find all the odds, predictions, and March Madness news you need at Top Bet all the way through the tournament.
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