Betting On The First Four
Two games will tip off this year’s March Madness Tournament tomorrow at 1:00 PM. The winners will be selected among the final 64 teams competing for the 2025 College Basketball National Championship.
The North Carolina Tarheels have hoisted multiple tournament titles but barely qualified as an 11 seed this year. Only four ACC programs made it to March Madness: the top-seeded Duke Blue Devils, the Clemson Tigers (#5), the Louisville Cardinals (#8), and North Carolina.
The Tarheels are favored by four tomorrow, and Alabama State is also projected to move on to the first round.
North Carolina (#11) vs. San Diego State (#11)
- Spread: NC -4.0 (-120), SD +4.0 (EVEN)
- Moneyline: NC -195, SD +165
- Over: 142.0 (-110)
- Under: 142.0 (-110)
St. Francis PA (#16) vs. Alabama State (#16)
- Spread: SF +3.5 (-110), AS -3.5 (-110)
- Moneyline: SF +140, AS -165
- Over: 140.0 (-110)
- Under: 140.0 (-110)
Wednesday at 1:00 PM, two more First Four games will begin. College basketball betting sites suggest that American will narrowly get beyond Mount St. Mary’s.
Mount St. Mary’s MD (#16) vs. American (#16)
- Spread: MSM +2.5 (-115), American -2.5 (-105)
- Moneyline: MSM +120, American -140
- Over: 129.0 (-110)
- Under: 129.0 (-110)
Neither Xavier nor Texas has ever won a college basketball national championship, but both programs routinely qualify for the tournament. This combination of elite ball clubs will bring attention not normally granted to a first four match-up.
Xavier (#11) vs. Texas (#11)
- Spread: Xavier -3.0 (-110), TX +3.0 (-110)
- Moneyline: Xavier -150, TX +130
- Over: 149.5 (-110)
- Under: 149.5 (-110)
Who Will Win March Madness?
When perusing the March Madness futures for this year’s tourney, the ranking for potential winners falls mainly in line with the seeding. The first program to break the trend is the Arizona Wildcats.
Arizona is a four-seed but rates eighth overall, according to the latest tournament odds. The Wildcats won the tournament in 1997 and made it to the finals in 2001.
The Gonzaga Bulldogs and the UConn Huskies are two more outliers, both eight seeds. Gonzaga has made it to the field of 64 every season since 1999 and has lost in the finals twice.
UConn won the last two national championships in a row but wasn’t as dominant on the hardcourt this season.
National Championship Odds For March Madness 2025
- Duke (#1) +300
- Florida (#1) +350
- Auburn (#1) +400
- Houston (#1) +700
- Alabama (#2) +1600
- Tennessee (#2) +1600
- St. John’s (#2) +2000
- Arizona (#4) +2500
- Michigan State (#2) +2500
- Texas Tech (#3) +2800
- Gonzaga (#8) +3300
- Iowa State (#3) +4000
- Connecticut (#8) +5000
- Illinois (#6) +5000
- Kentucky (#3) +5000
- Maryland (#4) +5000
- Wisconsin (#3) +5000
- Kansas (#7) +6600
- Missouri (#6) +6600
- Purdue (#4) +6600
- Clemson (#5) +7500
- Texas A&M (#4) +8000
- BYU (#6) +10000
- Louisville (#8) +10000
- Memphis (#5) +10000
- Mississippi (#6) +10000
- Saint Mary’s CA (#7) +10000
- Michigan (#5) +12500
- UCLA (#7) +12500
- Marquette (#7) +15000
- Baylor (#9) +17500
- Creighton (#9) +20000
- Mississippi State (#8) +20000
- Virginia Commonwealth (#11) +20000
- Drake (#11) +25000
- Georgia (#9) +25000
- New Mexico (#10) +25000
- North Carolina (#11) +25000
- Oregon (#5) +25000
- San Diego State (#11) +25000
- Oklahoma (#9) +30000
- UC San Diego (#12) +30000
- Arkansas (#10) +75000
- Akron (#13) +100000
- Alabama State (#16) +100000
- American (#16) +100000
- Bryant (#15) +100000
- Colorado State (#12) +100000
- Grand Canyon (#13) +100000
- High Point (#13) +100000
- Liberty (#12) +100000
- Lipscomb (#14) +100000
- McNeese State (#12) +100000
- Montana (#14) +100000
- Mount St. Mary’s MD (#16) +100000
- NC Wilmington (#14) +100000
- Nebraska Omaha (#15) +100000
- Norfolk State (#16) +100000
- Robert Morris (#15) +100000
- SIU Edwardsville (#16) +100000
- St. Francis PA (#16) +100000
- Texas (#11) +100000
- Troy (#14) +100000
- Utah State (#10) +100000
- Vanderbilt (#10) +100000
- Wofford (#15) +100000
- Xavier (#11) +100000
- Yale (#13) +100000
One of the most surprising programs to qualify for the field is the St. John’s Red Storm. They haven’t made it into the tournament since 2019, but this year, under head coach Rick Pitino, they are a 2-seed.
Despite their high seed, 18+ sportsbooks have placed a +2000 moneyline on the Red Storm’s chances of winning the tourney.
The SEC has set the record for most teams in the tournament at 14, breaking the previous mark set by the Big East in 2011 with 11 teams.
