March Madness Odds: How To Craft Your Bets

College basketball’s biggest event is the most exciting time of the season, with the men’s NCAA Tournament ranking as the most watched and wagered sporting event. A big part of the excitement is attempting to fill out a perfect bracket and determining how to craft your bets as the games, March Madness odds and regional matchups are released.

Many leading online sportsbooks will be offering more watch and wager options for betting on the NCAA Tournament. As you analyze the brackets, bet types and strategies on Fanduel and craft your bets, take a look at the NCAA odds and daily college basketball picks and bets to guide you towards more easy baskets.

Last Year’s Men’s NCAA Tournament Winner And Final Four

The top seed Connecticut Huskies won the 2024 NCAA Tournament for the second year in a row under head coach Dan Hurley, who appeared on CBS News and 60 Minutes March 9.

The UConn Huskies defeated all six opponents in the tournament by at least 13 points, including No. 1 seed Purdue in the NCAA championship game. No. 4 seed Alabama also made the Final Four along with No. 11 North Carolina State, who tied an NCAA Tournament record as the lowest seed to make the Final Four—joining just five other teams in March Madness history.

This Year’s Men’s NCAA Tournament Favorites

Last year’s NCAA Tournament played more to form with all four No. 1 and No. 2 seeds advancing to the Sweet Sixteen. Also, 21 of the last 22 National Champions have finished in the top 20 in KenPom’s offensive and defensive adjusted efficiency rankings.

With those March Madness odds, stats and trends in mind, the current teams with the stat profiles most likely to win 2025 March Madness are included below, along with current odds to win the NCAA Tournament.

Leading favorites, contenders and NCAA Tournament basketball odds from FanDuel Sportsbook refresh periodically and are subject to change, including on props and live betting.

• +340: Duke (No. 1 offense, No. 4 defense)
• +390: Auburn (1, 14)
• +750: Florida (3, 10)
• +750: Houston (10, 2)

Other Teams To Watch

• +1100: Alabama (4, 31)
• +1800: Tennessee (22, 1)
• +2000: Michigan State (28, 5)
• +3000: Iowa State (29, 6)
• +3000: Texas Tech (7, 27)
• +4000: Texas A&M (44, 7)
• +6500: Arizona (13, 29)
• +6500: Clemson (18, 21)
• +6500: Connecticut (14, 96)

Men’s NCAA Tournament Teams To Avoid

Villanova in 1985 was the lowest seed to ever win the NCAA Tournament, and the Wildcats were an 8-seed. Follow the NCAA basketball conference tournaments this week and track the winners and automatic bids to teams from the smaller conferences, who will be seeded lower in the NCAA Tournament. Those teams have the longest odds and are least likely to win 2025 March Madness.

How Does Betting Work In March Madness?

Many NCAA Tournament bracket pools are available to enter on major media sites like ESPN, CBS, Yahoo and NCAA.com bracket challenge.

Also, top online sportsbooks like FanDuel, DraftKings, BetMGM, Caesars, Fanatics and ESPN BET have bracket contests while also offering daily college basketball odds, props and promotions for betting each game during 2025 March Madness.

While online betting is legal in nearly 40 states with easy access also available for mobile betting, the three most populous states in the U.S. do not offer betting at U.S. Sportsbooks—California, Texas and Florida. These are also states where some of college basketball’s top teams play, like Florida, Houston and some major SEC and Big 12 programs. Also, dozens of college basketball programs in California, including Big West teams, perennial power San Diego State in the Mountain West and UCLA, who will be in 2025 March Madness out of the Big Ten. Other states that don’t yet offer betting at U.S. sportsbooks include Alabama, Georgia, South Carolina and Missouri, with the Auburn Tigers and Alabama Crimson Tide ranked No. 1 and No. 2 last month when they met in Tuscaloosa.

The American Gaming Association estimates out next week for NCAA Tournament betting will show Americans wagering nearly $3 billion on the NCAA men’s and women’s college basketball tournaments. Those gigantic sums of money do not include bets placed outside of the U.S. The amount wagered on 2025 March Madness will be three to four times that amount when including offshore, online sportsbooks outside the U.S. like Panama-based BetOnline, which has been a market leader for more than 30 years providing more betting options, contests and NCAA bracket pools for fans.

Almost no other sports playoff produces a level of interest so far above the draw of its regular season. College basketball and the NCAA Tournament draws intense interest as a most exciting watch and wager event, with three weeks of sports betting options on the road to the Final Four in San Antonio. The fun of building a NCAA Tournament bracket, reviewing stats, matchups and odds on FanDuel while crafting your bets, picks and props throughout the tournament help this popularity endure.

You can bet on it.

Originally published in Forbes March 11.