2021 March Madness Betting Games: News, Odds, Picks & Betting Tools
March Madness is a three-week sports betting extravaganza. Sports bettors have 67 March Madness betting games to wager on, giving you the chance to make some major coin. And that’s on top of your bracket pool!
With a variety of different March Madness betting games and formats, Odds Shark’s NCAA college basketball experts have broken down each individual game (from the play-in games to the Final Four) and analyzed the odds to help you handicap your college basketball bets.
Our Favorite March Madness Betting Sites
March Madness Odds
When it comes to betting on college basketball, you need a basic understanding of the sport and the types of March Madness betting games and formats you can take advantage of to be a winner. We’ve analyzed the regular season and conference tournaments to have you covered with free odds on every single March Madness betting option and in-depth analysis of each market.
Make Bets not Brackets
With a 1 in 9.2 quintillion shot at perfection, making and following a March Madness tournament bracket can be painful. We say, don’t bracket, BET. With spreads, props, moneylines, OVER/UNDERs and futures odds to bet on, your options are endless.
March Madness Picks
Regardless of what March Madness betting games or formats you choose to bet on, the NCAA Basketball Tournament is full of surprises. Will a 1 seed get eliminated early? Which team will write this year’s Cinderella story? Which teams play in the first round? We have everything you need to make smart picks on all your March Madness bets and identify those surprise upsets to boost your bankroll.
March Madness Betting for Dummies!
- Need to learn the basics of college basketball betting?
- Just looking for a place to play?
NCAA College Basketball: Weekly Best Bets
Sat, Mar 6, 9:10am
2021 March Madness Tournament: Odds Shark’s Bets over Brackets
Fri, Mar 5, 10:24am
Big Ten Basketball Championship Odds: Michigan leads the pack
Thu, Mar 4, 11:25am
Pac-12 Tournament Odds: USC On Top
Wed, Mar 3, 3:50pm
Odds To Win Big 12 Tournament: Baylor Is The Team To Beat
Wed, Mar 3, 1:20pm
How Does the March Madness Basketball Tournament Work?
The college b-ball event is typically divided into four regions: East, West, Midwest and South. Each contains at least 16 teams, with four additional teams added as per the selection committee, to produce a playing field consisting of 68 schools. This committee is also responsible for seeding and keeping squads from the same conferences from playing each other until the regional finals. They do this to create an air of fairness. It’s also great for bettors since it makes your wagers way more interesting, especially if you can correctly pick a team to win the NCAA Tournament.
Single-Elimination Basketball Games
The NCAA Men’s Division 1 competition is to sports betting what the Super Bowl is to … sports betting. March Madness odds can be very good to bettors since the seven-round tournament operates on a “you lose, you’re out” basis. If you handicap your bets correctly, you could get a lower-seeded team at plus money (+) and clean up when the favored high seed they’re facing fizzles out like a dying star.
When a low seed prevails, they are referred to as “Cinderella” because they have a group of talking mice helping them dress for the games. Just kidding! Cinderella is also another way to say that an “underdog” team is performing better than expected.
This is how March Madness unfolds:
1. The First Four (to determine which four additional teams will participate)
2. The first round (64 teams)
3. The second round (32 teams)
4. The regional semifinals (Sweet 16)
5. The regional finals (Elite Eight)
6. The national semifinals (Final Four)
7. The national championship game
Betting on March Madness
Take your pick from the following betting options:
- Moneyline: Picking a team to win straight up. If the Duke Blue Devils are facing off against the Michigan State Spartans for an Elite Eight matchup, you would pick one squad over the other to triumph.
- Point Spread: Choosing the favored team to win by more than a specified number of points set by oddsmakers, or the underdog to win outright or lose by fewer than that specific number of points.
- Totals: A bet on whether the total combined final score will be OVER or UNDER the number set by oddsmakers.
- Props: Bets related to brackets and player stats like rebounds, field goals, etc.
- Futures: Bets that can be made weeks or even months in advance of the tournament. For instance, in October you could pick North Carolina to win the championship game.
- Parlays: Multiple bets on one ticket.
- Live Betting: Making a bet while the game is going on. Live betting odds disappear fast. If you see betting lines you like, take them quickly.
As in any professional sport, there are certain teams and conferences that dominate like Meryl Streep at the Oscars. Some programs have the tools, talent, and the best coaches in college basketball history to stave off elimination and win multiple national titles.
| School | Number of Titles | Years | Winning Coach/es |
|---|---|---|---|
| UCLA | 11 | 1964, 1965, 1967, 1968, 1969, 1970, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1995 | John Wooden (10), Jim Harrick (1) |
| Kentucky | 8 | 1948, 1949, 1951, 1958, 1978, 1996, 1998, 2012 | Adolph Rupp (4), Joe Hall (1), Rick Pitino (1) Tubby Smith (1), John Calipari (1) |
| UNC | 6 | 1957, 1982, 1993, 2005, 2009, 2017 | Frank McGuire (1), Dean Smith (2), Roy Williams (3) |
| Duke | 5 | 1991, 1992, 2001, 2010, 2015 | Mike Krzyzewski aka Coach K (5) |
| Indiana | 5 | 1940, 1953, 1976, 1981, 1987 | Branch McCracken (2), Bob Knight (3) |
| UConn | 4 | 1999, 2004, 2011, 2014 | Jim Calhoun (3), Kevin Ollie (1) |
| Villanova | 3 | 1985, 2016, 2018 | Rollie Massimino (1), Jay Wright (2) |
| Kansas | 3 | 1952, 1988, 2008 | Phog Allen (1), Larry Brown (1), Bill Self (1) |
| Louisville | 2 | 1980, 1986, 2013* (vacated) | Denny Crum (2), Rick Pitino (1)* vacated |
| Cincinnati | 2 | 1961, 1962 | Ed Jucker (2) |
| Florida | 2 | 2006, 2007 | Billy Donovan (2) |
| Michigan State | 2 | 1979, 2000 | Jud Heathcote (1), Tom Izzo (1) |
| North Carolina State | 2 | 1974, 1983 | Norm Sloan (1), Jim Valvano (1) |
| Oklahoma State | 2 | 1945, 1946 | Henry Iba (2) |
| San Francisco | 2 | 1955, 1956 | Phil Woolpert (2) |
| Wisconsin | 1 | 1941 | Bud Foster |
| Oregon | 1 | 1939 | Howard Hobson |
| Stanford | 1 | 1942 | Everett Dean |
| Wyoming | 1 | 1943 | Everett Shelton |
| Utah | 1 | 1944 | Vadal Peterson |
| Holy Cross | 1 | 1947 | Doggie Julian |
| CCNY | 1 | 1950 | Nat Holman |
| La Salle | 1 | 1954 | Ken Loeffler |
| California | 1 | 1959 | Pete Newell |
| Ohio State | 1 | 1960 | Fred Taylor |
| Loyola Chicago | 1 | 1963 | George Ireland |
| UTEP | 1 | 1966 | Don Haskins |
| Marquette | 1 | 1977 | Al Maguire |
| Georgetown | 1 | 1984 | John Thompson |
| Michigan | 1 | 1989 | Steve Fisher |
| UNLV | 1 | 1990 | Jerry Tarkanian |
| Arkansas | 1 | 1994 | Nolan Richardson |
| Arizona | 1 | 1997 | Lute Olson |
| Maryland | 1 | 2002 | Gary Williams |
| Syracuse | 1 | 2003 | Jim Boeheim |
| Virginia | 1 | 2019 | Tony Bennett |
| Round | Site | Date |
|---|---|---|
| Selection Sunday | N/A | March 14 |
| First Four | Indianapolis, Indiana | March 18 |
| First Round | Indianapolis, Indiana | March 19 & 20 |
| Second Round | Indianapolis, Indiana | March 21 & 22 |
| Sweet 16 | Indianapolis, Indiana | March 27 & 28 |
| Elite Eight | Indianapolis, Indiana | March 29 & 30 |
| Final Four | Indianapolis, Indiana | April 3 |
| National Championship | Indianapolis, Indiana | April 5 |
All venues are considered neutral sites. The location of the Final Four is decided years in advance and won’t be changed no matter which teams participate in that part of the tournament.
Whether you’re making different bets or relying on your bracket to get you to the finish line, you can use our Seed vs Seed history results pages as a handicapping device.
The 2021 NCAA Tournament starts on March 18 with the First Four. The Virginia Cavaliers are the reigning champions. Their overtime win over the Texas Tech Red Raiders cemented their place in NCAA lore by turning around their previous season (when they were the first No. 1 seed to lose to a No. 16 seed). In 2019, Kyle Guy was the guy on the court, scoring 24 points in the final, and he was named the NCAA Tournament’s Most Outstanding Player, which goes to show that if you work hard, you too can be drafted 55th overall by the Knicks before being traded to the Kings. Believe in yourself.
March Madness Betting Games FAQ
Where can I bet on March Madness?
If you’re looking to bet on March Madness, check out our list of the best March Madness betting sites online. Each and every NCAAB sportsbook offers special props and betting lines for the annual college basketball tournament. Look no further, as Odds Shark has all the best sites to bet on March Madness.
How do I bet on March Madness?
At Odds Shark, we've put together a comprehensive tutorial that gives you everything you need to know in regards to learning how to bet on March Madness. You'll find an in-depth look at the type of college basketball bets you can make along with how to make them, plus so much more.
Who is the favorite to win March Madness?
The current betting favorite to win March Madness is the Gonzaga Bulldogs. The Baylor Bears are not all that far behind the favored Zags with the Michigan Wolverines, the Ohio State Buckeyes, and the Villanova Wildcats rounding out the Top 5 favored teams to win this year’s March Madness basketball tournament. For further info on favored teams, check out our NCAA basketball odds to win the championship page.
