2021 March Madness Betting Odds Preview
After taking a year off thanks to the pandemic, March Madness finally returns later this week, giving college basketball bettors a feast of games and futures to wager on.
March Madness begins Thursday night with the First Four. This year’s First Four includes teams vying for the No. 11 and 16 seeds in the East and West regions.
First Four games kick off March Madness on Thursday
In the East for the No. 11 seed, the Wichita State Shockers face the Drake Bulldogs. At Bovada Sportsbook, the Bulldogs are slim 1-point favorites. Wichita State is 8-1 straight up in its last nine games but only 3-6 against the spread.
Also in the East in the No. 16 seed matchup, the Appalachian State Mountaineers face the Norfolk State Spartans as a 3-point favorite. As the favorite this season, the Mountaineers were only 5-5 SU and ATS.
In the West, the No. 11 seed game features the Michigan State Spartans vs the UCLA Bruins as a 2.5-point favorite. In their last six games against the Bruins, the Spartans are 1-5 ATS.
Finally, in the No. 16 seed game in the West, the Mount St. Mary’s Mountaineers face the Texas Southern Tigers in a pick’em game. Texas Southern enters the matchup on a nine-game winning streak with a 5-2-2 ATS record.
Unbeaten Gonzaga remains tournament favorite
Turning to the full field, which will consist of 64 teams after the First Four, the Gonzaga Bulldogs are the overall No. 1 seed and in the March Madness futures at Bovada, they’re the tournament favorite at +215.
Gonzaga is a perfect 26-0 SU this season but only 12-12-2 ATS. The Bulldogs get the winner of Norfolk State and Appalachian State in their tournament opener.
Following Gonzaga on the futures odds are the rest of the No. 1 seeds with the Illinois Fighting Illini at +400, the Baylor Bears at +700 and the Michigan Wolverines at +1000.
Illinois starts the tournament as a 23-point favorite vs the Drexel Dragons. When favored in the tournament, Illinois is 9-2 SU and 7-4 ATS in its last 11 games. Drexel was 4-1 ATS as an underdog this season.
Bears face biggest spread of opening round
The Bears currently own the biggest spread in the opening round as 26-point chalk against the Hartford Hawks. When favored by 20 points or more, the Bears have won 15 straight with a 10-5 ATS record. In the tournament, the Bears are a disappointing 2-3 SU and 1-4 ATS in their last five as the favorite.
The last No. 1 seed, Michigan, will face the winner of Mount St. Mary’s and Texas Southern. As a favorite in the tournament, the Wolverines are 15-1 SU and 11-4-1 ATS in their last 16 games.
Outside the No. 1 seeds, the best odds on the futures at Bovada are going to the Houston Cougars (+1600), Iowa Hawkeyes (+2000), Alabama Crimson Tide (+2200), Ohio State Buckeyes (+2200) and Texas Longhorns (+3000).
The lowest seed getting the most respect from oddsmakers is the No. 7 Connecticut Huskies at +5500. On the other end, the highest seed with some of the worst odds is the No. 5 Villanova Wildcats at +10000.