As we head into the final stages of March Madness, things are heating up. We’ve now reached the Elite 8 stage, but which of the remaining eight teams will be crowned champions this year? We have made our March Madness finals predictions, but what are yours?
In this guide we take a look at the March Madness favorites, betting odds, tips and strategies and the best bets to make at these late stages. We also reveal where to bet on March Madness and different betting promos available. Read on to learn more…
Every year starting in March and running through to April, the best of the best college men’s basketball teams go head-to-head in the NCAA tournament. Basketball fans across the US and abroad get hooked on this absorbing tournament, with many avid sports fans, bettors and public in general all making their predictions on which team will be crowned national champions.
Games are wild, the competition is rife and the unpredictability of the tournament all contribute to the fitting name “March Madness”.
The 2023 tournament saw UConn take the title. They are also the favorites to ‘do the double’ and win this year’s tournament. Things are certainly looking good for them, and they breezxed through the Sweet 16 stage by beating San Diego 82-52, but let’s wait and see.
We are down to the Elite 8 of the tournament. We have UConn and Illinois from the East, Clemson and Alabama from the West, Duke and North Carolina State from the South and Purdue and Tennessee from the Midwest.
After research a few sportsbooks, these are the odds given to each of these teams.
| Team | Odds |
|---|---|
| UConn | +125 |
| Purdue | +350 |
| Tennessee | +750 |
| Duke | +850 |
| Alabama | +1800 |
| Illinois | +1800 |
| North Carolina State | +3000 |
| Clemson | +4000 |
If you are unsure what these figures mean, here is a short explanation.
Take UConn with odds + 125. This means you need to bet $100 to win $125. These are all positive (+) odds, so that is the amount you will when betting $100. If they were negative odds (-), for example, -300, you will need to bet $300 in order to win $100.
We have looked at the stats, team performances and individual player performances and have made our predictions. This is how we predict the remaining rounds of March Madness will go.
For only the fifth time since the tournament has been running, we saw all number 1 and number 2 seeds reach the Sweet 16. Only three of those top teams progressed to the Elite 8.
| Elite 8 | Final 4 | Final | Champions |
|---|---|---|---|
| UConn VS Illinois | UConn VS Alabama | UConn VS Purdue | UConn |
| Clemson VS Alabama | |||
| Duke VS North Carolina State | Duke VS Purdue | ||
| Purdue VS Tennessee |
There have been a few players that have stood out and would make great candidates for the most outstanding player. Based on player performance, these are the guys to keep an eye on in each team:
| Team | Player(s) |
|---|---|
| Clemson Tigers | Chase Hunter |
| Alabama Crimson Tide | Grant Nelson, Mark Sears |
| North Carolina State Wolfpack | DJ Horne |
| Duke Blue Devils | Kyle Filipowski |
| Illinois Fighting Illini | Terrance Shannon |
| Tennessee Volunteers | Dalton Knecht |
| Purdue Boilermakers | Zach Edey |
| Connecticut Huskies | Cam Spencer, Donovan Clingan, Tristan Newton |
The Connecticut Huskies (UConn) have a few great players currently on form. That means they don’t need to rely on one player predominantly, which has made them consistently dominant in the tournament.
Fans love to watch the teams who score the most goals, but remember that a strong defence can win a championship too. Which teams have had the best offense this year? We have taken the well-known adjusted offense method and ranked the top 5 offenses of the tournament.
| Team | Points Total |
|---|---|
| UConn Huskies | 126.5 |
| Illinois Fighting Illini | 125.5 |
| Alabama Crimson Tide | 125.5 |
| Purdue Boilermakers | 125.0 |
| Duke Blue Devils | 121.8 |
From all of these stats, predictions and odds, it looks like UConn remain the form favorites for this year’s championship.
If you are new to betting on the March Madness craze, then you may be feeling very overwhelmed and not know how to bet on March Madness or where to even start. Once you get the hang of it, you will realize it is simple. The first thing you need to do is do your research on a few of the best sports betting sites.
Make sure you find a fully licensed and reputable site. Check that they offer March Madness bracket bets that suit you. The rest is easy. Once you have chosen the site, follow these steps.
Many top sportsbooks offer exclusive March Madness sports betting promos while the tournament is running. These promotions are there to encourage you to join the sportsbook, help increase the odds that are available and give your bets better value.
As with all sportsbook and casino bonuses, these offers do come with terms and conditions that you will need to be aware of.
There are a few different types of promotions that will be available, these are the most common ones you will come across.
Going into the elite 8, final four and the championship game, these are the best bets and March Madness betting trends that you should follow when making your March Madness finals predictions.
This type of bet involves the sportsbook giving a points advantage to the underdogs and a handicap to the favorites. If you bet on the favorites, they will need to not only win the game, but make sure they win by the points spread. The underdogs can either win the game outright no matter by how many points, or they can lose within the spread.
This is a good way to even things out and also makes your betting interesting.
This bet does not involve the outcome of the game at all. Here you will bet on the totals of the two teams combined. The sportsbook will set a total and you will bet whether you think it will be more (over) or less (under) that total.
Another bet that doesn’t involve the outcome of the game is prop bets. Here you are betting on a certain player’s individual performance. For example, how many goals he will score or how many meters he will run. A good bet here is also who will be the players of the match.
Parlays are tricky bets because you will need to predict the entire parlay correctly to win the bet. This bet involves making one wager for many different bets. Same-game parlays are when all the events will happen in one game and multi-game parlays you can combine bets from different games into one.
Here are the winners of the NCAA tournament since 2012. A few names are repeated a few times, otherwise things are rather spread out. You can use this information and your March Madness strategy when you make your March Madness finals predictions.
| Year | Champions | Runner-Up |
|---|---|---|
| 2023 | UConn | San Diago State |
| 2022 | Kansas | North Carolina |
| 2021 | Baylor | Gonzaga |
| 2020 | Cancelled – Covid 19 | - |
| 2019 | Virginia | Texas Tech |
| 2018 | Villanova | Michigan |
| 2017 | North Carolina | Gonzaga |
| 2016 | Villanova | North Carolina |
| 2015 | Duke | Wisconsin |
| 2014 | Connecticut | Kentucky |
| 2013 | Louisville | Michigan |
| 2012 | Kentucky | Kansas |
Things are definitely getting exciting. Will it be a nail-biting finish? Make sure you use the information in this guide to help you make your March Madness finals predictions. We have provided the March Madness finals odds and best bets for you to make.
Good luck – and let’s hope the best team wins.
March Madness is a men’s college basketball tournament which takes places every March into April. It is also known as the NCAA tournament.
2023 champions UConn are the favorites for winning March Madness again this year.
Connecticut University, UConn won the NCAA tournament in 2023.
UConn are going in with the best odds of winning the tournament this year.
Calculating odds involves analysing and assessing different outcomes in the tournament. Team performance, experience and individual player performance are all factors that get considered.
+100
1.0
-110
-200
-3.5
-105
-152
-3.0
-102
-592
-10.5
-104
+106
1.5
-110
+154
3.5
-115
-150
-3.0
-102
+950
14.0
-105
+320
7.5
-105
+164
3.5
-110
-218
-4.5
-105
-450
-8.5
-108
-350
-7.5
+100
-1000
-13.5
-105
+102
1.5
-110
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