As the March Madness bracket was unveiled Sunday afternoon, The SuperBook at Westgate’s NCAA Tournament odds board filled up with almost all the first-round games. The only ones missing: Four matchups awaiting results of those play-in games.
But the other 28 Thursday/Friday matchups are certainly more than enough to whet bettors’ appetites. And of course, you can wager on those Tuesday/Wednesday play-in games, too.
So which contests were the most intriguing to bettors in the wake of Sunday’s big reveal? Multiple sportsbook insiders discussed the matchups that are seeing early money and line movement in the March Madness odds market.
Sharp Bets Land On SuperBook NCAA Tournament Odds
Rex Beyers, risk manager at The SuperBook, succinctly summed up early action Sunday night, a couple of hours after the bracket landed: “There’s not too much public money in the pool tonight.”
Among the games getting a good early look from sharper players: Friday’s East Region battle between N0. 11 seed Virginia Tech and No. 5 seed Texas.
“They can’t get enough of Virginia Tech against Texas,” Beyers said. “We opened Texas -2, and now it’s a pick ’em.”
In another Friday tilt, from the South Region, No. 15 seed Delaware drew interest against No. 2 seed Villanova.
“Delaware is a very popular side against ‘Nova. Sharp money on Delaware +16.5,” Beyers said. “We opened 16.5 and are down to 16 now. And I contemplated 15.5 before deciding against it.”
A second No. 15 vs. No. 2 matchup is also seeing early activity on the big ‘dog. Duke opened -18 and is down a notch to -17.5 vs. No. 15 seed Cal State Fullerton. Beyers noted a respected customer took Fullerton +18 in the Friday West Region contest.
But it wasn’t entirely professional cash coming in Sunday night.
“South Dakota State is a public side,” Beyers said of the 13th-seeded Jackrabbits’ Thursday tilt against No. 4 seed Providence, which opened as just a 2.5-point favorite, then slipped to -2. “Everyone thinks Providence is a phony, but I don’t see why you would cut in line to try to take South Dakota State +2. About a decade ago, this game would have been [Providence] -5 or -6.
“There are a lot of pseudo-sharps flooding the market these days. This game is one example of that.”
Beyers also said the Tuesday play-in game between co-12 seeds Indiana and Wyoming in the East Region was drawing dollars. “Great two-way action. Lots of interest in that one,” he said.
Thursday’s West matchup of No. 13 Vermont vs. No. 4 Arkansas was an attention-grabber, too. “Lots of Vermont money at +6 against Arkansas, which I’m OK with,” Beyers said, noting The SuperBook dipped to Razorbacks -5.
‘Feeding Frenzy’ On BetMGM March Madness Odds
BetMGM Nevada got its NCAA Tournament lines up in fairly short order after Sunday’s selection show, and bettors were quick to fire away.
“We had a bunch of bets, a little feeding frenzy when they first opened. All sharp play,” BetMGM Nevada’s Scott Shelton said of activity at the company’s Las Vegas operations. “There was immediate play on Richmond vs. Iowa.”
That’s a 12 vs. 5 matchup, so perhaps action there was no surprise. Over the years, a No. 12 seems to regularly take out a No. 5 in the first round. BetMGM Nevada opened No. 5 Iowa as a 10.5-point chalk, and the number quickly dipped to -9.5 for the Thursday Midwest Region meeting.
No. 12 UAB vs. No. 5 Houston also got some attention, but going toward the favorite for a Friday game in the South Region.
“Houston opened -7.5, and we took a couple of pops on the Cougars. We’re up to -8.5,” Shelton said.
And the Ivy League got a little early love, as well.
“Yale against Purdue was another hot play,” Shelton said of the No. 14 Bulldogs-No. 3 Boilermakers East Region matchup Friday. “We opened Purdue -17.5, and we’re down to -15.5.”
As was the case up the street at The SuperBook, No. 4 Arkansas vs. No. 13 Vermont attracted solid action at BetMGM Nevada — but in the opposite direction. While SuperBook bettors hammered Vermont pretty good, the money at Shelton’s shop was almost all Razorbacks, who made a speedy jump from -4.5 to -6.5.
“It was a mini-feeding frenzy on Arkansas,” Shelton said. “But now we’ve settled at Arkansas -5.5.”
Shelton also pointed to the No. 1 overall seed on the March Madness betting board.
“Good action on both sides of Gonzaga-Georgia State,” he said of the Zags’ Thursday opener against the 16th-seeded Panthers. “We opened Gonzaga -26.5 and immediately took several bets on Georgia State. We got down to -23.5, then up to -24.5. Sharp play on both sides there.”
WynnBet Gives Irish Play-In Nod
Notre Dame will start this big basketball show on the secondary stage, hoping to play its way onto the main stage. The Fighting Irish and Rutgers will meet in a Wednesday play-in game of co-11 seeds in the West. Most books opened Rutgers as a modest 1-point chalk in the NCAA Tournament odds market, but WynnBet senior trader Motoi Pearson saw it differently.
“Our numbers had Notre Dame -1, and although we have respect for Rutgers, [the Scarlet Knights] have just played poorly down the stretch in the Big Ten,” Pearson said.
Other books ultimately moved toward WynnBet’s number, with Notre Dame going to pick or -1 at multiple shops by late Sunday night. WynnBet’s risk room also thought No. 4 seed Arkansas opening as high as -6.5 at other books was too rich against No. 13 seed Vermont in a West Region Thursday contest. WynnBet opened Arkansas -4 and moved to -4.5, while others who had the Hogs a larger favorite have shortened toward WynnBet’s number, with mostly 5s and 5.5s out there late Sunday night.
“We’ve had Vermont power-rated highly all season, despite [the Catamounts] playing out of a smaller conference,” Pearson said of the America East champs. “We think that matchup suits up well for Vermont.”