March Madness Predictions

With March Madness just around the corner, there is plenty of anticipation for what is the most popular College event on the US sporting calendar.

Here we take a look at some of the favourites for the tournament.

The Purdue Boilermakers are currently the outright favourites to win the 2024 NCAA Tournament. The number one seeded Boilermakers went 29-6 as they won the Big Ten Conference Tournament title last season, but were upset by 16th seed Farleigh Dickinson in the very first round. Farleigh Dickinson were also ranked last (68th) overall, making history as the first 16-seed out of the First Four to beat a No. 1 seed.

Following the disappointment of their display in last season’s March Madness, Purdue have entered this season with a vengeance, storming to a 9-1 record early on. They are led by 7-foot-4 center Zach Edey, who was named the Big Ten player of the year and National player of the year for the 2023 season, and he is averaging 24.8 points and 10.8 rebounds so far. The Boilermakers haven’t been short of tests so far, and have answered everything that has come their way, having beaten three Top 25 teams already.

It comes as no surprise to see Purdue at the top, as they were pegged as one of the early favourites following the conclusion of last season. They opened the campaign with +1800 odds, but have overtaken the competition, in large part due to the excellent displays of big man Edey.

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Arizona Wildcats currently sit atop the Pac-12 having enjoyed an unbeaten season so far. Their 8-0 record has helped them jump from fifth favourites with odds of +1600, to joint second, with odds of +1100.

Their eight game winning streak has included some impressive wins, none more so than a 78-73 road victory against fellow NCAA Tournament hopefuls Duke. In fact it was this victory which played a huge part in shifting the odds in Arizona’s direction, no single game has had as big of an impact on the numbers as this one. At the time it was an upset, with Arizona defeating a number 1 or 2 team for the first time since 2001.

Whilst they were also first round exits last season, the Wildcats are primed to make a deep run in the upcoming tournament, boasting perhaps the deepest and most balanced roster in the country. They are getting the job done on both offense and defense, ranking third in defensive rating and averaging 94 points a game. They seemed to have found a perfect mix between youth and veteran experience under head coach Tommy Lloyd with talents such as center Oumar Ballo and guard Caleb Love.

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At +1100, the Kansas Jayhawks are joint-second favourites alongside the Arizona Wildcats to win this season’s NCAA Championship. The Jayhawks won it all in 2022, and are well placed to do it again in 2024, especially with the addition of talented big man Hunter Dickinson, who committed to the Big 12 side in May. Not only does the 23-year old provide some crucial leadership, but he also gives the team another scoring presence. He leads all players in rebounds with 12.6 per game, whilst also adding 19.4 points.

They will hope to avoid falling to the same fate as they did last season, where they were upset as the number one seed by eighth seed Arkansas in the second round.

Prior to the start of the season, the Jayhawks were the most popular team to bet on, with 19% of all tickets and 31% of the whole market backing the team, according to BetMGM. Their opening odds of +1600 have since increased as the season has progressed.

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Defending champions UConn Huskies are amongst the top favourites to retain their title. Whilst only 13 teams have won back-to-back NCAA championships, UConn are in a strong position to join the list.

They opened up the season with +1200 odds to win the tournament and joint favourites with Duke, but have since been overtaken by three teams, despite navigating a dominant start to their campaign in the Big East. A 9-1 record sees them place top of the conference, and no team has been able to score more than 80 points against the juggernauts.

The losses of key players Adama Sanogo, Jordan Hawkins and Andre Jackson Jr in the offseason, who were all drafted to the NBA, have left them with holes to fill, but they welcomed back freshmen Donovan Clingan and Alex Karaban. Five-star combo guard Stephon Castle has also entered the fray, the 6”7 19-year old is an exciting talent who is currently projected to be selected in the top-10 in next year’s NBA draft. Although Castle is currently out with a knee injury, he has averaged 9.8 points, 5.3 rebounds and 3 assists on an efficient 54.5% in four games.

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Marquette Golden Eagles have seen their NCAA Tournament odds jump the most out of the top five teams since the beginning of the season. Currently at +1400, they opened up the season at +2000 which would have had them eighth favourites.

They have failed to make it past the second round of the tournament in their last four attempts, though they should be confident of progressing past this stage next March. Led by a dangerous trio of Kam Jones, Oso Ighodaro and Tyler Kolek, they have made an 8-2 start to the season.

Their best win of the season came against the highly seeded Kansas Jayhawks, in which they were 73-59 victors at home. Ighodaro recorded 21 points, nine rebounds and two assists. Jones leads the team in scoring with 15.9 points per game.

Odds Provided By BetMGM