March Madness 2016 Betting Odds: Kentucky, Kansas, North Carolina Among Favorites

Sixty-eight teams officially have a chance to win the 2016 NCAA Tournament, and this year’s March Madness field appears to be wide open. In a season that’s seen some of the nation’s top teams lose on a weekly basis, several teams have similar betting odds to win the national championship.

Kansas is the No.1 overall seed in the tournament and they lead the way with +500 title odds, and they are tied with Michigan State, who is a No.2 seed in the Midwest region. The Spartans’ odds are more than two times better than that of Virginia, who is the No.1 seed in the same region.

Four teams have +1000 odds or better to win the title, and only two are No.1 seeds. North Carolina and their +700 odds are the top seed in the East, while Kentucky has +1000 odds as the No.4 seed in the same region. The Wildcats began the season ranked No.2 in the AP Top 25 Poll, just behind the Tar Heels. Duke has the next best odds of any No.4 seed at +2000.

The East might the toughest region in the tournament, according to the betting odds. North Carolina, Kentucky, Xavier and West Virginia give the East four of the top 11 teams in the entire field.

After winning the Pac-12 regular-season title and conference championship, Oregon has the worst odds of any No.1 seed at +1400. Villanova entered conference championship week ranked third in the nation, but seven teams have better odds than the Wildcats.

Villanova made history in 1985 when the No.8 seed Wildcats became the lowest seed to ever win the tournament. Colorado, USC and St. Joseph’s all have +20000 odds as No.8 seeds. The Connecticut Huskies won it all as a No.7 seed two years ago, and Iowa is considered to be the most dangerous No.7 seed with +4000 odds. The Hawkeyes were thought to be a threat to land a No.1 seed just a few weeks ago when they ranked fourth in the top 25.

Teams like Syracuse and Tulsa were controversial picks to make the Big Dance, but they aren’t considered real threats to win the tournament. The Orange have +15000 betting odds as a No.10 seed, and the Golden Hurricane could have trouble winning just one game with +50000 odds to win the title.

No team seeded No.12 or lower has ever reached the Final Four, and No. 12 Chattanooga has been given the best odds to make history at +30000. Three No.11 seeds have reached the Final Four, most recently in 2011 when VCU did it. No.11 Gonzaga has +10000 championship odds, and only 29 of the 68 teams have better odds than the Bulldogs.

Sixteen teams are tied for being the biggest longshots with +100000 odds. Stephen F. Austin is the only team seeded No.13-No.16 that isn’t included in that group, and the Lumberjacks have +50000 odds in their third straight tournament appearance.

NCAA Tournament Betting Odds [Bovada]

Michigan State +500

Kansas +500

North Carolina +700

Kentucky +1000

Virginia +1200

Oregon +1400

Oklahoma +1600

Villanova +1800

Duke +2000

West Virginia +2500

Xavier +2500

California +2800

Miami (Florida) +2800

Indiana +3300

Maryland +3300

Purdue +3300

Arizona +3300

Texas A&M +4000

Iowa State +4000

Utah +4000

UCONN +4000

Iowa +4000

Wichita State +4000

Baylor +5000

Providence +5000

Wisconsin +5000

Texas +5000

Seton Hall +5000

Notre Dame +6600

Dayton +10000

Gonzaga +10000

Cincinnati +10000

Oregon State +10000

Michigan +10000

Vanderbilt +10000

Butler +15000

Syracuse +15000

Colorado +20000

VCU +20000

USC +20000

St. Joseph’s +20000

Pittsburgh +20000

Texas Tech +30000

Northern Iowa +30000

Chattanooga +30000

Hawaii +50000

Tulsa +50000

Buffalo +50000

Fresno State +50000

Stephen F. Austin +50000

Temple +50000

Arkansas Little Rock +50000

Green Bay +100000

Stony Brook +100000

Iona +100000

Middle Tennessee State +100000

South Dakota State +100000

Yale +100000

UNC Wilmington +100000

UNC Ashville +100000

Southern U +100000

Hampton +100000

Florida Gulf Coast +100000

Fairleigh Dickinson +100000

CSU Bakersfield +100000

Austin Peay +100000

Weber State +100000

Holy Cross +100000