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

tar heels celebrate — The North Carolina Tar Heels, fresh off their ACC title win, are among the favorites to win the NCAA Tournament. Getty

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