NCAA Tournament 2015: Championship Betting Odds Have Kentucky, Duke Among March Madness Favorites

With the Round of 64 in the 2015 NCAA Tournament set to tip off, Kentucky remains the overwhelming favorite to win college basketball’s national championship. With 11/10 betting odds to win the title, their odds are more than seven times greater than the second favorite.

Since the complete March Madness field was announced, Wisconsin has joined Arizona with the second-best odds. They are the top two seeds in the West region, and there’s a good chance they’ll do battle in the Elite Eight for the right to face Kentucky in the Final Four. Wisconsin beat Arizona in last year’s West Regional Final.

Iowa State appears to be gaining some steam as a possible national champion. They are now tied with Notre Dame with 25/1 championship odds, leading all No.3 seeds. Both teams have better odds than No.2-seeded Kansas, who shares the same odds as a No.4, No.5 and No.7 seed.

Other notable changes in the last few days include SMU and Butler. SMU enters the NCAA Tournament having won nine of their last 10 games, and head coach Larry Brown’s team has seen their odds go from 100/1 to 75/1. Butler has seen their championship odds move from 100/1 to 150/1. The Bulldogs are one of just two teams that is not favored over a lower-seeded opponent, as they are two-point underdogs against No.11-seeded Texas.

Approximately 28 percent of the field has been given virtually no chance of winning the title, since 18 teams have 500/1 or 1000/1 odds. That includes every team seeded No.13-No.16, as well as No.12-seeded Buffalo and No.12-seeded Wofford. A year after winning an NCAA Tournament game, No. 12-seeded Stephen F. Austin has 200/1 odds, tying them with the likes of No.6-seeded Xavier, No.7-seeded Iowa, No.8-seeded San Diego State and No.9-seeded Purdue.

Below are the updated betting odds to win the 2015 NCAA Tournament at the start of the Round of 64, courtesy of Bovada.lv.

Kentucky 11/10

Arizona 8/1

Wisconsin 8/1

Duke 9/1

Villanova 12/1

Virginia 12/1

Gonzaga 16/1

Notre Dame 25/1

Iowa State 25/1

Utah 40/1

Kansas 40/1

Michigan State 40/1

North Carolina 40/1

Baylor 50/1

Oklahoma 50/1

Wichita State 50/1

Louisville 66/1

Northern Iowa 66/1

Maryland 75/1

SMU 75/1

Arkansas 100/1

Georgetown 100/1

LSU 100/1

Ohio State 100/1

Providence 100/1

Texas 100/1

VCU 100/1

Butler 150/1

NC State 150/1

West Virginia 150/1

Ole Miss 150/1

Xavier 200/1

Indiana 200/1

Iowa 200/1

Purdue 200/1

San Diego State 200/1

St. John’s 200/1

SF Austin 200/1

Dayton 250/1

Oklahoma State 250/1

Cincinnati 300/1

Davidson 300/1

Georgia 300/1

Oregon 300/1

UCLA 300/1

Wyoming 300/1

Albany 500/1

Buffalo 500/1

E. Washington 500/1

Georgia State 500/1

Harvard 500/1

Northeastern 500/1

UAB 500/1

UC Irvine 500/1

Valparaiso 500/1

Wofford 500/1

Coastal Carolina 1000/1

Hampton 1000/1

Lafayette 1000/1

New Mexico State 1000/1

North Dakota State 1000/1

Belmont 1000/1

Robert Morris 1000/1

Texas Southern 1000/1