With sites like Casumo now offering sports betting to fans across Europe, it is the perfect time to start thinking about which teams to back as March Madness looms large once more.
Here is a quick look at how the odds are stacking up ahead of the main event itself, charting the sides that are on track to cruise through the early stages and potentially make it to the pinnacle of the tournament, as well as those that are relative outliers but could still be in with a chance of making waves.
Top contenders
In amongst the highest ranked teams going into March Madness 2020, there are a few fairly closely matched competitors that might be difficult to pick between, making it best to go on personal preference at this point. And with more than a month to go before official selection even kicks off, there is still plenty of time for things to change between now and then.
The Kansas Jayhawks are very slightly favoured compared with their contemporaries, and some bookmakers are even given them odds of as low as 9/1 to reign victorious at the tournament, even if 10/1 is a more common assessment across the board at the moment.
Also in contention as the Gonzaga Bulldogs, the Baylor Bears and the Duke Blue Devils, with odds of between 11/1 and 14/1 available for these teams at the time of writing.
MID RangE Maybes
Cast your eyes a little further down the betting tables ahead of March Madness this year and you will see plenty of well known names of teams that have triumphed in the past.
For example, last year’s winners Virginia are actually less favoured than the team they beat in 2019, the Texas Tech Red Raiders. The Cavaliers currently have offered odds of anywhere between 40/1 up to 75/1, with 60/1 being the average across a number of bookies. Meanwhile the Raiders are sitting slightly higher than their rivals, with the most optimistic predictions suggesting that they have a 40/1 shot of winning overall.
A wide range of other college sides sit in roughly the same area along with them, including the likes of the Ohio State Buckeys, the Michigan Wolverines, the Xavier Musketeers and the Arizona Wildcats. This gives viewers a broad selection of options, especially if they get involved at this early stage and place a bet long before a clearer picture has formed. Low stakes can reap big rewards at this point in proceedings.
Intriguing long shots
Even with a number of potential front-runners on the cards, there are a number of other teams that will go into March Madness 2020 with a very low likelihood of progressing past the first round of the tournament, let alone taking the trophy.
Thankfully, those outliers and underdogs can still be bet on by anyone who has a lot of optimism, or is simply looking to turn a tiny amount of money into a significant payout if the unexpected happens.
Teams that have odds of 300/1 or more stacked against them at the moment include the South Carolina Gamecocks, the Yale bulldogs, the Rhode Island Rams and UCLA.
There are also a lot of 500/1 odds being offered right now, including on teams like the California Golden Bears, the Princeton Tigers and the Monmouth Hawks.
Even further down the scale you will find 1000/1 odds on the Bradley Braves, the Toledo Rockets and the Wyoming Cowboys. It is also worth noting that fewer bookies will even offer odds on the really obscure college sides, so you might need to shop around to find the odds and options that you are looking for.
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