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March Madness Future Bets: Alabama Emerges as Tournament Favorite

Dan Holmes

Sports Writer

Publish Date: Mar 20, 2023

Fact checked by: Sara Jane Gamelli

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Eight games were played in March Madness on Saturday, and each of them had a narrative and a winning team. But the most compelling game involved Alabama and Maryland. Because the Crimson Tide played a superb game which indicates the team should be a favorite to win the NCAA Tournament.

According to FanDuel Sportsbook, Alabama is +420 to win March Madness, the lowest odds for any team. A No. 1 seed, Alabama will next face San Diego State on Friday in the Sweet 16 in Louisville. Over at DraftKings, odds for the game show Alabama as a 6-point favorite (-265).

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Two of the No. 1 seeds have now been eliminated from the tournament, and the No. 2 seed in the South bracket (where Alabama is playing), has been swept out of March Madness. That means Alabama could have a clear path to the Final Four. Much can happen between now and then, but the Tide have been as impressive as any of the top seeds.

Two No. 1’s Down: Kansas Won’t Repeat, Arkansas Moves On

There’s a term in college hoops called “blue bloods.” A blue blood program is one of the elite basketball schools with tradition just dripping from the rafters of their gym. The blue bloods are typically Duke, North Carolina, Kentucky, UCLA, Kansas, and Indiana.

It so happens that all of the blue bloods, except Indiana, also have blue in their uniforms. But even more than that, the blue bloods have won oodles of NCAA titles, and usually many of them appear in the Sweet 16 and the Final Four.

But this year is different. North Carolina failed to make the NCAA Tournament, and Duke was defeated on Saturday by a blue blood wannabee, Tennessee.

A big blue blood, one of the bluest and biggest of them all, was Kansas, who won the title last year in March Madness. On Saturday, the Jayhawks played like a team hoping to win on credentials alone, and predictably, that didn’t pan out. Arkansas muscled its way to a 72-71 win, ousting the defending champs.

How did Arkansas defeat the favored and No. 1 seed Kansas? Offensive rebounding was the difference: the Razorbacks held a 15-7 edge in that category. That’s to say that the Hogs were more aggressive in attacking the glass on shot attempts. When the final buzzer sounded, the blue blood Kansas team’s dream of a second straight title was crushed like a grape under the foot of an elephant.

In the Sweet 16 of March Madness, Arkansas will play the winner of the Connecticut/Saint Mary’s game, which will take place Sunday evening in Albany.

Strategies for Betting the Sweet 16 in March Madness

One half of the Sweet 16 is set. Here are the schools that punched their ticket on Saturday:

No. 1 Alabama
No. 1 Houston
No. 2 Texas
No. 2 UCLA
No. 4 Tennessee
No. 5 San Diego State
No. 8 Arkansas
No. 15 Princeton

In the last 15 years, at least four No. 1 and No. 2 teams have made the Sweet 16 in 14 of the 15 March Madness tournaments.

As much as observers love to discuss the Cinderella possibilities of the NCAA Tournament, the majority of teams that make the Sweet 16 and beyond are big college programs.

That’s why college basketball bettors should be careful picking smaller programs like Princeton, San Diego State, Florida Athletic, or Fairleigh Dickinson. The latter two schools meet Sunday in the East Round in Columbus. That’s the matchup of a No. 16 (FDU) and a No. 9 (FAU). Both of those teams won a March Madness game for the first time this year.

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