March Madness: Duke Now the Betting Favourite
Posted on: March 17, 2026, 11:07h.
Last updated on: March 17, 2026, 12:26h.
- Men’s First Four play-in games set to tip off tonight
- Duke now the tournament odds favourite
- NCAA Women’s First Four gets going tomorrow night
March Madness officially gets going tonight, with men’s First Four play-in games tipping off – Howard at UMBC (6:40 p.m. EST) and NC State at Texas (9:15 p.m. EST), both games at UD Arena in Dayton, OH, with the NC State game’s Over 157.5 the most bet total, according to BetMGM.
Tonight’s Betting Lines
Moneyline at DraftKings is -110 even. Spread is UMBC -1.5 (+110), Howard +1.5 (-130), and the O/U 142.5. The latter game ML has NC State -120, Texas +100, with the spread NC State -1.5 (+102), Texas +1.5 (-122), and O/U 158.5.
Howard are slight betting favourites at theScore at -115, with UMBC at -105. Spread is UMBC +1.5 (-120), Howard -1.5 (Even), and the O/U 141.5. For the later game, the spread is NC State -1.5 (-105), Texas +1.5 (-115), and O/U 158.5. ML is Texas -105, NC State -115.
And at FanDuel, Howard is at -115, with UMBC at -104. Spread is UMBC +1.5 (-120), Howard -1.5 (-102), and the O/U 141.5. For the later game, the spread is NC State -1.5 (-104), Texas +1.5 (-118), and O/U 157.5. ML is Texas -105, NC State -114.
At theScore, for tonight’s games, for UMBC versus Howard, 66.2% of bets, 69.5% of handle are on UMBC (+1.5), 63.8% of bets, 51.8% of handle are on UMBC ML (-105), and 38.5% of bets, 72% of handle are on Under (142.5). For Texas versus NC States, 51.8% of bets, 60.6% of handle are on NC State (-1.5), 52.7% of bets, 65% of handle are on NC State ML (-115), and 60.9% of bets, 59.9% of handle are on Over (158.5).
Odds Movement
First Four play on the women’s basketball side gets going tomorrow night with Richmond (+142) against Nebraska (-170), 7 p.m. EST, at Cameroon Indoor Stadium in Durham, NC, and Stephen F. Austin (+124) against Missouri State (-148), 9 p.m. EST, at Moody Center in Austin, TX.
A spokesperson from theScore Bet is reporting some interesting odds movement of note on the men’s side, since the brackets for March Madness Men’s and Women’s NCAA Basketball tournaments were released Sunday night.
Duke is now the favorite (+320) after entering the Selection Sunday show with the second best odds behind Michigan at +375. Michigan was the +320 favorite at the end of the Big Ten championship game on Sunday afternoon and now have the second best odds at +375.
Duke Now the Favourite
Iowa State is now +1800, sixth best odds, after sitting at +2800 (9th best) on Sunday afternoon. Illinois shortened from +2500 to +2200, still 7th best odds. St. John’s is now +6000 after sitting at +5000 just before the bracket reveal. Gonzaga is down to +6000 from +6600 on Sunday afternoon.
At theScore Bet, since the bracket was revealed Sunday night, in terms of national championship winner, Arizona has been seeing 16.8% of bets, 22.3% of handle, Michigan 8.9% of bets, 10.9% of handle, Purdue 6.9% of bets, 8.9% of handle, Iowa State 5.5% of bets, 8.6% of handle, and Duke 11.5% of bets, 7.9% of handle.
Canada March Madness Betting Interest
Out of curiosity, what about March Madness in Canada compared to the U.S.?
“I would often over the years compare percentages with colleagues that were at U.S.-facing books,” said Phill Gray, the former head of sports betting operations at Sports Interaction, and sports betting industry consultant. “In general I’d say it was about 25% in terms of handle relative to the size of the overall book. College football was about the same. Certainly still somewhat significant to us, but nowhere near the importance in the U.S.”
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