Analyzing the Men’s NCAA Tournament Betting Field
Welcome one and all to March! Selection Sunday is 16 days away and there’s 20 days until the Men’s NCAA Tournament tips off.
It’s officially crunch time in the world of college hoops and we’ve got you covered with a preview of the field and we’re even talking a little fantasy baseball today. Enjoy.
In today’s Winners Club:
UConn Favored to Repeat
There’s a clear tier of five championship contenders that have separated themselves from the pack as March begins: UConn, Purdue, Houston, Arizona and Tennessee. Of that group, the defending national champion Huskies (+500) are the betting favorites ahead of the Boilermakers (+700), Cougars (+700), Wildcats (+1200) and Volunteers (+1200).
There may be value to be found further down the list with bluebloods like Kansas (+2200), Duke (+2500) or Kentucky (+2500), but those programs are not currently among the betting favorites to cut down the nets this spring. Read up on the top 25 teams with the best odds to win it all.
Trevor Ruszkowski/USA TODAY Sports
For more on the current bracket picture, consult Kevin Sweeney’s projected Field of 68. He also shared his picks for the eight teams that can win it all in April, including UConn and Purdue.
Fantasy Baseball Rankings Have Arrived
Spring training is in full swing and Opening Day is officially less than a month away. That means it’s just about time to draft your fantasy baseball team(s).
Luckily, Jen Piacenti put together a helpful list of the top 300 players. There’s quite the consolidation of Dodgers, Yankees and Braves near the top, headlined by Mookie Betts, Aaron Judge and Ronald Acuña Jr. Consult her rankings for a standard 5X5 rotisserie league to get an idea of positional value and who the top players will be in 2024.
Vincent Carchietta-USA TODAY Sports
Speaking of the Dodgers, Piacenti’s MLB division previews wrapped up with the NL West, which Los Angeles is heavily favored to win with the addition of Shohei Ohtani. Check out her other division previews below:
AL East | AL Central | AL West | NL Central | NL East
In Other News
Iowa Star Caitlin Clark Will Enter 2024 WNBA Draft: The all-time leading scorer in women’s college basketball announced on Thursday that this season with the Hawkeyes will be her last. Clark is currently 17 points shy of Pete Maravich’s all-gender NCAA scoring record.
Max Verstappen Eyes Fourth Straight F1 Championship: The Red Bull superstar enters the 2024 Formula One season as the driver to beat. Before the season begins March 2, read up on the competition, courses and challenges Verstappen will face.
Reigning MVP Joel Embiid Hopes to Return for Regular Season: The 76ers have struggled without their All-NBA center, who plans to return before the regular season ends in mid-April. Philadelphia is in fifth place in the East at 33–25 and is just 7–17 without Embiid.
Top Fantasy Football Landing Spots for QB Kirk Cousins: The longtime Minnesota Vikings signal-caller is set to hit free agency this offseason and, even coming off an Achilles tear, plenty of teams will be calling for his services.
Thanks for reading! If you’re going to watch any game this weekend, allow me to recommend No. 6 Iowa’s senior day Saturday at 1 p.m. ET against No. 2 Ohio State when Clark will look to set the all-time scoring record. Emma Baccellieri wrote about Clark ahead of her final regular-season game at Carver-Hawkeye Arena — it’s worth your time today.