Betting on the NCAA Tournament? Oddsmakers and selection committee don’t always agree
The other NCAA Tournament seeding process happened after the selection committee packed up and went home.
This one is supplied by oddsmakers and the money didn’t always agree with the NCAA, starting with a No. 1 seed.
BetOnline, an online gambling company, make Gonzaga (5/8), Arizona (9/5) and Kansas (2/1) favorites to win their regions in the men’s tournament. But where the committee selected Baylor (13/4) as the fourth top seed, the oddsmaker favors second-seeded Kentucky (11/6).
Also among top four seeds, the gambling site likes Iowa, Tennessee and Houston more than the committee.
The team most over-seeded? Providence, the fourth-seeded in the Midwest is the seventh choice by BetOnline.
Why the difference? The selection committee looks for competitive fairness. With opening lines, oddsmakers look to get equal action on both sides of the wager.
According to TheLines.com, a service that tracks odds in the U.S. betting market with a consensus of the nation’s legal online sportsbooks, Gonzaga is the pick to win it all, followed by Arizona, Kentucky, Kansas and Duke. The Jayhawks and Blue Devils have the same odds. Baylor is the sixth choice.
South Carolina (7/4) is the women’s tournament favorite, according to BetOnline, followed by Connecticut (7/2). Kansas, Kansas State and Missouri State are listed at 200/1.
Here are the top four men’s seeds by the committee and BetOnline:
NCAA selection committee
West: Gonzaga, Duke, Texas Tech, Arkansas
South: Arizona, Villanova, Tennessee, Illinois
Midwest: Kansas, Auburn, Wisconsin, Providence
East: Baylor, Kentucky, Purdue, UCLA
BetOnline
West: Gonzaga, Texas Tech, Duke Arkansas
South: Arizona, Tennessee, Villanova, Houston
Midwest: Kansas, Auburn/Iowa, Wisconsin
East: Kentucky, Baylor, UCLA, Purdue
This story was originally published March 14, 2022 at 2:04 PM with the headline "Betting on the NCAA Tournament? Oddsmakers and selection committee don’t always agree."