The Duke Blue Devils wrapped up the regular season with a 3-0 straight up and 1-2 against the spread run through the ACC that resulted in them winning the conference tournament and earning the No. 1 overall seed heading into this year’s NCAA Tournament.
Duke leads betting favorites on 2019 March Madness odds
Duke, Virginia, North Carolina and Gonzaga enter the 2019 NCAA Tournament as the No. 1 seeds and among the betting favorites on the March Madness odds.
Jeremy Brevard-USA TODAY Sports
In addition to being the top seed in this year’s tournament, the Blue Devils are also the betting favorite to emerge as champions.
Duke is a +225 favorite on the NCAA Tournament odds at sportsbooks monitored by OddsShark.com. Some might argue that a five-loss Duke should not be the No. 1 overall seed over three-loss one-seeds in the Gonzaga Bulldogs and Virginia Cavaliers, but there is no denying that the Blue Devils are at another level with a healthy Zion Williamson on the court. Williamson showed no ill signs from his injury in the ACC Tournament averaging 27 points and 10 rebounds over the three games.
For just the second time in tournament history and the first time since the Big East did it in 2009, one conference will have three one-seeds as the ACC sends Duke, Virginia (+800 to win the tournament) and North Carolina (+1200). The Cavaliers rode the nation’s best defense to a 29-3 SU and 23-9 ATS record this season and will be looking for redemption after a first-round exit as the No. 1 overall seed last season.
North Carolina went 15-2 SU and 12-5 ATS on the college basketball odds down the stretch including a 2-1 SU and 3-0 ATS record in three games against Duke.
Gonzaga is the second favorite to win the NCAA Tournament at +600 and enters March Madness with a 30-3 SU and 21-12 ATS record. Led by Rui Hachimura’s 20.1 points per game, the Bulldogs had the highest scoring offense in the nation averaging 88.8 points per game.
Other top contenders on the March Madness betting odds this year include the four two-seeds in the Michigan Wolverines (+1000), Kentucky Wildcats (+1200), Michigan State Spartans (+1200) and Tennessee Volunteers (+1400). Right behind this group on the betting board are the five-seed Auburn Tigers (+2000), three-seed Houston Cougars (+2500), Purdue Boilermakers (+2500), and Texas Tech Red Raiders (+2500) and the seven-seed Nevada Wolfpack (+2500).
The LSU Tigers are the biggest longshot among the three-seeds at +3300. Also going off at +3300 are the 10-seed Florida Gators, six-seed Iowa State Hawkeyes and defending champion six-seed Villanova Wildcats.
2019 NCAA Tournament Odds
Duke +225
Gonzaga +600
Virginia +800
Michigan +1000
Kentucky +1200
Michigan State +1200
North Carolina +1200
Tennessee +1400
Auburn +2000
Houston +2500
Nevada +2500
Purdue +2500
Texas Tech +2500
Florida +3300
Iowa State +3300
LSU +3300
Villanova +3300
For more odds information, betting picks and a breakdown of this week’s top sports betting news check out the OddsShark podcast with Jon Campbell and Andrew Avery. Subscribe on iTunes or Spotify or listen to it at OddsShark.libsyn.com.
