2022 March Madness Ultimate Betting Guide, Picks & Predictions

The seeds are set, the bracket is filled and it’s officially time for another installment of the greatest betting event in all of college sports with the 2022 NCAA Tournament.

The Gonzaga Bulldogs earned the top overall seed and begin March Madness as significant favorites to cut down the nets, with top sportsbooks sending them off at +300. Those March Madness odds are more than twice as short as the next team on the board, with No. 1-seed Arizona at +650. No. 2 Kentucky is next at +800, while No. 1 Kansas rounds out the top four at +850 on the college basketball betting board.

It all looks pretty straightforward on paper, but there’s no telling what kind of buzzer-beaters and upsets await to flip the script and drastically change those college basketball futures odds throughout the tournament.

Let’s take a look at the betting odds for every team in the field, separated by region, with favorites and top long shots to consider ahead of the big dance.

West Region NCAA Tournament Winner Odds

All odds current as of publication, courtesy of FanDuel.

West Region Favorites

Oddsmakers on betting apps are largely in agreement with the selection committee in the West region, with identical odds/seeding for the top six teams. Gonzaga is the overall favorite with +300 odds to win the tournament, while the Bulldogs are shorter than even money with -140 college basketball odds to win the West Region and advance to the Final Four.

No. 2-seed Duke is next at +460 entering what will be coach Mike Krzyzewski’s final March Madness. The Blue Devils open as a -18.5 favorite over Cal State Fullerton and could see a favorable second-round matchup between the winner of No. 7 Michigan State and No. 10 Davidson. The Spartans are +4800 to win the region, with longer odds than No. 9 Memphis (+3200).

Handicappers give No. 3 Texas Tech a very good chance with +550 odds, while No. 4 Arkansas is all the way at +1400. Arkansas sports betting fans, take note.

Of the top four, only Gonzaga won its conference tournament. The Bulldogs cruised to victory in the West Coast Conference, while Duke fell to Virginia Tech in the ACC title game. Texas Tech lost to Kansas in the Big 12 Tournament finale and Arkansas bowed out with a loss to Texas A&M in an SEC Tournament semifinal.

West Region Sleepers

Oddsmakers clearly feel Memphis is underseeded. The Tigers have the 7th-best odds to pull off an upset and win the West, despite being a 9-seed. The Tigers are -2.5 favorites against No. 8 Boise State in the first round and would potentially face Gonzaga in the second round. Memphis had a rocky start to the year before ending the regular season on a 10-1 run.

No. 10 Davidson could be a live dog with +10000 odds to win the region. The Wildcats opened as -1.5 favorites over No. 7 Michigan State, but that line has since flipped to Spartans -1.5. No. 11 Rutgers also carries +10000 odds, but the Knights have to play a First Four game against Notre Dame after pulling off upsets against the likes of Ohio State, Wisconsin and Illinois in recent weeks.

South Region NCAA Tournament Winner Odds

All odds current as of publication, courtesy of FanDuel.

South Region Favorites

No. 1 Arizona is favored to take the South region with +145 odds, followed by No. 2 Villanova (+390) and No. 3 Tennessee (+600). Beyond the top three, oddsmakers have a much different breakdown of the South region.

No. 6 Colorado State is all the way down at 11th on the board to win the South, with +8000 odds. The Rams won eight of nine to finish the regular season before falling to San Diego State in a Mountain West Tournament semifinal. Handicappers don’t see them as much of a threat in the region – the Rams are +2.5 underdogs for the first-round matchup with No. 11 Michigan.

South Region Sleepers

The Wolverines are one of the most compelling teams in the entire tournament. Michigan was thought to be on the March Madness bubble late in the season but snuck in as an 11 seed while avoiding the first four play-in round. Oddsmakers have Michigan with the sixth-best odds to win the region at +1800, well ahead of higher-seeded teams like No. 7 Ohio State (+2500) and No. 8 Seton Hall (+3600).

Loyola is another name that jumps out on the bracket, with the No. 10-seeded Ramblers listed ninth on the board at +3800 odds. Loyola upset No. 1 seed Illinois en route to the Sweet 16 last season, and the Ramblers look every bit as dangerous under first-year coach Drew Valentine.

Oddsmakers are also showing plenty of respect for No. 12 UAB at +7000 odds. The Blazers have won seven straight and stamped their ticket with a win over Louisiana Tech in the Conference USA Tournament title game. UAB is a +8.5 underdog for its first round game against No. 5 Houston.

Midwest Region NCAA Tournament Winner Odds

All odds current as of publication, courtesy of FanDuel.

Midwest Region Favorites

No. 1 Kansas is favored to take the Midwest region at +175 odds after cruising through the Big 12 Tournament. The Jayhawks took out Texas Tech in Saturday’s title game and enter March Madness on a five-game winning streak, with +1000 odds to win the whole thing.

No. 2 Auburn isn’t far behind, despite a disappointing showing in the SEC Tournament. The Tigers are second on the board at +260 to win the region after getting upset by Texas A&M in the opening round of the conference tournament. That continues a streak of inconsistency in recent weeks after a red-hot start to the year. The question is whether Auburn can regain that form which led them to a 22-1 start to the season. Sportsbooks are still high on the Tigers overall with +1600 national championship odds.

The real eye-grabber here is Providence. The Friars earned a No. 4 seed and are listed as a small -2.5 favorite over No. 13 South Dakota State in the first round. A win there could lead to a matchup with another highly-respected opponent in No. 5 Iowa. Oddsmakers have Providence at 10th on the board to win the region as a serious +3500 long shot.

Midwest Region Sleepers

This certainly looks like the region with the most potential for chaos throughout the bracket. No. 5 Iowa has very short odds to take the region at +390, while No. 8 San Diego State is sixth on the board at +2300.

The Hawkeyes won four straight games to take the Big Ten Tournament title in Indianapolis and might be the hottest offensive team in the country coming in, scoring an average of 87.8 points in those four tournament games.

San Diego State is one of the best defensive teams in the country and came up just short in a 53-52 loss to Boise State in the Mountain West title game. But the Aztecs got a tough draw against No. 9 Creighton, entering as a slight -2.5 favorite, and would likely play No. 1 Kansas in the second round.

No. 10 Miami could be the real wild card here. The Hurricanes have +3000 odds to win the region and are +1.5 underdogs against USC. There would be definite upset potential if Miami can sneak past the Trojans into a potential second-round game with No. 2 Auburn, which hasn’t looked like a top title contender for a few weeks.

East Region NCAA Tournament Winner Odds

All odds current as of publication, courtesy of Caesars.

East Region Favorites

It’s a battle at the top of the East region, with No. 1 Baylor and No. 2 Kentucky carrying equal odds of +240. Oddsmakers also give No. 3 Purdue (+550) and No. 4 UCLA (+650) plenty of respect in what might be the most hotly-contested region in the tournament.

This region includes two Final Four teams from the 2021 tournament, UCLA and defending champs Baylor. No. 6 Texas is also a dangerous team at +1000, while No. 5 Saint Mary’s odds are twice as long at +2000. The Gaels did beat Gonzaga a few weeks ago, but they’ll have a tough opening-round matchup against the winner of Wyoming-Indiana.

Kentucky might have the easier path than Baylor as the No. 2 seed. While the Bears could see either North Carolina or Marquette in the second round, the Wildcats would have a seemingly-friendlier matchup against No. 7 Murray State (+6000) or No. 10 San Francisco (+3200).

East Region Sleepers

We’re looking at several frisky sleepers in the East region, including No. 8 North Carolina. Oddsmakers have the Tar Heels at seventh on the board with +2000 odds less than two weeks after they spoiled Krzyzewski’s Cameron Indoor sendoff with the upset win over Duke in the regular-season finale. North Carolina is a -3 favorite over Marquette in the first round ahead of a potential showdown with No. 1 Baylor.

Elsewhere, No. 11 Virginia Tech is eighth on the board with odds of +2900. The Hokies will be one of the most confident teams in the field after ripping off four straight wins to take the ACC Tournament title – including victories over North Carolina and Duke. Virginia Tech is a +1 underdog for its opening-round matchup with Texas and would have another winnable game against either Purdue or Yale in the second round.

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