March Madness Betting Trends & Action Report
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Championship
March Madness betting trends are reaching a peak, with the NCAA Tournament now on to the championship game. It'll be No. 4 seed UConn taking on No. 5 seed San Diego State.
The Aztecs have never been near this far, while UConn has four national championships in program history.
Multiple oddsmakers provide insights on March Madness odds, betting trends and action for Monday's championship game. Check back for updates throughout tipoff.
March Madness Championship Game
No. 5 San Diego State vs No. 4 UConn
Opening line: UConn -6; Over/Under 131
Time: 9:20 p.m. ET Monday (CBS)
UPDATE 6 P.M. ET MONDAY: With three-plus hours until tipoff, UConn down to -7 in Caesars Sports' March Madness betting market. Late Saturday night, the Huskies opened -6.5, and within 15 minutes, the line shot all the way to Huskies -8.
Shortly thereafter, the number settled at Connecticut -7.5, and it's since toggled between -7.5 and -7 a couple of times. The latest move came late Sunday night, from -7.5 to -7.
"Obviously, UConn is getting the bulk of the action. We took some sharp money that moved us down to 7," Caesars assistant director of trading Adam Pullen said. "But bettors are mostly on UConn, and you can't really blame them for that. The Huskies are playing complete basketball. UConn just keeps proving it's the best team in the tournament.
"In one game, anything could happen. San Diego State plays tough defense. But the Aztecs' offense has to contend with UConn's defense, which has been just as impressive."
The total opened at 130.5 and climbed to 131.5 in short order, en route to peaking at 133 late Sunday morning. On Sunday afternoon, the number dipped to 132 for a couple of hours, then went to 132.5. This afternoon, the total returned to 132.
"The Over is getting the majority of the money, even though we got some sharp money today on the Under," Pullen said. "It's a big game, and bettors are on the favorite and Over. Nothing surprising there."
If UConn puts together yet another double-digit win, Pullen said the Huskies might be a team for the history books.
"You can make a case for it being one of the best tournament performances of all time," he said. "It really is amazing. It's hard to win in this tournament. To win every game like this is phenomenal."
UPDATE 6:30 P.M. ET SUNDAY: Late Saturday night, BetMGM opened UConn a 6.5-point favorite in the March Madness betting trends market. Within minutes, the line was out to Huskies -7.5 (-105), then -7.5 flat, where it remains tonight.
Early spread ticket count is 2.5/1 and early spread money 6/1-plus on Connecticut.
"There was some sharp money at the open on UConn," BetMGM sports trader Seamus Magee said. "The number is getting a little higher than I thought it would, to be honest. But nothing huge today. We'll see all the big action come in Monday."
The total went from 130.5 to 131.5 in short order Saturday night, then climbed to 132.5 this morning. Ticket count is 4/1 and money 6/1-plus on the Over in the early going.
UPDATE 11:20 P.M. ET SATURDAY: San Diego State has previously never been anywhere near an NCAA Tournament championship game. On Saturday, the Aztecs got to their first final in memorable fashion.
First off, coach Brian Dutcher's squad overcame a 14-point second-half deficit. But the Aztecs didn't actually take the lead until the final horn sounded, with Lamont Butler hitting a buzzer-beating jumper to give San Diego State a 72-71 victory over No. 9 seed Florida Atlantic.
San Diego State (32-6 SU, 19-16-2 ATS) failed to cash as a 2.5-point favorite. Further, a 12-game Under run by the Aztecs came to an end, with the game easily clearing the 130.5 total. Still, San Diego State is on a 9-0 SU/7-2 ATS surge.
Connecticut advanced to Monday's title game by continuing it's double-digit-victory run. The Huskies beat No. 5 seed Miami 72-59 in Saturday's second semifinal, easily cashing as a 5.5-point favorite.
UConn (30-8 SU, 26-11-1 ATS) is 5-0 SU and ATS in the tournament, and all five wins have come by double digits, with Saturday's margin of 13 the closest. The Huskies are 11-1 SU/10-2 ATS in their last 12 games.
The SuperBook opened UConn as 6-point chalk in the championship game and immediately got bet to -6.5. Within minutes, the line was up to Huskies -7, then got to -7.5 shortly thereafter.
"Some people [in the risk room] had it UConn -5, some had it -8. So we tried to meet in the middle," said Casey Degnon, senior risk supervisor at The SuperBook, before getting to the early action that saw the line jump 1.5 points. "It's pretty much all public, all UConn. Same thing with the moneyline, and there are already a bunch of parlays on UConn.
"In my opinion, we'll be rooting for San Diego State. I feel like it's gonna be all UConn."
The total opened and inched up to 131.5 in short order tonight.
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