March Madness betting: Breaking down odds for NCAA tournament East and Midwest regions
Maybe the lesson is to not bet on No. 1 seeds this March Madness.
Three of the four No. 1 seeds definitely won't make it out of the Sweet 16, and we're waiting to see what happens with Kansas on Friday night. Arizona and Gonzaga lost on Thursday after Baylor lost in the second round.
Before Friday's Sweet 16 games (picks for those are here), let's look at the odds for each of the two regions that will tip off.
East region odds at BetMGM
Purdue -120
UCLA +225
North Carolina +350
St. Peter's +3000
Feeling lucky on St. Peter's? I'm taking a suddenly hot North Carolina team to beat UCLA in a small upset Friday night, so let's go all the way and take the Tar Heels to make the Final Four at +350 odds too. Clearly they have the talent to win a couple more games.
Here's the argument for Purdue, as much as I'd dislike taking a team at minus odds to win a region: The Boilermakers are a 12.5-point favorite over St. Peter's. If you don't think they're losing straight up on Friday, you'd have them -120 against UCLA or North Carolina. Maybe there's minimal value there, but likely not. Purdue's odds are what they are because of that Sweet 16 matchup.
Midwest region odds at BetMGM
Kansas -175
Miami +500
Providence +550
Iowa State +650
A No. 10 seed as the second favorite to make the Final Four? Don't screw this up, Kansas. I can't really sign off on taking any team -175 to make the Final Four, but I don't know that I like anything else much more. Maybe Providence, which has been disrespected most of the season, is worth a shot. If it gets by Kansas you'd love holding that ticket. Hey, maybe you're feeling lucky.
If you feel strongly about Miami beating Iowa State, you could have the Hurricanes at +500 for a matchup against Kansas or perhaps Providence. Hey, after Thursday's games you can't just automatically advance Kansas to the Elite Eight. The Hurricanes do have some fun players like Kameron McGusty, Isaiah Wong and Charlie Moore, but it's still hard to punch a ticket on a No. 10 seed to make a Final Four, especially with Kansas still alive in that region.