March Madness Betting

A month-long tournament that sweeps the nation, and never more so than since the legalization of sports betting. Bracketology will always be a huge part of March Madness, but sports betting is growing and March Madness is one of the biggest betting events of the year. There are many ways to bet on March Madness from the outright National Championship, for a team to make the Final Four, Elite Eight, or Sweet 16, or you can bet on any of the 67 individual games. Pickswise is here to guide you through it all. With industry-leading NCAA Basketball handicappers, we bring you the best and most important betting news, stats, trends, and March Madness Picks.

With the legalization of online sports betting, placing a bet on March Madness is easier and more accessible than ever. If sports betting is legal in your state, then you can simply find the sportsbooks licensed where you are and bet on a whole range of markets, from futures to individual matches and a plethora of player stats. The experts here at Pickswise will break down their favorite bets every day of the tournament with full reasoning included, and all for free. Check out our daily March Madness Predictions, including March Madness Prop Bets and March Madness Parlays

Another way that you can bet on March Madness is through live betting. Live betting is a growing, exciting way to wager on a game whilst the action unfolds in front of you. As the name suggests, live betting is betting on an event after it has started. Sportsbooks will create dynamic betting lines that fluctuate in reaction to the on-court action in real-time. For example, if you like a favorite to cover a -8 spread, but they get off to a slow start and are down by 1 at the half, you can bet them live at a different line, say -4. Live betting is an exciting way to get involved in a game you watch and is offered by the majority of top online sportsbooks across the US.

There are many ways in which you can bet on March Madness. We’ve listed and explained some of the most popular ways below.

Money Line: Picking a team to win straight up. If the Duke Blue Devils are facing off against the Michigan State Spartans for an Elite Eight matchup, you would pick one squad over the other to triumph.

Point Spread: Choosing the favored team to win by more than a specified number of points set by oddsmakers, or the underdog to win outright or lose by fewer than that specific number of points.

Totals: A bet on whether the total combined final score will be OVER or UNDER the number set by oddsmakers.

Prop Bets: Bets related to brackets and player stats like rebounds, field goals, etc.

Futures: Bets that can be made weeks or even months in advance of the tournament. For instance, in October you could pick North Carolina to win the championship game.

Parlays: Multiple bets on one ticket. Every selection must win to cash a parlay.

Live Betting: Making a bet while the game is going on. Live betting odds disappear fast. If you see betting lines you like, take them quickly.

The March Madness tournament has been played since 1939 but has not always been the size and scale of the tournament as it is today. In 1939 there were only 8 teams in the tournament which was won by Oregon. March Madness expanded in 1951 to 16 teams, doubled again in 1975 to 32 teams, and once again to the size it is today with 64 teams in 1985.

The term March Madness itself was coined by Henry V Porter who was an Illinois School official in regards to the madness of the tournament. Today the name is apparent as ever with 64 teams all fighting for the title in a single-elimination tournament.

Since the tournament’s inception, UCLA leads the way in terms of National Titles with 11 mainly thanks to winning 7 titles in a row between 1967 and 1973. Their last title was in 1995.

We haven’t seen a reign of dominance like the UCLA Bruins’ reign between 1967 and 1973 in recent years, with much more parity amongst recent winners. In the last decade, three teams have won two titles each in Duke, Villanova, and Connecticut, meaning 7 different schools have lifted the title in the last 10 tournaments.

The Last 10 NCAA Basketball Champions are as followed

• 2022 – Kansas
• 2021 – Baylor
• 2020 – Tournament Postponed (Covid-19 Pandemic)
• 2019 – Virginia 
• 2018 – Villanova
• 2017 – North Carolina
• 2016 – Villanova
• 2015 – Duke
• 2014 – Connecticut 
• 2013 – Louisville
• 2012 – Kentucky

One of the great aspects of March Madness is the multi-site location nature of the tournament. There are many different locations spanning the country that will host March Madness games throughout the month-long extravaganze. Check out a list of 2023 locations below.

• First Four
  • Dayton, Ohio, UD Arena
• First/Second Rounds
  • Birmingham, AL, Legacy Arena
  • Des Moines, IA, Wells Fargo Arena
  • Orlando, FL, Amway Cente
  • Sacramento, CA, Golden 1 Center
  • Albany, NY, MVP Arena
  • Columbus, OH, Nationwide Arena
  • Denver, CO, Ball Arena
  • Greensboro, NC, Greensboro Coliseum
• West Regional
  • Las Vegas, NV, T-Mobile Arena
• East Regional
  • New York, NY, Madison Square Garden
• Midwest Regional
  • Kansas City, MO, T-Mobile Center
• South Regional
  • Louisville, KY, KFC Yum! Center
• Final Four
  • Houston, TX, NRG Stadium