Updated March Madness Championship Odds Ahead of Second Round
By Darren Cooper in College Basketball
Updated: June 9, 2025 at 12:39 pm EDTPublished:
- The second round of the NCAA Basketball Tournament starts today, with teams advancing to next week’s Sweet 16.
- Florida, Duke and Auburn still are the top favorites to cut down the nets at the Final Four.
- I’ve got your look at the March Madness odds after the first two days and tell you who has made the biggest move.
After two rim-rocking, shorts-dropping, aura-filled days of the NCAA Basketball Tournament, it’s time for Round 2.
There are eight games today, and eight more tomorrow to decide the teams in the Sweet 16. I wish there was a better name for the Round of 32, than second round, but it is what it is.
Here’s a current look at the odds to win it all entering play this weekend from BetMGM:
March Madness Odds After First Round
Who’s Made the Biggest Move?
Norfolk State was 28.5-point underdogs to Florida and it showed as the Gators demolished the Spartans 95-69. It wasn’t that big of a surprise. Florida, after all, has been a beast in the SEC all season, but the Gators romped from the start, jumping out to a 26-7 lead after seven minutes and looking like the most athletic team in the nation.
The oddsmakers took note, dropping the Gators from +425 favorites to win it all to +300.
The other team that took a big drop was Iowa State. Again, no one expected the Cyclones to have serious trouble with 14 seed Lipscomb, but it was a dominating performance from start to finish in an 82-55 rout.
Where Is There Good Value?
Think Big East. St. John’s and Coach Rick Pitino play in one of the most anticipated second round games today when they face John Calipari and Arkansas. You know the NCAA seeding committee was hoping for Pitino vs. Calipari. The Red Storm won their first Big East title in 25 years this season.
The other team that has my attention is UConn, the Huskies are two-time defending champs remember. They take on the big favorite now in Florida Sunday, someone has to win that game. What if its UConn? Then they might be sitting pretty to make a run.
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Darren has been covering the world of sports since 1998. His grandfather had a special 'system' to bet on the ponies, but the secrets of that system have been lost to time. He loves betting the under, thinks homefield advantage is worth more than 3 points nowadays and always stays within his means.
