Tracking the Biggest Bets Made to Win the 2021 March Madness Tournament
- The March Madness bracket is set and the NCAA Tournament is ready to tip-off on Thursday, March 18 with the First Four
- The largest bet placed on a team to win March Madness is $20,000
- See all the biggest bets placed on the NCAA Tournament below
With Selection Sunday behind us, and the full bracket now complete, the 2021 NCAA Men’s Tournament is set to tip-off Thursday, March 18 with the First Four, and the First Round will start Friday, March 19.
According to the American Gaming Association, 47.5 million American adults will bet on the tournament. But what are the biggest bets that have been placed? Check them out below!
Biggest Bets Placed on March Madness Tournament
| Bet | Odds | Amount Wagered | Potential Profit |
|---|---|---|---|
| West Virginia to Win NCAA Tournament | +2500 | $20,000 | $500,000 |
| Creighton to Win NCAA Tournament | +2000 | $10,000 | $200,000 |
| Missouri to Win NCAA Tournament | +5000 | $2,000 | $100,000 |
| Michigan to Win NCAA Tournament | +700 | $2,000 | $14,000 |
| Winthrop to Win NCAA Tournament | +25000 | $500 | $125,000 |
Gonzaga enters the tournament as the top overall seed, and are also the heavy favorites in the odds to win March Madness. While many sportsbooks are reporting exposures on the Bulldogs, we haven’t seen any major wagers placed on them yet.
The FanDuel customer who is sitting on West Virginia to win the tournament must have bet them prior to the bracket being revealed to get WVU at just +2500 odds. After Selection Sunday, they are as long as +5000 at FanDuel now.
The Mountaineers are listed as 12.5-point favorites against Morehead State in the first round, but then will (likely) have to deal with Houston and Illinois on their way to the Final Four in the Midwest Region.
It may not be as tough a path as fellow no. 3 seeds Kansas and Arkansas face, but Bob Huggins certainly has his work cut out for him.
The bet placed on Creighton came in before the bracket revealed the Blue Jays as a 5-seed, set to take on a tough UC Santa Barbara team in the first round. This bettor must be kicking themselves now, seeing Creighton available as long as +6000 to win the tournament.
The Blue Jays are still listed as 6.5-point favorites over the Guachos on Saturday. However, our top college basketball expert doesn’t like Creighton’s chances.
Perhaps the most surprising wager of the bunch is the $2,000 on Missouri, a nine-seed who are 2-point underdogs against Oklahoma in the first round, and would then have to take down Gonzaga en route to the Sweet 16.
While $500 isn’t generally enough to be considered a major wager, we felt the +25000 odds and potential $125,000 payout warranted inclusion in this article. The Eagles enter the dance as a 12-seed and draw Villanova in the first round, a game where they are seen as 6-point underdogs.
After working in TV, Matt turned his focus towards numbers, specifically odds. He has been with us since 2016 and serves as SBD's Editor-in-Chief, credited with creating our futures trackers, SBD's score predictor, SBD Sharp, and his own model for calculating NFL SOS, among other products.
