Gonzaga is the top seed in the West, and they have the third-shortest odds to win the NCAA Tournament at BetDSI, at +550.

Gonzaga does have a history of early tournament exits, but they may be psychologically primed to avoid that fate again this year after their shocking loss to St Mary’s in the West Coast Conference tournament finals.

On paper, the Bulldogs look extremely impressive. They’re first in the country in offensive efficiency at KenPom, and first in effective field goal percentage.
They’re less reliant on 3-point shooting than many other teams, and their elite half-court offense featuring stud big man Rui Hachimura could prove to be a key factor in intense, tightly-contested games deep in the tournament.

Gonzaga is legitimately elite, and they have to be looking to atone for their conference tournament loss this year, as well as their history of underwhelming NCAA Tournament results.

The Bulldogs were also a good bet overall on the year, finishing at 21-12 ATS, and it’s quite possible that the market is continuing to give them too little respect with their futures odds to win the tournament.

Michigan’s bread and butter this year is their elite defense, which is ranked second in adjusted efficiency at KenPom.

But they’ll need to get consistent offensive production as well to win it all, and what they’ve shown this year overall on offense doesn’t inspire confidence.

The Wolverines are a #2 seed and 14-1 to win the title at BetDSI, but they don’t have reliable outside shooting and they lack depth down low. And on top of that, they don’t shoot free throws well, which is likely to be crucial in close tournament games.

They’ve enjoyed success this year because their defense has been just that great, they don’t turn the ball over, and their big wings are usually too difficult for inferior opponents to match up with.

But in the tournament, it feels like Michigan might be at a disadvantage against the more complete elite teams.

Texas Tech is 22-1 to win the National Championship at BetDSI, and they may be a dangerous team heading into the Big Dance after a first-round exit in the Big 12 Conference tournament.

The Red Raiders have the top defense in the country according to KenPom, and when their offense picked up down the stretch of the regular season, they became an ATS juggernaut, covering 8 of their last 9 regular season point spreads.

The defense will be there for Texas Tech in the tournament. The big question is, will their improved 3-point shooting continue, or will they revert back to their anemic offensive ways of the beginning parts of the season?

Florida State is tall and long, they feature a deep rotation of athletic players, and they will present serious matchup problems on defense for anyone they meet in the tournament, including top-seeded Gonzaga.
The Seminoles’ challenges will be to find consistent scoring and to avoid turnovers.

But Florida State has already beaten a #1 seed in Virginia this year, and they did so in a dominant fashion.
At 30-1 to win it all at BetDSI, there may be some betting value with Florida State.

FSU also trended Under in non-home games this season, going 6-12 O/U outside of Tallahassee.

Marquette is a #5 seed and 66-1 to win the National Championship at BetDSI, both of which seem a bit generous in light of the Eagles’ stumbles to the finish line this year. Marquette lost 5 of their last 6 games straight up, including 4 in which they were favored.
Still, they seemed like a different team earlier in the year, when they were covering point spreads game-in and game-out.

Marquette had problems with turnovers during their bad run down the stretch, and that is a key issue that will need to be fixed for them to have a good showing in the tournament. But if they can solve those turnover problems that have plagued them recently, they do have a complement of potent 3-point shooters who can be difficult to shut down.

Buffalo is currently far and away the class of the MAC, and even though expectations were high this year for the Bulls, they still retained betting value, finishing the year at 18-14 ATS. That includes a 2-5 ATS finish where the market began to adjust and more accurately set Buffalo’s point spreads.
A deep tournament run would surprise few and is being predicted by many.

Buffalo is improved from last season, they’re deep and senior-heavy, and they rank highly both on offense and defense. They play at a fast pace but are also Top 20 in the country in not turning the ball over.

The table seems to be set for the Bulls to shine in the tournament this year, but as we know, with March Madness, always expect the unexpected.

Nevada’s season saw them starkly undervalued to start, going 6-1 ATS in their first 7 games, and then equally overvalued at the end, losing 7 of their last 8 ATS. Astute college hoops handicappers were able to ride both waves and identify market mis-pricings of Nevada in both directions.
The question is, what can we expect to see from the Wolf Pack in the Big Dance?

They were labeled a Final Four team by some respected analysts in the beginning of the season, but fatigue may have come into play recently, as their top three players all have averaged at least 34 minutes per game this season. The break may do this team a lot of good, and we might see a form from them closer to what we saw at the start of the year. Or not.

Neither a Final Four appearance nor an opening game loss would be a surprise from Nevada. But if you want to bet them to win it all, BetDSI is offering them at 100-1.

Syracuse’s system has proven it can work reliably come tourney time, and this year’s version of the Orange already has a straight up win over Duke to their credit.

They also have three double-digit home losses as a favorite on their resume as well.

It’s never a shock when a reasonable Syracuse team makes a very deep run, and you can get 150-1 for the Orange to win it all at BetDSI.

Their offensive numbers this year, though, are less promising than they’ve been in recent tournaments. So a patented Syracuse run where they stifle opponents’ 3-point shooting and scrap out win after win might be a bit less likely than in years past.
But Jim Boeheim’s team has a habit of turning up it’s best version of itself in the Big Dance.

Baylor impressively overachieved this season, overcoming modest expectations and injuries to make the NCAA Tournament.

They’re lacking in talent compared to many other teams in the tourney, but they play with heart and tenacity, and that shows up in their impressive offensive rebounding numbers. Like many mid-range seeds, their ceiling is high but their floor is low.

Baylor closed the season way overvalued, going 1-8-2 ATS over their final 11 games.

The Bears’ grit and determination probably won’t get them a National Championship, but they’ll be a tough out until they’re finally beaten.

Florida is a #10 seed and 200-1 to win the NCAA Tournament at BetDSI, but they may be a team that is flying a bit under the radar, and there was some notable early sharp action that came in on Florida for their opening game.

The Gators prefer a slower pace, and despite lacking true star power, they seem to be finding a winning team identity at the right time.

Florida was also a particularly good bet, as well as an under-trending team, in games away from their home court this season.

Outside of Gainesville, the Gators were 13-6 ATS, as well as an amazing 3-16 O/U. They had an up-and-down season, but played a tough SEC schedule and may be a lower seed with Cinderella potential.

The Pac-12 was considered to be a relatively weak conference this season, so Arizona State may be at a disadvantage heading into their NCAA Tournament play-in game.

The Sun Devils probably don’t have the offense to make up for their vulnerable defense against tournament teams, and a deep run by Bobby Hurley’s squad seems hard to imagine.

They’ll probably try to just go as far as their offense will carry them, so perhaps Overs will be the way to look to play Arizona State games as long as they remain in the tournament.

Advanced analytics suggest St John’s has no business being in the tournament, with many reputable outlets ranking them in the 70s nationally.

The Red Storm do have impressive scoring talent on their roster, particularly star guard Shamorie Ponds, but their defensive numbers are bad and their strength of schedule this year was questionable.

They weren’t a good bet on the year overall, opening and closing the regular season with runs of ATS losses.

Murray State is 250-1 to win the NCAA Tournament at BetDSI, and while few are calling for the dangerous Racers to win it all, they do appear to have emerged as a popular pick for a classic #12 vs #5 upset this year.

Murray State features Ja Morant, a projected NBA lottery pick, leading their offense which is 11^th in the nation in scoring, and they proved their ability to hang with Power Five teams in hostile environments earlier this year with close straight up losses but ATS wins in games on the road against Alabama and Auburn.

The tournament figures to be a showcase for Morant, and Murray State may have point spread value in the process as a result.

The Racers are very vulnerable defensively though, and especially from two-point range. So if Murray State does make a deep run, look for them to have more problems when facing teams that can take advantage of them closer to the basket.

Northern Kentucky was first in the Horizon League standings this year, but they were somewhat surprisingly overvalued, and were actually a poor bet overall, going 12-20 ATS.

They also lost ATS both of their games this season when they were big underdogs and stepping up in class against UCF and Cincinnati.

They have good offensive efficiency numbers though, and they shoot well from 3-point range, so they will have the potential to get hot and steal a game or two.

But all signs indicate that the Norse are not ready to pull out wins against upper-level teams, and they probably aren’t a good bet to make an unexpected run this year.

Montana took some initial sharp action on their point spread as a big underdog for their opening round game against Michigan, but that doesn’t necessarily mean there’s betting value with their odds to win the tournament, which currently sit at 1,000-1 at BetDSI.

Montana’s fortunes in the tournament this year aren’t likely to be much different from last year, as they return a similar team. They have impressive guards who can score and hit from 3-point range at a high percentage and put up points in spurts against anyone when they get hot.

But the Grizzlies just don’t have the defensive presence or the size to be likely to make a deep run in the tournament.

Fairleigh Dickinson will be competitive in their play-in game, but beyond that, they’ll be outclassed.

FDU can put up big points with their excellent 3-point shooting, but defensively it’s impossible to imagine them stopping Gonzaga, whom they will face should they win the play-in game.

Prairie View A&M is sparked by their up-tempo offense and a defense that gives up points, but also produces turnovers.

The Panthers are actually fourth in the nation in creating turnovers, and that may be a strength that will pay big dividends in the supercharged tournament atmosphere, where they will be able to take advantage of any lack of composure on the part of their opponents.