Is Duke the NCAA Tournament favorite among oddsmakers? You bet

The oddsmakers have spoken, or at least messaged. When it comes to identifying the NCAA Tournament favorite, they agree with the selection committee.

Duke is the top choice.

According to www.SportsBettingDime.com Duke is a 9-2 favorite to win the title. At www.BetOnline.ag the Blue Devils are listed at 9-4.

Virginia and Gonzaga are the second choice of both books. They’re split on North Carolina and Kentucky as Midwest Region favorites.

Other odds and props from the books:

*At SportsBettingDime.com, Duke freshman forward Zion Williamson is a 9-1 choice to be named the Final Four’s most outstanding player. After Williamson, it goes Duke RJ Barrett (13-1), Michigan State’s Cassius Winston (19-1), Kentucky’s PJ Washington (24-1), Texas Tech’s Jarrett Culver (25-1) and Tennessee’s Grant Williams (26-1).

*Perhaps in honor of Williamson, the shoe company that will suffer the first malfunction: Nike (1-2), Adidas (6-1), Under Armour (7-1), Jordan (18-1).

*Gonzaga is the top choice to be the first No. 1 seed to lose at 7-3, followed by North Carolina (5-2), Virginia (3-1) and Duke (5-1).

*Coach mostly likely to move on is Virginia Tech’s Buzz Williams at 9-5. Texas A&M has been speculated a his next destination.

At www.BetOnline.ag, the best chances to win the championship by seed are

1. Duke 9-4

2 Kentucky, Michigan State 12-1

3 Texas Tech 20-1

4 Florida State and Virginia Tech 33-1

(Kansas and Kansas State each listed at 50-1)

5 Auburn 25-1

6 Iowa State 40-1

7 Louisville 50-1

8 Syracuse 66-1

9 all 150-1

10 Florida 66-1

11 St. Mary’s 150-1

12 Oregon 150-1

13 St. Louis and UC Irvine 250-1

14 all 500-1

15 Montana 500-1

16 Iona 500-1

This story was originally published March 18, 2019 at 4:18 PM with the headline "Is Duke the NCAA Tournament favorite among oddsmakers? You bet."