Michigan Among DraftKings’ Most Likely States To Win NCAA Tournament

Written By Drew Ellis on March 5, 2021 - Last Updated on March 11, 2021
DraftKings has Michigan tabbed as an NCAA Tournament contender.

Getting Michigan and Michigan State fans to agree on anything isn’t easy.

The rivalry runs deep in the state.

But when money is on the line, perhaps Spartans and Wolverines can find some middle ground.

DraftKings Sportsbook is offering odds to win the NCAA Tournament based on state, and Michigan is among the favorites.

Is a merger of the two squads a good play for Michigan Sports Bettors?

Michigan among the favorites to win March Madness

Having a likely No. 1 seed puts Michigan among the top favorite states to win the NCAA Tournament, according to DraftKings.

Odds to win the 2021 NCAA Tournament by StateDraftKings
Texas-106
Washington+250
Michigan+375
Floriday+700
Illinois+900
Ohio+1000
Iowa+1100
Virginia+1200
Wisconsin+1700
Pennsylvania+1900

Texas finds itself as the clear favorite at -106, while Washington is next at +250 and Michigan sits third at +375.

Only those three states have odds below +700, while just five come in below the +1000 mark.

Texas brings four contenders to March

The Longhorn State finds itself as the favorite coming in, with the Baylor Bears being their lead horse as a likely No. 1 seed.

Baylor is currently No. 3 in the AP rankings and is listed at +275 to win the NCAA Tournament as is.

Currently, ESPN’s Joe Lunardi has seven teams from Texas in the NCAA Tournament field in his latest Bracketology.

Among those seven teams includes third-ranked Baylor (20-1), ninth-ranked Houston (20-3), 15th-ranked Texas (16-7) and 18th-ranked Texas Tech (17-8). All four are projected as a 6 seed or better, including a top seed for Baylor and 2 seed for Houston.

The Bears were undefeated until a 71-58 loss at Kansas last weekend. Still, Baylor holds five wins over ranked opponents.

Houston has racked up 20 wins this season, but just one is against a ranked opponent. DraftKings lists the Cougars at +2000 to win the NCAA Tournament.

Washington riding on Gonzaga

The state of Washington is among the favorites despite having just one team projected for the field.

However, that one team is unbeaten Gonzaga.

The Bulldogs are undefeated at 24-0 and are a virtual lock to be a No. 1 seed in the tournament. Oddsmakers currently have them as the favorite to win March Madness at +250.

Zaga may be in the West Coast Conference, but the Bulldogs played a competitive non-conference schedule and own four wins over ranked teams, three of which were by double figures.

The Bulldogs have never won the NCAA Tournament, but played runner-up in 2017.

Wolverines, Spartans fighting for Michigan

The state of Michigan ranks third in the odds and will likely be relying on just Michigan and MSU to get the job done.

Michigan is No. 2 in the rankings, but likely to slip back after a rough 76-53 loss at home to Illinois on Tuesday night.

The Wolverines are still projected as a No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament and have +450 odds to win the whole thing.

Sitting at 19-2 on the season, Michigan has six wins against ranked opponents this season and earned the Big Ten regular season title on Thursday with a 69-50 win over MSU.

Michigan State is currently on Joe Lunardi’s Last Four In for the NCAA Tournament.

Things looked bleak for MSU a few weeks ago at 10-9, but the Spartans (14-11) had won four of their last five prior to Thursday’s loss. That includes wins over ranked Illinois and Ohio State.

Michigan State is trying to avoid missing out on the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 1997. However, MSU is currently at +10000 longshot to win the national championship.

Florida not looking too intimidating

Florida is an interesting favorite at +700 given that the state is projected to have just two teams in the field.

Lunardi lists Florida State as a 3 seed right now, while the Florida Gators are an 8. Neither team has strong individual tournament odds. FSU is listed at +2000, while Florida is at +7000.

Florida State is currently ranked 11th nationally at 15-4 and is tied for first in the ACC, though the conference has been down in the 2020-21 season.

The Seminoles own just two wins over ranked opponents this season and they haven’t reached a Final Four since 1972.

Florida finds itself unranked and 13-7 on the season. The Gators are just 9-6 in SEC play and also only have two wins against ranked opponents. Despite the average season, Florida does seem firmly planted in the NCAA Tournament field.

Illini a top contender for Illinois

Illinois looks to be bringing a pair of teams to March Madness, but the Fighting Illini is its best bet.

Currently projected as a No. 1 seed, Illinois is 19-6 this season following the big win at Michigan. They are tied for first in the Big Ten with the Wolverines and own five wins over ranked opponents.

Illinois is also among the top-10 favorites to win it all. Oddsmakers list them at +1300 currently.

Joining the Illini in the field will be Loyola-Chicago. You may remember the Ramblers from their amazing Final Four run in 2018 as an 11 seed.

Lunardi currently has Loyola as an 8 seed right now. Ranked 20th at 21-4, the Ramblers won the Missouri Valley Conference title this season.

Loyola doesn’t own a win over a ranked team, but still comes in with +4500 odds to win the tournament.

Drew Ellis Avatar
Written by
Drew Ellis

Drew Ellis is currently the Lead Writer of PlayILottery.com. He was the former Lead Writer of PlayMichigan, the No. 1 source for online gambling news in Michigan. A lifelong resident of the state, Ellis has been working in various forms of media since 1998, including more than a decade in the sports betting industry prior to transitioning into US casino markets in 2020.

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