March Madness betting: Kentucky still among most popular conference tournament bets
Kentucky may have had a miserable regular season, but it is still popular among bettors once the postseason rolls around.
With the SEC tournament set to begin on Wednesday, the Wildcats are receiving 37.8% of the bets and a whopping 41% of the money at BetMGM to win the conference title and earn an automatic berth to the NCAA tournament.
Kentucky, with a 9-15 overall record and an 8-9 mark in SEC play, is the tournament’s No. 8 seed and currently has +1600 odds at BetMGM. UK will open postseason play on Thursday against No. 9 seed Mississippi State at noon ET. The winner of that game will move on to face No. 1 seed Alabama in the quarterfinals.
Alabama, with +250 odds, is the betting favorite, but is receiving just 12.5% of the bets and 16.9% of the money. Ahead of Alabama (and behind Kentucky) are Arkansas at +350 and Tennessee at +500. The Razorbacks, the tournament’s No. 2 seed, are receiving 15.3% of the bets and 16.9% of the money. Tennessee, the No. 4 seed, is receiving 13.6% of the bets and 14.5% of the money.
Sportsbook rooting against Kentucky, Michigan State, West Virginia
Any of those outcomes would be more favorable for the sportsbook than a run from Kentucky. Seamus Magee, a sports trader for BetMGM, said Kentucky, Michigan State and West Virginia winning their conference tournaments would be “three of the worst outcomes” for BetMGM.
Michigan State has +3500 odds to win the Big Ten tournament, but is receiving significant action. The Spartans have the highest ticket percentage of any Big Ten team, 17.3%. It makes sense, too. With such long odds, it’s worth throwing a little bit of money down (MSU has received just 11.8% of the money) on a program with such a sustained history of success in March. MSU has won four of the last eight Big Ten tournaments.
By comparison, Michigan — the top seed in the Big Ten tournament — is receiving 44.8% of the money at BetMGM but just 9.6% of the bets. Michigan is the betting favorite at +175 with Illinois (+300), Iowa (+450) and Ohio State (+800) right behind.
Behind Michigan, Purdue has the second-highest handle in the Big Ten with 12.2% of the money on the Boilermakers at +1200.
In the Big 12, West Virginia is a very popular play. The Mountaineers, the tournament’s No. 4 seed with +900 odds, are receiving 38.9% of the bets and 37.1% of the money at BetMGM. Next in line is No. 2 seed Kansas (+500) at 23.5% of the bets and 20.2% of the money. Baylor, the Big 12 regular season champion, is the favorite at -145 and is receiving 12.6% of the bets and 17.9% of the money.
Other noteworthy conference tournament betting action
In the ACC, Georgia Tech (+1000) has received the most bets (24.7%), but Florida State has received the most money (36.6%).
In the Big East, UConn (+250) is a very popular play. The Huskies have received 31.8% of the bets and 47.1% of the money to win the Big East tournament. St. John’s, at +1600, has also received plenty of action: 23.8% of the bets, 25.9% of the money. Creighton, the betting favorite at +225, has received just 7.9% of the bets and 4.5% of the money.
Oregon and Colorado are the most popular picks in the Pac-12. Both teams sit at +250 with Oregon garnering the most action — 38.7% of the bets and 38.9% of the money. Colorado has received 29.1% of the bets and 35.6% of the money. Interestingly, a long shot in Arizona State (+5000) has received 10.1% of the bets and 10.2% of the money while favorite USC (+225) has received just 8.5% of the bets and 5.9% of the money.
