How to Bet NCAA Men’s Tournament: Futures Odds, Best Bets Entering March

The final day of February feels like a great time to start talking March Madness.

As we enter the second-to-last weekend of the regular season, conference championship week (starting Monday, March 10 and culminating with Selection Sunday on March 16) and the Big Dance are almost upon us.

The last few games of the regular season and the way the conference tournaments play out could change things for either or both teams, but now is nevertheless a good time to break down the cases for and against title favorites Auburn and Duke.

2025 NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament Futures Odds

All season long, Johni Broome-led Auburn and Cooper Flagg-led Duke have stood out as the top teams in college hoops. It should come as no surprise that the Tigers and Blue Devils have the shortest odds to cut down the nets as of February 28.

But a handful of other teams look like contenders, including three of Auburn’s SEC rivals: Florida, Alabama and Tennessee. Houston (Big 12), Iowa State (Big 12) and St. John’s (Big East) round out the top contenders.

March Madness Futures Analysis

With five teams at around 10-to-1 or shorter, Auburn and Duke face plenty of tough competition in this year’s tournament. In fact, two of the top five contenders — Duke and Florida — have already beaten Auburn.

And while Jon Scheyer’s Blue Devils have been dominant for most of the year, they do have three losses, to Kentucky, Kansas and Clemson.

March Madness Best Bets: Duke, Auburn or the Field?

A year ago, the question entering the NCAA Tournament was whether to take Dan Hurley’s UConn Huskies or the field. The answer was emphatically the former.

For this year’s tournament, several sportsbooks will offer the option to bet on either Duke or Auburn, or someone besides those two (the field).

Right now at DraftKings, Duke/Auburn* is available at +160, while the field is priced at -210.

*As long one of those wins it all, this bet would cash.

Given how heavy favorites usually fare in this tournament (just ask Gonzaga in 2021, to name one recent example), it will be interesting to see whether we get the Duke vs. Auburn National Championship matchup that many are expecting.

Also worth noting: in the last 10 years, seven national champions entered the tournament as a 1-seed, with 2-seed Villanova (2016), 4-seed UConn (2023) and 7-seed UConn (2014) the outliers.

Auburn National Title Odds, Analysis

Best available odds (Feb. 28): +350 at DK, bet365

Playing in by far the toughest conference in the nation — in the latest AP poll, eight SEC teams are in the top 25, including four ranked No. 6 or higher — Auburn’s had a remarkable season to date despite playing the toughest schedule in the country.

In non-conference play, Auburn faced one tough test after another, taking down Houston, Iowa State, North Carolina, Memphis, Ohio State and Purdue, with the only loss outside of SEC play coming at Cameron Indoor in early December. Houston (No. 4), Iowa State (No. 9), Memphis (No. 18) and Purdue (No. 20) all are still in the top 25.

Auburn’s top player is big man Johni Broome, who is averaging 18.8 points, 11 rebounds and 3.4 assists. He’s currently the Wooden Award betting favorite ahead of Flagg, but Auburn is no one-man team. Broome is one of just six Auburn players averaging double-figures, and that balance is arguably the biggest reason for this team’s success this year.

Five of those players, including Broome, are seniors, which is another reason why A) so many people love this team’s chances to cut down the nets in San Antonio and B) Auburn can win in a variety of ways, whether they’re in a track meet like the 94-85 win over Alabama in Tuscaloosa a couple weeks ago or a slugfest like the 53-51 W they squeaked out over Tennessee on January 25.

There are few, if any weaknesses on this team, but Auburn did give up a total of 21 offensive rebounds in its losses to Florida and Duke (the Gators grabbed nine of their misses and the Devils pulled down 12).

As far as advanced metrics go, though, KenPom.com rates Duke as slightly better, Bart Torvik’s T-Rank places Auburn just behind Houston and Duke, and ESPN’s BPI also ranks Auburn behind Duke and Houston.

Duke National Title Odds, Analysis

Best available odds (Feb. 28): +370 at DK

Superstar freshman Cooper Flagg’s versatility is what makes him the likely No. 1 pick in the 2025 NBA Draft. His two-way game is also the key to Duke’s success on both ends of the floor.

Flagg is hardly the first freshman phenom to immediately score at will in college hoops, but we’ve not seen many rookies impact the game on defense the way he does.

Flagg, who averages over 19 points per game on 49 percent shooting from the floor, also leads Duke in rebounds, steals and blocks, and he’s a huge reason why the Blue Devils been one of the best defensive teams in the country.

Like Auburn, Duke has surrounded its top player with an impressive supporting cast. In addition to Flagg, Kon Knueppel (13.5 points per game) and Tyrese Proctor (11.8 ppg) are potent scorers, and freshman Isaiah Evans is a streaky shooter who has knocked down four 3-pointers or more in seven games despite averaging 13.8 minutes per game.

The Blue Devils also boast several excellent defenders besides Flagg. Freshman center Khaman Maluach is a 7-foot-2, 250-pound mountain in the paint, and veteran wings Sion James, Maliq Brown and Mason Gillis give Duke three rangy defenders on the perimeter.

Duke lost twice in November, but they’ve lost only once since — on the road vs. No. 13 Clemson on Feb. 8 — and their last seven wins have all been by at least 17 points.

Proctor’s knee injury in Tuesday’s win over Miami initially set off red flags, but Scheyer said on Wednesday night that Proctor did not sustain any structural damage, meaning he should be back in action for the NCAA Tournament if not sooner.

Given the balance of this roster and how dominant it has been in recent weeks, Duke feels like a great bet at +370. Don’t be surprised if this team’s outrights are far less tempting by the time the tournament kicks into gear on Thursday, March 20.

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