Upcoming Games
| Matchup | Time | Best ML | Best Spread | Coverage |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Oklahoma Sooners @ Baylor Bears | Apr 4, 5:30 PM | Sooners -116Bears +100 | Sooners -1Bears +1.5 | 6 books |
| West Virginia Mountaineers @ Creighton Bluejays | Apr 4, 8:00 PM | Mountaineers -114Bluejays +100 | Mountaineers 0Bluejays +1.5 | 6 books |
| Illinois Fighting Illini @ UConn Huskies | Apr 4, 10:09 PM | Illini +115Huskies -125 | Illini +2Huskies -1.5 | 17 books |
| Michigan Wolverines @ Arizona Wildcats | Apr 5, 12:49 AM | Wolverines -116Wildcats +104 | Wolverines -1.5Wildcats +1.5 | 18 books |
| Tulsa Golden Hurricane @ Auburn Tigers | Apr 6, 12:00 AM | Hurricane +185Tigers -200 | Hurricane +5.5Tigers -4.5 | 7 books |
| Illinois Fighting Illini @ Arizona Wildcats | Apr 7, 1:00 AM | Illini +180Wildcats -198 | Illini +5.5Wildcats -4.5 | 4 books |
| UConn Huskies @ Arizona Wildcats | Apr 7, 1:00 AM | Huskies +198Wildcats -218 | Huskies +5.5Wildcats -5.5 | 4 books |
| Illinois Fighting Illini @ Michigan Wolverines | Apr 7, 1:00 AM | Illini -198Wolverines +180 | Illini -4.5Wolverines +5.5 | 4 books |
| UConn Huskies @ Michigan Wolverines | Apr 7, 1:00 AM | Huskies +210Wolverines -250 | Huskies +6.5Wolverines -5.5 | 4 books |
Completed Games (6)
Final Four — Thu, Apr 2
| Away | Score | Home | Score |
|---|---|---|---|
| Oklahoma Sooners | 90 | Colorado Buffaloes | 86 |
| Baylor Bears | 67 | Minnesota Golden Gophers | 48 |
| New Mexico Lobos | 69 | Tulsa Golden Hurricane | 74 |
Final Four — Fri, Apr 3
| Away | Score | Home | Score |
|---|---|---|---|
| Stanford Cardinal | 77 | West Virginia Mountaineers | 82 |
| Illinois St Redbirds | 66 | Auburn Tigers | 88 |
| Rutgers Scarlet Knights | 69 | Creighton Bluejays | 82 |
2026 NCAA men’s tournament guide
Here’s the live men’s-tournament version as of March 17. The bracket was announced on March 15, the First Four starts March 17-18, the Round of 64 runs March 19-20, and the tournament ends with the Final Four and title game in Indianapolis on April 4 and 6. Duke is the No. 1 overall seed; Arizona, Michigan, and defending champion Florida are the other 1-seeds. (NCAA.com)
Bracket snapshot
East: Duke vs. Siena; Ohio State vs. TCU; St. John’s vs. Northern Iowa; Kansas vs. Cal Baptist; Louisville vs. South Florida; Michigan State vs. North Dakota State; UCLA vs. UCF; UConn vs. Furman. (NCAA.com bracket)
West: Arizona vs. Long Island; Villanova vs. Utah State; Wisconsin vs. High Point; Arkansas vs. Hawai‘i; BYU vs. Texas/NC State; Gonzaga vs. Kennesaw State; Miami (FL) vs. Missouri; Purdue vs. Queens. (NCAA.com bracket)
South: Florida vs. Lehigh/Prairie View A&M; Clemson vs. Iowa; Vanderbilt vs. McNeese; Nebraska vs. Troy; North Carolina vs. VCU; Illinois vs. Penn; Saint Mary’s vs. Texas A&M; Houston vs. Idaho. (NCAA.com bracket)
Midwest: Michigan vs. Howard/UMBC; Georgia vs. Saint Louis; Texas Tech vs. Akron; Alabama vs. Hofstra; Tennessee vs. SMU/Miami (Ohio); Virginia vs. Wright State; Kentucky vs. Santa Clara; Iowa State vs. Tennessee State. (NCAA.com bracket)
First Four: Howard-UMBC feeds Michigan, Texas-NC State feeds BYU, Lehigh-Prairie View A&M feeds Florida, and Miami (Ohio)-SMU feeds Tennessee. (NCAA.com bracket)
The big storylines actually shaping this bracket
This looks like another potentially chalky March. Last season all four 1-seeds made the Final Four for the first time since 2008, and betting markets again have the top line clustered above the field: Duke around +350, Michigan +370, Arizona +380, with Florida the next-shortest 1-seed at +750. AP also reported Caesars expects a “fairly chalky” tournament because NIL has widened the gap between the richest programs and the rest of the field. (Reuters)
The strongest data point behind that trend is how few true giant-killers showed up this season: ESPN reported only 29 small-conference teams beat power-conference opponents in the regular season, down 58.9% from 2021-22. That does not mean there will be no upsets; it does mean you should probably avoid building a bracket that assumes chaos everywhere. (ESPN)
The injury board matters more than usual. Duke lost point guard Caleb Foster to a fractured right foot and is also missing center Patrick Ngongba II, which shortens the Blue Devils’ rotation. Michigan lost guard L.J. Cason to a torn ACL. Texas Tech is without AP first-team All-American JT Toppin because of a torn ACL. UCLA’s Tyler Bilodeau also entered tournament week with an uncertain status after a right-leg injury in the Big Ten tournament. Arizona and Florida are healthier overall, but Reuters noted Arizona’s Jaden Bradley and Koa Peat have both dealt with injuries, while Florida’s outside shooting looked shaky in its SEC tournament semifinal loss. (Reuters injury report)
This tournament also has a lot of star-driven bracket juice. AP first-team All-America honors went to Duke’s Cameron Boozer, BYU’s AJ Dybantsa, Arkansas’ Darius Acuff Jr., Michigan’s Yaxel Lendeborg, and Texas Tech’s JT Toppin. Boozer led Duke to the top overall seed, Dybantsa leads the nation in scoring at 25.3 ppg, Acuff has Arkansas peaking at the right time, and Lendeborg is a huge reason Michigan landed on the 1-line. (Reuters All-America)
The committee’s biggest talking points were St. John’s and Miami (Ohio). St. John’s still landed on the 5-line even after beating UConn by 20 in the Big East title game, which created a nasty East path with Kansas looming immediately. Miami (Ohio) made the field despite major schedule criticism; AP reported committee chair Keith Gill said the RedHawks were actually in ahead of Texas, SMU and NC State, while Auburn, Indiana, Oklahoma and San Diego State were among the first teams left out. (AP News)
How I’d think about filling out a bracket this year
The safest way to build is to be more conservative than usual at the top. Duke, Arizona and Michigan have the cleanest blend of seeding, market respect, and recent form; Florida is still dangerous, but its odds are meaningfully longer than the other 1-seeds. Houston and Iowa State are the most credible non-1 title threats based on seed strength and market price. (SI)
If you want leverage without going full chaos, the best “strong but not obvious” teams are St. John’s, Arkansas, BYU, and Saint Mary’s. Reuters flagged Arkansas as the hottest 4-seed because Darius Acuff Jr. has been on a tear, BYU as the most dangerous 6-seed because of Dybantsa, and Saint Mary’s as a disciplined 7-seed with elite shooting and defense. St. John’s, meanwhile, looks underseeded based on how it closed the Big East tournament. (Reuters)
For upset hunting, I would circle Akron, VCU, Santa Clara, plus the 12-seed/5-seed danger spots AP highlighted: Northern Iowa, High Point, McNeese, and Akron. Reuters specifically called Akron the classic 12-over-5 type, VCU the most dangerous 11-seed, and Santa Clara the standout 10-seed. (Reuters)
The places I would be careful getting too aggressive are teams with obvious health or depth questions: Duke if you think guard injuries eventually bite, Michigan if you’re worried about backcourt depth, Texas Tech because Toppin’s absence changes its ceiling, and UCLA unless Bilodeau looks fully fine. Those are not automatic fades; they are the spots where the bracket can turn faster than the seed number suggests. (Reuters injury report)
My clean bracket philosophy for 2026
My read: start with at least two 1-seeds in the Final Four, consider three if you’re in a large pool with standard scoring, and use your differentiation on the 4-to-7 seed lines rather than forcing multiple double-digit Cinderella runs. A high-floor bracket this year is more likely to look like “mostly chalk, plus one region-breaking team such as St. John’s, Arkansas, BYU, or Saint Mary’s” than “three 12-seeds and a 10-seed in the Sweet 16.” That view lines up with the betting market, the season’s upset data, and the way the top of the bracket has separated from the field. (ESPN odds)
Additional sources
NCAAB Sportsbook Vig Rankings
Which sportsbooks offer the lowest juice on March Madness games right now:
| # | Sportsbook | Avg Vig | Grade | Moneyline | Spreads | Totals | Events |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | LowVig.ag | 3.52% | B+ | 4.44% | 2.90% | 3.85% | 9 |
| 2 | Pinnacle | 3.72% | B+ | 3.45% | 3.37% | 4.35% | 4 |
| 3 | DraftKings | 4.60% | B | 4.29% | 4.74% | 4.76% | 7 |
| 4 | theScore Bet (ESPN Bet) | 4.60% | B | 4.34% | 4.71% | 4.73% | 2 |
| 5 | Bovada | 4.61% | B | 4.34% | 4.73% | 4.76% | 2 |
| 6 | Hard Rock Bet | 4.61% | B | 4.34% | 4.73% | 4.76% | 2 |
| 7 | Fanatics | 4.62% | B | 4.34% | 4.76% | 4.76% | 2 |
| 8 | Caesars | 4.68% | B | 4.53% | 4.76% | 4.76% | 4 |
| 9 | BetUS | 4.68% | B | 4.25% | 4.76% | 4.76% | 5 |
| 10 | BetOnline.ag | 4.71% | B | 4.44% | 4.75% | 4.76% | 9 |
| 11 | FanDuel | 4.71% | B | 4.58% | 4.80% | 4.74% | 9 |
| 12 | BetMGM | 4.74% | B | 4.75% | 4.71% | 4.76% | 3 |
| 13 | betPARX | 4.79% | B | 4.53% | 4.96% | 4.87% | 2 |
| 14 | Bally Bet | 4.79% | B | 4.53% | 4.96% | 4.87% | 2 |
| 15 | MyBookie.ag | 4.82% | B | 4.94% | 4.76% | 4.76% | 2 |
| 16 | BetRivers | 5.38% | C+ | 5.28% | 5.31% | 5.55% | 2 |
| 17 | ReBet | 7.14% | D | 6.02% | 7.37% | 8.04% | 2 |
| 18 | Fliff | 8.03% | D- | 8.04% | 8.03% | 8.03% | 2 |
Best Line Leaders
Which sportsbook offers the best March Madness odds most often across 9 games:
| # | Sportsbook | Best Lines |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | LowVig.ag | 29 |
| 2 | FanDuel | 10 |
| 3 | Pinnacle | 8 |
| 4 | DraftKings | 8 |
| 5 | Caesars | 3 |
| 6 | MyBookie.ag | 2 |
| 7 | BetMGM | 2 |
| 8 | BetUS | 1 |
| 9 | theScore Bet (ESPN Bet) | 1 |
College basketball presents one of the most complex betting landscapes in American sports. With over 360 Division I teams spread across more than 30 conferences, the sheer volume of games — often 80 or more on a single day during peak season — creates significant variation in market efficiency. Unlike the NBA, where professional rosters are deeply scouted and lines are razor-sharp, NCAAB features massive talent disparities, wildly different playing styles, and roster turnover that can reshape a program overnight. Tempo is a critical variable: some teams play at 75+ possessions per game while others grind below 62, making totals markets particularly nuanced. Bettors who understand adjusted efficiency metrics and pace-of-play data can find genuine edges, especially in mid-major and low-profile conference matchups where sportsbooks allocate fewer resources to line-setting.
Vig on NCAAB lines tends to be wider than what bettors encounter in major professional leagues. High-profile matchups between ranked teams and marquee conference games generally carry tighter margins, approaching the standard -110/-110 spread seen in the NFL or NBA. But for games involving smaller conferences — the Southland, MEAC, or America East, for example — books often build in extra margin to account for uncertainty, sometimes pushing vig noticeably higher. This makes shopping across multiple sportsbooks especially valuable in college basketball, where the difference between a 4.5% and 7% hold on the same game is not uncommon. The books with the sharpest NCAAB lines tend to be those that attract high-volume, sophisticated action.
The NCAAB season runs from early November through the national championship in early April, with distinct phases that affect odds quality. Early-season tournaments and non-conference play in November and December often feature the softest lines, as books have limited current-season data and rely heavily on preseason projections and transfer portal assessments. Conference play from January through March typically sharpens markets as sample sizes grow. March Madness is the peak betting period, drawing massive public action that can inflate certain lines — particularly on popular brands like Duke, Kansas, and Kentucky — while creating value on lesser-known tournament teams. Home-court advantage remains one of the most significant factors in college basketball, with some venues producing double-digit home edges. Injuries to key players on thin rosters can move lines dramatically, and the one-and-done nature of the NCAA Tournament amplifies the importance of matchup-specific analysis over raw power ratings.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is March Madness?
March Madness is the NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Tournament, a single-elimination tournament of 68 teams held annually in March and April. It is one of the most popular and heavily bet sporting events in the United States.
Which sportsbook has the best March Madness odds?
LowVig.ag currently has the lowest vig for NCAA Tournament games at 3.52%, earning a grade of B+. Lower vig means you keep more of your winnings.
How many March Madness games have odds right now?
There are currently 9 upcoming NCAA Tournament games with odds posted across multiple sportsbooks. We track moneyline, point spread, and totals for each game.
Where can I see March Madness scores?
This page shows scores for 6 recently completed games. Scores are updated multiple times per day from The Odds API.
Why is college basketball vig so variable?
NCAAB has hundreds of teams and thousands of games per season. Major conference matchups attract decent volume and competitive vig, but mid-major and early-season games see far less action. Sportsbooks compensate with wider margins on lower-profile games.
When is NCAAB season?
College basketball runs from November through early April, culminating in March Madness (the NCAA Tournament). The tournament generates massive betting interest and typically features some of the best vig of the NCAAB season.
Does March Madness have better vig than regular season?
Generally yes. March Madness is one of the most heavily bet events in American sports. The flood of casual and sharp money forces books to tighten their lines. Tournament vig is often 1–2% lower than early-season college basketball.
What is vig (vigorish) in sports betting?
Vig — short for vigorish, also called juice or overround — is the margin a sportsbook builds into its odds. It's the difference between the true probability of an outcome and what the odds imply. Lower vig means you keep more of your winnings on every bet. For example, a standard -110/-110 line has about 4.76% vig.
How often is this data updated?
We pull fresh odds from The Odds API three times per day — at 6:00 AM, 2:00 PM, and 10:00 PM UTC. Each snapshot captures the latest lines from every sportsbook that has posted odds. The timestamp at the top of the page shows the most recent refresh.
How is the vig grade calculated?
Each sportsbook is graded on a letter scale based on average vig: A+ (under 2%) is exceptional, A (2–3%) is excellent, B+ (3–4%) is above average, B (4–5%) is the industry standard, C (5–6%) is below average, and D (above 6%) indicates high-juice markets.
How We Calculate These Numbers
- Data Source
- All odds on this page come from The Odds API, which aggregates real-time lines from licensed US and offshore sportsbooks. We track moneyline, spread, and totals markets across every sport with active betting lines.
- Update Frequency
- We pull a fresh snapshot of every tracked market three times per day — at 6:00 AM, 2:00 PM, and 10:00 PM UTC. Each snapshot captures the latest lines from every sportsbook that has posted odds for a given event. The timestamp at the top of each page tells you exactly when the data was last refreshed.
- Vig Calculation
- Vig (short for vigorish, also called juice or overround) measures the margin a sportsbook builds into its odds. We calculate it by converting the odds on each side of a market to implied probabilities, summing those probabilities, and subtracting 100%. For example, a market priced at -110/-110 implies 52.38% on each side — a total of 104.76%, meaning a vig of 4.76%. Lower vig means better value for bettors because you keep more of your winnings.
- Per-Market Breakdown
- We compute vig separately for each market type: moneyline (h2h), point spreads, and totals (over/under). The "average vig" shown for each sportsbook is the mean across all market types weighted by the number of events sampled in each market.
- Grading Scale
- Every sportsbook receives a letter grade based on its average vig: A+ (under 2%) is exchange-level pricing. A (2–3%) is very competitive. B+ (3–4%) is above average. B (4–5%) is the industry standard — a -110/-110 line is 4.76%. C+ (5–6%) is slightly below average. C (6–7%) is below average. D (7–8%) is high vig. D− (8–10%) is very high vig. F (10%+) is predatory pricing. See the full Vig Index Methodology for formulas, worked examples, and known limitations.
- Trend Tracking
- We store daily snapshots for 30 days, allowing us to show 24-hour and 7-day vig trends. A downward trend (improving) means sportsbooks are tightening their lines — often in response to increased competition or higher betting volume as a season heats up.