The 2024 Men’s NCAA tournament bracket was released on Sunday, and soon after multiple sportsbooks put up opening odds for all of the matchups. No. 1 seed UConn is the consensus betting favorite at around +400 odds to repeat, with Houston (+500) and Purdue (+600) close behind. North Carolina (14-1) is the fourth No. 1 seed, and the one with the longest odds to cut down the nets.
No. 1 UConn was a 26.5-point favorite over No. 16 Stetson, the largest opening-round spread for a defending champion since Duke in 2002, according to ESPN Stats & Information.
As of Sunday night, there were four worse-seeded teams that were favored in Round 1 at DraftKings Sportsbook:
No. 9 TCU (-3.5 vs. No. 8 Utah State)
No. 9 Michigan State (-1.5 vs. No. 8 Mississippi State)
No. 11 New Mexico (-2.5 vs. No. 6 Clemson)
No. 10 Nevada (-1 vs. No. 7 Dayton)
Here are the odds for every 2024 Men’s NCAA tournament game all in one convenient file.
I’ll have aggregated best bets from respected handicappers on every game later in the week.
First Four
No. 16 Wagner vs. No. 16 Howard (-2.5)
No. 10 Colorado State (-2) vs. No. 10 Virginia
No. 16 Grambling vs. No. 16 Montana State (-4)
No. 10 Colorado (-2.5) vs. No. 10 Boise State
East Region
No. 16 Stetson vs. No. 1 UConn (-26.5)
No. 9 Northwestern vs. No. 8 Florida Atlantic (-2.5)
No. 5 San Diego State (-6.5) vs. No. 12 UAB