March Madness - Bodog Stats from 2007

Now that the Super Bowl is over, it’s time to move on to the next great betting opportunity. Of course, I’m talking about the NCAA Men’s Division I Basketball Tournament, also known as March Madness. Beginning on March 18th, 65 of the best college basketball teams in the nation will gather to compete in a single-elimination tournament.

From there, the field will be reduced to the Sweet Sixteen, Elite Eight and Final Four. The championship game will take place on April 7th at the University of Texas at San Antonio.

March Madness is second only to the Super Bowl when it comes to the amount of wagering that takes place. Just look at any office building in the United States around March, and you’re bound to find some brackets hanging up for the local pool.

2007 BETTING RESULTS

Our friends at Bodog were nice enough to recently release a whole mess of tips and tactics for wagering on the upcoming tournament. You can check out the bulk of the articles here, but I especially wanted to look at some key betting results from the 2007 tournament. Hopefully, this may give you an idea of what 2008 has in store.

Favored Teams Against the Spread

Favorites against the spread (the closing line) had a combined record of 32-27-3.

Round 1 favorites were 21-10-1.

Round 2 favorites were 5-9-2.

Sweet Sixteen favorites were 3-5.

Elite Eight favorites were 2-2.

Final Four favorites were 1-1.

Favored Teams Straight-Up

Favorite teams straight-up had a combined record of 49-13.

Round 1 favorites were 27-5.

Round 2 favorites were 12-4.

Sweet Sixteen favorites were 7-1.

Elite Eight favorites were 2-2.

Final Four favorites were 1-1.

Games Where the Bookies Made a Killing

Miami Ohio covering +9.5 against Oregon (Round 1)

Virginia Commonwealth upset -6.5 favorite Duke (Round 1)

USC +3 over Texas (Round 2)

North Carolina -8 over USC (Sweet 16)

UCLA +2.5 over Kansas (Elite 8)

UCLA (+2.5) over LSU (Final 4)

Games Where the Bettors Made a Killing

Texas covers -8 against New Mexico (Round 1)

Pittsburgh covered -11 against Wright State (Round 1)

Oregon -3 over Winthrop (Round 2)

UCLA -4 over Pittsburgh (Sweet 16)

Ohio State -3 over Memphis (Elite 8)

Florida -3.5 over UCLA (Final 4)

Of course, each season is different, so be sure to keep that in mind. For example, I doubt Duke will be getting knocked out in the first round this year (although we can only hope).

For March Madness articles from last year, be sure to check out the links below:

NCAA Final Four Odds

NCAA Basketball Championship

March Madness - Bodog Stats from 2007