Proposition bets are all the rage for the Super Bowl, but don’t overlook all the great offerings for the NCAA Tournament, including a very popular prop that’s now been up for more than two months. Covers checks in with several Las Vegas and New Jersey sportsbook operators, looking for the most appealing and entertaining March Madness prop bets.
South Point
Prop: Four teams vs. the field to win the national title
South Point sportsbook director Chris Andrews put up a similar prop for college football, with five teams – Alabama, Clemson, Ohio State, Oklahoma and Washington – pitted against all other College Football Playoff comers. So in mid-January, Andrews thought he’d perk up the college hoops prop options with a similar offering.
In this case, it’s four teams – Duke, Michigan, Kansas and Gonzaga – vs. the field. The field opened a -120 favorite, but the choice of those four teams enters the NCAA Tourney as -120 favorites.
“I did it because, No. 1, I think it’s interesting, and No. 2, I thought I’d write a lot of business,” Andrews said. “And we’ve written a boatload of business.”
(Narrator: Andrews might not have said “boatload” on first reference, if you get my meaning.)
“We’ve gotten plenty of action on this one, and we definitely need the field,” Andrews said.
Prop: Which conference will win the tournament?
This prop is a staple at most books, but it’s still interesting to see how it breaks down at the South Point. Andrews offered choices of six conferences or the field. The ACC is the obvious favorite, currently at -180, followed by the Big Ten and SEC at 4/1, the Big 12 at 6/1, the Big East at 30/1 and the Pac-12 miles behind at 100/1.
“But you’ve got Gonzaga in the field, so right there, you have one pretty live team,” Andrews said of the No. 1 seed in the West Region.
PointsBet USA
Prop: Zion Williamson 100-plus points/40-plus rebounds before the Final Four
When it comes to college basketball, nobody makes the props pop quite like Zion Williamson. PointsBet vice president Ron Shell said that led his New Jersey sportsbook to post 13 Williamson prop bets that run tournament-long, and he rated this one as his favorite.
“Zion Williamson prop bets throughout the regular season were 10 times more popular than any other player prop bets,” Shell said. “Each game, we offered five-plus Zion props, and all the customers loved them. So we extended this to 13 props for the tournament, and another five to 10 for each Zion game.”
For this specific prop of Williamson netting 100-plus points/40-plus rebounds before the Final Four, there’s not even an option for No. Bettors are either taking the freshman superstar to reach that plateau, at +110, or not betting the prop at all.
“You’d be surprised, but no one is rooting against Zion,” Shell said.
Prop: Number of No. 1 seeds to reach the Final Four
PointsBet set this up with five options, and the choice of two No. 1 seeds is a +150 favorite, followed by one No. 1 at +175, three at +265 and none at +525. All four No. 1 seeds – Duke, Virginia, North Carolina and Gonzaga – reaching the Final Four is the longest shot, at +1400.
“This is an interesting market, as our bettors clearly have done their history homework,” Shell said. “Five times in the last 10 years, there has only been one No. 1 seed in the Final Four. But in the last two years, there have been two No. 1 seeds. People study their brackets closely and try to predict each matchup, and where the No. 1 seed might be upset.”
MGM Grand
Prop: First to 15
It’s a simple as it sounds, and for years, it’s been one of the most popular prop offerings at MGM books up and down the Vegas Strip: Pick the team that will score 15 points first.
The prop is offered on every single NCAA Tournament game, no matter how big a mismatch a game might be. And honestly, bettors love grabbing underdogs, especially big underdogs at big plus-money prices.
Regardless of whether you bet the ‘dog or the favorite, it’s a great way to potentially cash out early in the game. And it certainly ramps up the rowdiness a few minutes after tipoff.
“We’ll be sitting in the back office, the score is 13-13, and then you hear the room go crazy,” Stoneback said. “It really gets the atmosphere going early, in every game.”
SuperBook
Prop: Southeastern Conference Over/Under 10.5 wins
The SuperBook at Westgate is the king of props when it comes to the Super Bowl, and it certainly has oodles of options for March Madness, as well. Though conference Over/Under win totals are pretty standard offerings, this one in particular is pretty appealing to Jay Kornegay, who oversees The SuperBook as vice president of race and sports for Westgate Resorts.
With seven teams in the tournament – Kentucky, Tennessee, Louisiana State, Auburn, Mississippi State, Mississippi and Florida – the SEC certainly has the manpower to reach 11 wins.
“Even though it’s a big number, I expect the SEC to go over 10.5 wins, at +110,” Kornegay said. “Tennessee and Kentucky will make Elite Eight runs, and others will pick up wins, too. Arkansas showed how deep the SEC is with its win over Providence Tuesday in the NIT.”
Caesars
Prop: Will a specific seed win a game in the tournament?
Jeff Davis, director of trading for Caesars Entertainment sportsbooks here in Vegas, says this offering – which is actually four offerings – always sticks out for him.
“We generally do more handle on these than any other prop,” Davis said. “The public loves them.”
A 12 seed winning one game is Yes -450/No +325, so the book and bettors are clearly on to that 12-beating-a-5 trend that seems to happen almost every year. Yes is also a favorite on a 13 seed winning a game, at -200, with No a +170 underdog.
A 14 seed winning at least one game has No a -150 favorite, with Yes at +120. And the combo of will a 15 or 16 seed win a game has No a healthy -500 chalk, with Yes +350.
“We took a respected bet on Yes +425 for a 15/16 seed, and Yes -170 and -185 for a 13 seed,” Davis said.
Station Casinos
Prop: Total No. 1 seeds to make the Final Four
Chuck Esposito, sportsbook director at Sunset Station, always finds this prop bet interesting, with Over 1.5 a -190 favorite, thanks to the perceived strength of Duke, Virginia, North Carolina and Gonzaga. Under 1.5 No. 1 seeds reaching the semifinals is a +160 ‘dog.
“Only half of the last 16 tournaments had one or no No. 1 seeds make the Final Four,” Esposito said. “With Duke looking so dominant in what I think is the easiest region (East), is there another No. 1 seed that can make it to the Final Four?”
Bettors answered that question with a fairly resounding yes, by way of futures wagers on the Tar Heels, the top seed in the Midwest Region.
“Since we posted the field of 68, the leader in tickets and money bet is North Carolina,” Esposito said.
Prop: Will a team from the Big Ten win the tournament?
The Big Ten has eight teams in the Big Dance, but there’s apparently not strength in numbers here, as No is a healthy -450 fave. But Esposito thinks Yes at +325 is worth serious consideration.
“I feel with both Michigan and Michigan State as No. 2 seeds, and Purdue a No. 3 seed, that sure is enticing on the Yes,” he said.
FanDuel
Prop: Number of No. 1 seeds in the Final Four
FanDuel Sportsbook in New Jersey, with a mobile app and a brick-and-mortar shop at the Meadowlands, is a newcomer to the NCAA Tournament sports betting scene. But the company certainly understands the booming popularity of prop bets for big events, and publicity director Kevin Hennessy noted bettors certainly love this specific prop.
“The most popular tournament prop we have up at the moment is all four No. 1 seeds to make the Final Four, at 24/1,” Hennessy said Tuesday afternoon. By Tuesday night, FanDuel saw enough action to tighten those odds to 17/1.
Prop: Duke’s combined winning margin for the whole tournament.
Hennessy said this prop – which is actually four offerings – is one that FanDuel oddsmakers found particularly interesting. Duke’s combined winning margin of 65-plus points is a -125 favorite; a winning margin of 70 or more is +125; 75 or more is +200; and a margin of 80-plus is +360.
Patrick Everson is a Las Vegas-based senior writer for Covers. Follow him on Twitter: @Covers_Vegas.
