Number One seeds haven’t fared well in this year’s NCAA Tournament. The Purdue Boilermakers were bounced in the first round by Farleigh Dickinson while the Kansas Jayhawks went down to the 8th seed Arizona Razorbacks in the Round of 32. Only two number ones, the Houston Cougars and Alabama Crimson Tide remain. And while Houston awaits the winner of Indiana-Miami, Alabama is set to square off in the Sweet 16 this Friday against the San Diego State Aztecs. The March Madness odds board is starting to be released, and Alabama opens up as -7 favorites over SDSU.
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March Madness Odds: Alabama Looks to Win it All, Starting with San Diego State
The fifth seeded San Diego State Aztecs have yet to be tested against a top ranked team in the tournament. After ousting Charleston 63-57 in the first round, the Aztecs soundly defeated the 13-seed Furman Paladins 75-52. They now enter as 7-point underdogs in their toughest test, a Sweet 16 showdown with top seed Alabama.
The Crimson Tide have rolled through the first two rounds, securing twenty point wins over Texas A&M Corpus Christi and University of Maryland. Those games were played near Alabama’s home turf in Birmingham. They will remain close to home for the South Regional semifinals, which will be played in Louisville, Kentucky.
Alabama opens as a seven point favorite on the March Madness odds board. The game’s over/under is 13.5 points. Moneylines have not opened at any books, but will certainly favor the Crimson Tide.
The Crimson Tide are also the overall favorite to takedown the NCAA tournament. They can be had for +380 to win the National Championship at DraftKings.
Bettors can start getting a first crack at the spread and total, as the industry reacts to the opening action.
The Alabama Crimson Tide have had an intriguing path this tournament, entering with the controversy of star Brandon Miller‘s involvement in a murder investigation. Miller was cleared to play earlier in the season, and continues to impress despite the negativity surrounding the matter. In addition to Miller facing a storm of controversy, he has overcome an injury in recent days.
Before playing through the injury in the second round, Miller told ESPN reporters that “It’s good,” Miller said. “Just taking it slow, day by day, step by step, really just getting it back to 100 percent.”
It’s expected that Miller will continue nursing the injury. And it remains to be seen if it will effect the March Madness odds board and betting markets as early action comes in on this Alabama-San Diego State matchup.
As the line starts being released across the industry, OddsShopper’s Premium tools will be analyzing the market for the best odds to find the outlets with the highest expected value bets. The tools comb spreads, moneyline and totals, in addition to prop betting markets to get the highest ROI. Bettors can benefit from a free seven-day trial to OddsShopper Premium to make use of these tools throughout the rest of the tournament and in other major sports like the NBA and NHL.
