College Basketball

March Madness Odds: Duke Remains Championship Favorite After First Weekend

Anthony Cardenas Sports Editor

Published24 Mar 2025

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The Duke Blue Devils entered the 2025 March Madness Tournament as overall championship favorites. Their designation heading into last Thursday stood at +320, a figure that has dropped significantly after the first four days of action.

Duke Still Favored To Win 2025 March Madness Tournament

The Selection Committee opted for the Auburn Tigers to be the ones who entered the tournament as the top overall team, but they were never the favorites. Before the games tipped off last week, Auburn was listed at +400 on the odds board, behind both Duke and Florida(+380). And despite winning both of their games by double-digits, they now have the longest odds of any of the no.1 seeds, coming in at +550.

Houston, despite a close game against Gonzaga in the second round, is just ahead of the Tigers at +500. Florida comes in at the second spot on the board at +400, while Duke’s number has dropped all the way down to +225.

“We’ll be ready for them.”

Caleb Love on facing Duke in the Sweet 16. pic.twitter.com/XDzH174lpX

— CBS Sports (@CBSSports) March 24, 2025

Duke has been dominant during the first two rounds of March Madness. They opened with a 44-point victory over 16-seeded Mount St. Mary’s in Round 1, which was followed by a 23-point blowout of Baylor on Sunday afternoon. Projected no.1 overall draft pick Cooper Flagg as been solid, combining to score 32 points in the first two games, but it has been Tyrese Proctor who has been the Blue Devils’ most productive player thus far.

They will take on the Arizona Wildcats in the Sweet 16, which will take place on Thursday in Newark, New Jersey.

The four 1-seeds are in a group of their own. Every other team that remains in the field has a designation of +1400 or higher, which is a number shared by both Alabama and Tennessee. There is only one double-digit seed represented in this year’s Sweet 16 group, with 10-seeded Arkansas having the longest championship odds of any team at +10000.

Given the long shot odds for the teams that aren’t top seeds, there is plenty of value for betting on the remainder of 2025 March Madness.