March Madness Basketball Betting Tips

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March Madness Tips & Basketball Predictions


Looking for free betting tips for the NCAA basketball March Madness? Our experts provide betting tips, predictions, previews and best bets for the biggest games during March Madness college basketball campaign.

FreeTips.com has you covered every step of the way through the NCAA competition. Discover how to watch the matches with March Madness live streams and get our betting picks and tips throughout the season.

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Betting on March Madness Basketball


The main March Madness betting markets are money line, spread or handicap and over / under total points.

American sports list March Madness betting markets slightly differently to other parts of the world, using American Odds compared to Fractional Odds used mainly in the UK and Decimal Odds which are used primarily in Australia and Europe.

Not only are the odds different, the names of specific March Madness betting markets vary which are explained below.

Money Line - The money line is betting on which team will win, also known as win or win line. There is no option for a draw in the March Madness so the money line is a two way market in which you bet on one team to win which includes overtime. 

Spread or Handicap - The spread market is more commonly known as a handicap. Bookmakers will assign one team a positive (+) or negative (-) spread, line or handicap and the bettor bets to cover the line.

Let’s use an March Madness game between Illinois vs Drexel as an example. If Drexel start with a +22.5 point spread and you bet on Drexel, they need to win the game or lose by less than 23 points in order for your bet to win.

On the other side of the coin, Illinois would be assigned a -22.5 point spread meaning they would need to win by 23 or more points in order for your bet on the Fighting Illini to be a winner.

Over / Under Total Points - This March Madness betting market allows bettors to bet on the total amount of points scored in a game by both teams. The bookmakers will set a line, let’s say 143.5 points and you can bet on the total points scored by both teams going over or under that total. 

March Madness Format & Schedule


March Madness is an annual NCAA College Basketball tournament that features the best teams in the nation, with the winners of the knockout tournament being crowned national champions.

A seeded bracket determines which teams will play each other throughout the tournament, with the intention of keeping the elite teams away from each other until the final few rounds of the knockout competition.

The first round consists of 64 teams and a knockout tournament whittles down the field.

The last 16 teams in the competition are referred to as the Sweet 16, with the quarter-final round being called the Elite Eight.

The semi-finals of March Madness are known as the Final Four, with the final of the tournament the NCAA Championship Game.

The format for March Madness 2024 is as follows...

March 17: Selection Sunday
March 19-20: First Four
March 21-22: First Round
March 23-24: Second Round
March 28-29: Sweet 16
March 30-31: Elite Eight
April 6: Final Four
April 8: NCAA Championship Game

Previous March Madness Winners


College basketball has crowned a national champion every year since 1939, with the exception of the year that the tournament was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

UCLA are the most successful team in the history of college basketball, having won the National Championship on 11 occasions.

No head coach has won the championship more times than John Wooden, who led the Bruins to 10 of those successes between 1964 and 1975.

Year
Winner
Head Coach
Score
Losing Team
Host City
1939 Oregon  Howard Hobson  46–33  Ohio State  Evanston, Illinois 
1940 Indiana  Branch McCracken  60–42  Kansas  Kansas City, Missouri 
1941 Wisconsin  Bud Foster  39–34  Washington State  Kansas City, Missouri 
1942 Stanford  Everett Dean  53–38  Dartmouth  Kansas City, Missouri 
1943 Wyoming  Everett Shelton  46–34  Georgetown  New York City, New York 
1944 Utah  Vadal Peterson  42–40  Dartmouth  New York City, New York 
1945 Oklahoma A&M  Henry Iba  49–45  NYU  New York City, New York 
1946 Oklahoma A&M  Henry Iba  43–40  North Carolina  New York City, New York 
1947 Holy Cross  Doggie Julian  58–47  Oklahoma  New York City, New York 
1948 Kentucky  Adolph Rupp  58–42  Baylor  New York City, New York 
1949 Kentucky  Adolph Rupp  46–36  Oklahoma A&M  Seattle, Washington 
1950 CCNY  Nat Holman  71–68  Bradley  New York City, New York 
1951 Kentucky  Adolph Rupp  68–58  Kansas State  Minneapolis, Minnesota 
1952 Kansas  Phog Allen  80–63  St. John's  Seattle, Washington 
1953 Indiana  Branch McCracken  69–68  Kansas  Kansas City, Missouri 
1954 La Salle  Ken Loeffler  92–76  Bradley  Kansas City, Missouri 
1955 San Francisco  Phil Woolpert  77–63  La Salle  Kansas City, Missouri 
1956 San Francisco  Phil Woolpert  83–71  Iowa  Evanston, Illinois 
1957 North Carolina  Frank McGuire  54–53  Kansas  Kansas City, Missouri 
1958 Kentucky  Adolph Rupp  84–72  Seattle  Louisville, Kentucky 
1959 California  Pete Newell  71–70  West Virginia  Louisville, Kentucky 
1960 Ohio State  Fred Taylor  75–55  California  Daly City, California 
1961 Cincinnati  Ed Jucker  70–65  Ohio State  Kansas City, Missouri 
1962 Cincinnati  Ed Jucker  71–59  Ohio State  Louisville, Kentucky 
1963 Loyola Chicago  George Ireland  60–58  Cincinnati  Louisville, Kentucky 
1964 UCLA  John Wooden  98–83  Duke  Kansas City, Missouri 
1965 UCLA  John Wooden  91–80  Michigan  Portland, Oregon 
1966 Texas Western  Don Haskins  72–65  Kentucky  College Park, Maryland 
1967 UCLA  John Wooden  79–64  Dayton  Louisville, Kentucky 
1968 UCLA  John Wooden  78–55  North Carolina  Los Angeles, California 
1969 UCLA  John Wooden  92–72  Purdue  Louisville, Kentucky 
1970 UCLA  John Wooden  80–69  Jacksonville  College Park, Maryland 
1971 UCLA  John Wooden  68–62  Villanova  Houston, Texas 
1972 UCLA  John Wooden  81–76  Florida State  Los Angeles, California 
1973 UCLA  John Wooden  87–66  Memphis State  St. Louis, Missouri 
1974 North Carolina State  Norm Sloan  76–64  Marquette  Greensboro, North Carolina 
1975 UCLA  John Wooden  92–85  Kentucky  San Diego, California 
1976 Indiana  Bob Knight  86–68  Michigan  Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 
1977 Marquette  Al McGuire  67–59  North Carolina  Atlanta, Georgia 
1978 Kentucky  Joe B. Hall  94–88  Duke  St. Louis, Missouri 
1979 Michigan State  Jud Heathcote  75–64  Indiana State  Salt Lake City, Utah 
1980 Louisville  Denny Crum  59–54  UCLA  Indianapolis, Indiana 
1981 Indiana  Bob Knight  63–50  North Carolina  Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 
1982 North Carolina  Dean Smith  63–62  Georgetown  New Orleans, Louisiana 
1983 North Carolina State  Jim Valvano  54–52  Houston  Albuquerque, New Mexico 
1984 Georgetown  John Thompson  84–75  Houston  Seattle, Washington 
1985 Villanova  Rollie Massimino  66–64  Georgetown  Lexington, Kentucky 
1986 Louisville  Denny Crum  72–69  Duke  Dallas, Texas 
1987 Indiana  Bob Knight  74–73  Syracuse  New Orleans, Louisiana 
1988 Kansas  Larry Brown  83–79  Oklahoma  Kansas City, Missouri 
1989 Michigan  Steve Fisher  80–79  Seton Hall  Seattle, Washington 
1990 UNLV  Jerry Tarkanian  103–73  Duke  Denver, Colorado 
1991 Duke  Mike Krzyzewski  72–65  Kansas  Indianapolis, Indiana 
1992 Duke  Mike Krzyzewski  71–51  Michigan  Minneapolis, Minnesota 
1993 North Carolina  Dean Smith  77–71  Michigan  New Orleans, Louisiana 
1994 Arkansas  Nolan Richardson  76–72  Duke  Charlotte, North Carolina 
1995 UCLA  Jim Harrick  89–78  Arkansas  Seattle, Washington 
1996 Kentucky  Rick Pitino  76–67  Syracuse  East Rutherford, New Jersey 
1997 Arizona  Lute Olson  84–79  Kentucky  Indianapolis, Indiana 
1998 Kentucky  Tubby Smith  78–69  Utah  San Antonio, Texas 
1999 Connecticut  Jim Calhoun  77–74  Duke  St. Petersburg, Florida 
2000 Michigan State  Tom Izzo  89–76  Florida  Indianapolis, Indiana 
2001 Duke  Mike Krzyzewski  82–72  Arizona  Minneapolis, Minnesota 
2002 Maryland  Gary Williams  64–52  Indiana  Atlanta, Georgia 
2003 Syracuse  Jim Boeheim  81–78  Kansas  New Orleans, Louisiana 
2004 Connecticut  Jim Calhoun  82–73  Georgia Tech  San Antonio, Texas 
2005 North Carolina  Roy Williams  75–70  Illinois  St. Louis, Missouri 
2006 Florida  Billy Donovan  73–57  UCLA  Indianapolis, Indiana 
2007 Florida  Billy Donovan  84–75  Ohio State  Atlanta, Georgia 
2008 Kansas  Bill Self  75–68  Memphis  San Antonio, Texas 
2009 North Carolina  Roy Williams  89–72  Michigan State  Detroit, Michigan 
2010 Duke  Mike Krzyzewski  61–59  Butler  Indianapolis, Indiana 
2011 Connecticut  Jim Calhoun  53–41  Butler  Houston, Texas 
2012 Kentucky  John Calipari  67–59  Kansas  New Orleans, Louisiana 
2013 Louisville  Rick Pitino  82–76  Michigan  Atlanta, Georgia 
2014 Connecticut  Kevin Ollie  60–54  Kentucky  Arlington, Texas 
2015 Duke  Mike Krzyzewski  68–63  Wisconsin  Indianapolis, Indiana 
2016 Villanova  Jay Wright  77–74  North Carolina  Houston, Texas 
2017 North Carolina  Roy Williams  71–65  Gonzaga  Glendale, Arizona 
2018 Villanova  Jay Wright  79–62  Michigan  San Antonio, Texas 
2019 Virginia  Tony Bennett  85–77  Texas Tech  Minneapolis, Minnesota 
2020 Not held due to pandemic
2021 Baylor  Scott Drew  86–70  Gonzaga  Indianapolis, Indiana 
2022 Kansas  Bill Self  72–69  North Carolina  New Orleans, Louisiana 
2023 UConn Dan Hurley 76-59 San Diego State Houston, Texas

March Madness 2024 FAQs

When is March Madness 2024 taking place?

March Madness 2024 is taking place between Tuesday, March 19 and Monday, April 8.

Where is March Madness 2024 taking place?

March Madness 2024 is being held in across multiple cities - Dayton, Brooklyn, Charlotte, Indianapolis, Omaha, Pittsburgh, Salt Lake City, Spokane, Memphis, Boston, Dallas, Detroit, Los Angeles, Phoenix, San Antonio, Las Vegas and Arlington.

Where is the 2024 National Championship Game being held?

The 2024 National Championship Game, aka the March Madness Final, is being held at AT&T Stadium in Dallas, Texas on Monday, April 8.

Who has won March Madness the most times?

UCLA have won the college basketball national championship a record-setting 11 times, but have not won this tournament since 1995.