Villanova’s tournament success is historically worth betting on

Is Villanova a Philadelphia school? Should its basketball program be considered a blue blood? You can argue about those topics but you can’t debate that the Wildcats have been money for bettors.

They are perfect against the spread (4-0) during this NCAA Tournament. Since 2016, Villanova is a lucrative 19-4 ATS in the tournament.

Andrew Palumbo agrees that bettors don’t care if Villanova is or isn’t “officially” a Philly school. As manager of the BetRivers Sportsbook at Rivers Casino Philadelphia, he sees its popularity and success.

“They are very much a hometown team. They have been one of the more popular NCAA Tournament bets thus far.”

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This is the first “normal” March Madness at Rivers Philadelphia since 2019. Masks and proof of vaccination are no longer required for entry at Philadelphia casinos.

Odds at FanDuel to win the NCAA Tournament

If you are all in on ‘Nova, the highest odds I spotted for them were +550 at the SuperBook.

Villanova vs. Kansas

Kansas is favored by 4.5 points and is getting the majority (79%) of the early money at DraftKings. The over/under is 132.5, with 56% of early cash going toward the under.

North Carolina vs. Duke

At DraftKings, 54% of the early money is on 4-point favorite Duke to cover, with bettors evenly split on the 151 over/under. However, the action is more lopsided at BetMGM Sportsbook. As of Wednesday morning, 78% of the money was on North Carolina to cover as a 4.5-point underdog, with 82% on the under for total points (151.5).

National championship preview

Exact outcome wagering markets are available now at sportsbooks. The most likely outcome is Duke over Kansas. North Carolina beating Villanova has the highest odds.

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John Ewing, data analyst at BetMGM, reported that UNC defeating Kansas received the most bets and money.

I love a good movie trailer, don’t mind TV show spoilers, and appreciate Netflix queuing up the next episode. Of course I have an affinity for look-ahead lines and FanDuel has them listed for the national championship. Villanova would be favored by a point against UNC and the Wildcats would be 4-point underdogs against Duke.

At the start of the tourney, Villanova opened at +1200 at BetMGM to win it all. Duke has 11% of the national championship futures money, the most of any remaining teams at the sportsbook.

Coach K cutting down the nets at the Caesars Superdome to finish his career would be the worst result for BetMGM. Villanova cutting down the nets would be a good outcome, said Jason Scott, BetMGM’s vice president of trading.

Duke is backed by the most money to win it all at DraftKings. The Blue Devils are also FanDuel’s biggest liability.

Former WFAN radio legend Mike Francesa recently signed on with BetRivers sportsbook and is doing a biweekly podcast. His first guest was Villanova coach Jay Wright.

Francesa called Villanova “the bluest of the blue bloods” and believed the Wildcats, with Justin Moore, would have won the tournament. However, Moore tore his Achilles tendon in the last minute of the Elite Eight game.

Francesa asked Wright if this team had the same qualities as the championship teams of 2016 and 2018.

“With Justin we did,” said Wright. “We’ve got to figure this out. We are unproven without him. We’ve got a lot of great qualities and guys who can take their games to another level.”

Katie Kohler is the managing editor at Play Pennsylvania where she writes about sports betting and casinos.