NCAA Tournament: Favorites Dominate, Upsets Keep Hope Alive

0:00On March 22nd, the 2026 NCAA Tournament kicked off with a bang in the first four, where Miami of Ohio pulled off a stunner, beating SMU, 89-79 as a 7-and-a-half-point underdog. Betters who backed the Red Hawks cashed in on both the spread and money line. Then Friday's first round action saw all 16 favorites win outright, the first sweep like that since 1992. Overall, through the early games, favorites are dominating against the spread at 25 wins to 17. Overs have a slight edge too, hitting 22 times out of 42. It's been chalky so far, but a few underdogs kept Betters happy by covering big spreads. Standouts include Texas covering plus 6-and-a-half in a 74-68 upset win over Gonzaga Nebraska, grabbing plus 2-and-a-half in. A thriller against Vanderbilt 74-72 and high point hanging tough plus 11-and-a-half despite falling 88-2. 94 to Arkansas.

1:01Those kept things interesting amid the favorite parade. Saturday brought more decisive wins for topsees like Michigan, Duke, and Houston, all covering double-digit spreads. Sunday saw Purdue handle Miami of Florida 79-69, covering 7-and-a-half while Iowa State blew out Kentucky 82, 2, 63, and beat the 5-and-a-half spread. With more matchups still to come, Betters are watching if the upsets pick up steam or if the favorites keep rolling deep into the bracket.