Slam Dunk Extra in March Madness
March Madness is the apt label given to the college basketball postseason and specifically the NCAA Tournament. The event comprised 64 teams following a “First Four” play-in segment of the bracket, consuming the national sports fans from the second week of March through the first week of April. The men’s and women’s NCAA tournaments decide the national champions in college basketball.
March Madness is a regular sports tradition that drives millions of college basketball fans into a frenzy each year. These single-elimination events include four 16-team brackets, a gauntlet of a tournament that means a championship team needs to win at least six games in a row to capture the title. One defeat, and you're going home.
It's this high-stakes setting — plus the possibility to see a wild "Cinderella story" upset by an underdog — that lends the tournament its March Madness name. March Madness is the focused excitement of 68 men's teams (four eliminated in the First Four prior to the tournament) and 64 women's teams contending for college basketball's largest prize. It's the last-second, buzzer-beating baskets, the exhilaration of winning to play another day, or the misery of your season coming to an end.
Where March Madness is Taking Place
This year, games are going to be held in various locations around the US. Once the field is down to the Final Four, the games will take place in the Caesars Superdome in New Orleans.
The First Four games will take place in Dayton, OH, March 15-16. The rest of the schedule is as follows:
First/Second Round - March 17 and 19 - Buffalo, New York - KeyBank Center
First/Second Round - March 17 and 19 - Indianapolis, Indiana - Gainbridge Fieldhouse
First/Second Round - March 17 and 19 - Fort Worth, Texas - Dickies Arena
First/Second Round - March 17 and 19 - Portland, Oregon - Moda Center
First/Second Round - March 18 and 20 - Greenville, South Carolina - Bon Secours Wellness Arena
First/Second Round - March 18 and 20 - Milwaukee, Wisconsin - Fiserv Forum
First/Second Round - March 18 and 20 - Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania - PPG Paints Arena
First/Second Round - March 18 and 20 - San Diego, California - Viejas Arena
Sweet 16/Elite Eight - March 24 and 26 - San Antonio, Texas - AT&T Center
Sweet 16/Elite Eight - March 24 and 26 - San Francisco, California - Chase Center
Sweet 16/Elite Eight - March 25 and 27 - Chicago, Illinois - United Center
Sweet 16/Elite Eight - March 25 and 27 - Philadelphia, Pennsylvania - Wells Fargo Center
More About March Madness
The NCAA Men's March Madness tournament starts in the middle of March and lasts for three weeks until the first week of April. When the First Four Play-In Games are taken into consideration, a total of 67 games are usually played.
Most people eliminate the First Four games from pools, such as the NCAA Squares Pool and the March Madness Bracket Pool, which leaves a total of 63 games played in the tournament's primary six rounds of play. The two teams competing in the National Championship game are expected to play a total of six games en route (this is assuming neither of them plays in the play-in games). The total number of games played to reach the final-four round in the event is 64.
When talking about the NCAA Tournament, it might sound a lot like a chat about gardening at times, which is understandable. Pods and seeds are included in the competition, just as they are in gardens. As the name implies, seeds allude to a team's placement in one of four geographic zones, while pods refer to the process of grouping seeds at specific first and second-round tournament venues, respectively.
The same committee that picks teams for the tournament also determines how teams are ranked and where they will play their games throughout the tournament. The field of teams is separated into four geographical areas. Each area contains between 16 and 18 teams, each of which is granted a seed number ranging from one to eighteen. The No. 1 seed is awarded to the top team in the region. A total of 68 teams participate in March Madness in its current format.
As a general rule, the top seeds (Nos. 1 through 8) have had more success than the lower seeds in the past (Nos. 9 through 16). Lower-seeded teams have the potential to be the Cinderellas of the tournament. Cinderella teams are those who unexpectedly achieve success in a tournament or competition. It is, however, normal for Cinderella's chariot to transform back into a pumpkin just before she reaches the Final Four.
In contrast, four real Cinderellas have reached the Final Four in the men's basketball tournament in recent years: Virginia Commonwealth University (VCU) (ranked 11th in 2011), Wichita State (ranked 9th in 2013), Syracuse (ranked 10th in 2016) and Loyola Chicago (ranked 11th in 2017). (No. 11 in 2018). In addition, two more Cinderella teams — No. 8 Butler in 2011 and No. 7 South Carolina in 2017 — made unexpected appearances in the Final Four.
March Madness 2022
The field for the NCAA March Madness tournament is once again very wide open. The Baylor Bears are the reigning national champions, having beaten Gonzaga in the last championship game 86-70. This was the first time in the school's history that they had won a national championship.
Baylor is aiming to achieve the very unlikely accomplishment of repeating as national champions this season. Who was the last team to accomplish this feat? The Florida Gators won back-to-back national championships in 2006 and 2007. Since 1974, just two teams have won back-to-back national championships: Florida and Duke.
The Bears seem to be primed for another long run in the March Madness tournament. It all began with a 15-0 record until they suffered consecutive losses (to Texas Tech and Oklahoma State) before recovering with a 77-68 away victory against West Virginia on Tuesday.
Gonzaga is the favorite to win the National Championship in college basketball in 2022, according to the majority of college basketball experts. In their first two NCAA tournament appearances, the Bulldogs have been dominant and are once again poised to contend for the national championship. Gonzaga finished second in both the 2017 and 2021 tournaments.
The Bulldogs are the leading scorer and have the most defensive rebounds per game, ranking first in both categories. Gonzaga has made up for their struggles from beyond the line with outstanding field goal shooting.
Andre Nembhard has the ability to score in double figures on any given night. Drew Timme, Chet Holmgren, Rasir Bolton, and Julian Strawther all average double-digit points per game, with Andrew Nembhard having the ability to score for fun as well on any given night. As a result, it's no surprise that Gonzaga is largely regarded as the favorite to win the NCAA Tournament in 2022.
Betting on March Madness 2022
Even though the point spread, Over/Under and moneyline are the most popular wagers on March Madness, those betting odds become anything but simple when a splash of drama is thrown into the equation.
Moneyline
The moneyline is the most basic wager on March Madness: all you have to do is choose which team will win the encounter. Based on the implied likelihood of winning the game outright, a moneyline value or odd is allocated to each team in the game.
Earlier rounds of the NCAA Tournament will see greater moneyline odds when a higher seed takes on a lower seed. Underdogs on the moneyline are a popular March Madness wager owing to the potential shocks that occur during the tournament each year.
Spread
The point spread is the projected difference between the two teams' scores on the scoreboard, which is determined by oddsmakers before each NCAA tournament game to keep the level of competition balanced. The favorite must win by a margin greater than the allocated spread in order to cover (and win the bet), while the underdog must win outright or lose by a margin less than the spread in order to cover (and win the bet).
If a higher-ranked team plays a lower-ranked opponent, higher-ranked teams can expect to see the greater point spread handicaps on the board in the initial stages of March Madness betting. As the tournament progresses, the spreads will get smaller as the level of competition becomes more intense.
Over/Under
It is the total amount of points that both teams are anticipated to score in their NCAA Tournament game that is represented by the Over/Under wagers. Bettors may place bets on whether the final score will be higher or lower than the total number of points projected.
College basketball totals are one of the most difficult markets for oddsmakers to book. The task becomes much more difficult during March Madness, with various opponents, differing styles, and rapid turnarounds in each round of the tournament making it even more difficult.
Futures
Futures bets are wagers that have a longer time horizon to play out, such as wagering on which team will win the National Championship or which team will reach the Final Four by winning their respective regional championship. Futures bets may be made during the duration of March Madness, and the odds are constantly changing in response to events, injuries, and betting activity throughout the event.
The best thing about futures is that they are exciting and unpredictable. Thanks to the same nature of March Madness, this is a great match.
Props
Props (also known as proposition bets) are wagers placed on sports that are not included in the conventional betting markets. In addition to focusing on an individual team or player performances, props for the March Madness tournament may be based on events and statistics, such as the total number of 3-pointers made or fouls committed, as well as random stuff such as celebrity appearances.
It is possible to place longer-term prop bets on the NCAA Tournament, such as betting on the number of teams from a conference that will progress to the Sweet 16 or on how many teams with the moniker "Wildcats" will advance to the round of 32. Below are some examples of Prop Wagers:
The number of fouls in the final
How many rebounds does UCLA's point guard score
March Madness Welcome Offer
March Madness is a major event in the US. Therefore, it also generates a huge betting handle in the US sportsbooks by sports bettors in the US. Most sportsbooks take advantage of March Madness' hype and excitement and offer great welcome offers so that bettors sign up.
Casumo, following the tradition, also offers a dedicated welcome bonus to new players that join the casino platform. Starting from March 14, bettors can claim a great bonus that avails them a 100% deposit-match bonus that goes up to match a deposit amount as high as 500 CAD.
This is also accompanied by a 10% profit boost on all your winnings that you generate at Casumo. However, luckily for bettors, this bonus will increase even more on March 24, when Casumo will not only offer the same deposit-match bonus but also enhance the profit-boost from 10% to 15%. Bettors should note that this offer is subject to terms and conditions.
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