March Madness & Bets 2025: Odds, Favorites, Predictions, Schedule

avatar

Lina Almans

08 January 2025

Comment 0

March Madness 2025

The 2025 NCAA Division I Men’s and Women’s Basketball Championships (aka 2025 March Madness) are coming! This will mark the 86th edition for the guys and 43 years of history for the women’s single-elimination showdown. Bookmaker that always accepts bets on March Madness with good odds — 1Win.

  • Men’s Tournament: Will take center stage from March 18 to April 7, beginning with the First Four, Dayton, and wrapping up with the championship game at the Alamodome in San Antonio, Texas.
  • Women’s Tournament: Kicks off March 19 and ends April 6 at Amalie Arena in Tampa, Florida.

Here’s the timeline for the men’s competition:

Known for its Cinderella stories, March Madness determines the national champion in college basketball through a grueling, 4-region bracket system. Fans await Selection Sunday on March 16, when the NCAA Selection Committee unveils the 68-team bracket, officially kicking off the madness.

Note: A “Cinderella” refers to an underdog team that outperforms expectations, knocking off higher-ranked opponents to make an improbable upset.

For some who may not know, March Madness is also nicknamed the “Big Dance”.

2025 Men’s March Madness Betting Odds

Despite claiming back-to-back titles in 2023 and 2024, UConn enters as a longshot (priced at 21.00) in 2025. Instead, attention is firmly on the traditional “blue bloods,” particularly Duke Blue Devils, which headlines the field thanks to star freshman Cooper Flagg. Flagg, widely regarded as the nation’s top recruit and a potential NCAA phenom, has transformed Duke into early favorites with odds of 10.00, implying a 10% chance of winning and a $900 profit on a $100 bet.

Cooper Flagg, Duke
Cooper Flagg, Duke

Meanwhile, Alabama builds momentum after last year’s historic breakthrough Final Four appearance under Nate Oats’ 3-point-centric system.

2025 Women’s March Madness Schedule

2025 Women’s March Madness Betting Odds

Here’s are the women’s favorites according to ESPN:

Sabrina Ionescu
New York Liberty Star Sabrina Ionescu

According to the latest odds from ESPN, NY Liberty is the co-favorite to win the 2025 NCAA. Though not the favorite, MIN Lynx squad still is still listed among the top-five most likely teams to win. LV Aces, CON Sun and IND Fever round out the list of contenders for victory.

March Madness isn’t only sport, big money too.

March Madness betting

How the Tournament Works?

As said before, March Madness pits 68 teams split into 4 regions (East, South, Midwest, West), each containing 16 teams. Teams make it in 2 ways:

  • 31 Automatic Bids: Go to teams that win their conference tournaments.
  • 37 At-Large Bids: Chosen by the NCAA Selection Committee based on regular-season and conference tournament performances.

Before the main bracket, the First Four involves 8 lowest-seeded teams (a mix of automatic qualifiers and at-large picks) battle it out for the final spots. The winners join the remaining 60 teams in the official bracket.

Over 3 weeks, the tournament narrows down:

  • 1st Round: 32 games, where winners move on to the next round.
  • Sweet 16 & Elite Eight: Regional semifinals and finals decide the Final Four teams.
  • Final Four: Winners of the semifinals play in the national champ game.

In 2025, as always, every game is a knockout: win and advance or lose and go home. The format makes it one of the most unpredictable events in sports, as per Drive Research.

Recap of the 2024 Tournament

Last season, UConn Huskies made history by securing their second consecutive national title, defeating Purdue in the championship game with a decisive 76–60 score. However, the Huskies now face the challenge of becoming the first team to win three straight championships since UCLA’s 1970s dynasty.

Watch 15 minutes of the best 2024 March Madness moments: