The major void of March Madness betting is still lingering over the sports world.
The Final Four was supposed to take place at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta on April 4. The national championship game was scheduled for April 6.
COVID-19 and social distancing gave a whole new meaning to busted brackets. CBS has been replaying classic games in NCAA Tournament history to fill the void.
Instead of letting it serve as a source of “March Sadness,” you can start counting down to the 2021 Big Dance.
And, here’s the better part: mobile sports betting apps in New Jersey have posted the early odds.
So, if you don’t mind waiting 12 months, go ahead and pick the next NCAA champion.
NCAA Championship 2021 odds breakdown
Glancing over the NJ sports betting odds, Baylor and Gonzaga are the early favorites. Both schools finished the just-shortened seasoned ranked in the top five of the AP Top 25.
Of course, it’s so early in the game that things could drastically change. Teams’ rosters and schedules still need to be finalized.
Which players will declare for the NBA Draft?
As a result, some of the Garden State‘s 17 mobile operators have yet to post odds.
Since there is no Elite Eight or Final Four to talk about, here is a futures comparison at BetMGM Sportsbook, DraftKings Sportsbook and FanDuel Sportsbook:
| BetMGM | DraftKings Sportsbook | FanDuel Sportsbook |
|---|---|---|
| Gonzaga +800 | Baylor +800 | Baylor +1000 |
| Baylor +800 | Gonzaga +800 | Gonzaga +1000 |
| Duke +900 | Virginia +900 | Villanova +1000 |
| Virginia +900 | Creighton +1100 | Virginia +1200 |
| Creighton +1100 | Villanova +1100 | Creighton +1400 |
| Villanova +1100 | Kentucky +1200 | Kentucky +1400 |
| Kentucky +1200 | Duke +1400 | Duke +1600 |
| Florida State +1500 | Florida State +1500 | Kansas +1800 |
| Iowa +1500 | Iowa +1500 | Florida State +2000 |
DraftKings offers Final Four betting
DraftKings is offering another wrinkle to the early March Madness betting. Customers have the option of wagering on which teams will make the Final Four.
It will take place on April 3-5, 2021, in Indianapolis.
So, you could potentially double up on a national championship wager by backing the same school to punch a ticket to Indy.
Here are some of the favorites:
- Baylor or Gonzaga +125
- Virginia +150
- Creighton or Villanova +200
- Kentucky +225
- Duke +275
- Florida State or Iowa +300
New Jersey sports betting customers who are getting in this early might look at teams with more value. While backing an underdog is a riskier proportion, the potential payout is much greater.
These schools currently have odds of +3900 to make the Final Four:
- Boston College
- BYU
- Harvard
- Kansas State
- Nebraska
- Northwestern
- Texas A&M
- Vanderbilt
March Madness betting 2020 vs. 2021
Eventually, America will move past the ’20 season that left fans with too many unanswered questions. Conference champions were left hanging in terms of their respective Selection Sunday landing spots.
Then there are the bubble teams who never found out if they did enough to make the field of 68.
Come Monday night, there will be the reality of not seeing the national champion cut down the nets.
The sports world, not just the NCAA, will eventually return to normalcy. So, instead of thinking about the Final Four that could’ve been, why not predict the future?
It beats doing a toilet paper inventory.
Betting is optional.