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March Madness betting guide: UConn, Texas new favorites

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Copyright 2023 The Associated Press. All rights reserved

Texas forward Christian Bishop celebrates after their win against Xavier in a Sweet 16 college basketball game in the Midwest Regional of the NCAA Tournament Friday, March 24, 2023, in Kansas City, Mo. (AP Photo/Charlie Riedel)

LAS VEGASMarch Madness is down to eight teams, and often by this point, nearly all the expected top teams are still playing. All the No. 1 seeds are gone, and Texas is the only No. 2 that still has a shot at the Final Four. All the unpredictability has made betting even more dicey than usual. Here's a look at what to expect this weekend — but keep in mind the numbers listed change regularly.

WHO’S FAVORED TO REACH THE FINAL FOUR?

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Based on the FanDuel Sportsbook lines for the Elite Eight games, No. 2 seed Texas, No. 3 Kansas State, No. 4 UConn and No. 6 Creighton. All the betting lines are within 3 1/2 points, so if No. 3 Gonzaga, No. 5 seeds Miami and San Diego State and No. 9 Florida Atlantic win, it wouldn't be a shock. Especially this year.

WHO’S FAVORED TO WIN THE TITLE?

UConn at plus-330 and Texas at plus-370 are the clear favorites. Someone betting on the Huskies would win $330 on a $100 bet if they take it all. Gonzaga is listed at plus-500, Creighton at plus-550 Kansas State at plus-700.

WHO IS THE BIGGEST UNDERDOG?

FAU would be a big payoff off at plus-1,300, and Miami is next at plus-1,100.

WHAT’S THE BIGGEST SPREAD DIFFERENCE?

Texas is favored by 3 1/2 points over Miami.

WHAT’S THE BIGGEST OVER/UNDER?

Expect a lot of scoring in the Gonzaga-UConn game, which has a total of 153 1/2 points. The other three matchups are less than 150, though Texas-Miami is on the edge at 149 1/2.

PROPS

Circa Sports in Las Vegas has a number of player totals in this weekend's Elite Eight games. Among them: Gonzaga's Drew Timme (21 1/2 points), UConn's Adama Sanogo (18), Kansas State's Keyontae Johnson and Markquis Nowell (17 1/2 each), Texas' Marcus Carr (17), Miami's Isaiah Wong (16 1/2), UConn's Jordan Hawkins (16) and Gonzaga's Julian Strawther and Creighton's Ryan Kalkbrenner (15.5 each).

BRACKETS

In the ESPN Bracket Challenge game, 15.1% of brackets still have a potential national champion remaining. Texas is the top team remaining at 6.2%, and Gonzaga is on 4.5% of bracket. Regarding the Elite Eight matchups, 9.1% had Gonzaga playing UConn, 4.5% had Texas-Miami, .7% had Creighton-San Diego State and .3% had Kansas State-FAU. Gonzaga (5.9%) and Texas (5.7%) are the most popular remaining teams to win on CBS Sports' brackets, and the rest are 1.9% or less.

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AP March Madness coverage: https://apnews.com/hub/march-madness and bracket: https://apnews.com/hub/ncaa-mens-bracket and https://apnews.com/hub/ap-top-25-college-basketball-poll and https://twitter.com/AP_Top25


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