By Flint Wheeler
March Madness is just about a month away and the best sports books contenders are definitely emerging to win the national title. The Gonzaga Bulldogs are the only unbeaten team left in college basketball betting and they are ranked #1 in the country. Big 12 teams, Kansas and Baylor are also looking like possible Final Four contenders while defending national champion Villanova is very much in the mix along with Arizona and Virginia. Let’s look at the Top 20 March Madness betting rankings.
- Gonzaga Bulldogs – The Bulldogs have the top scoring margin in the nation and they have five wins against quality opponents. The problem for Gonzaga is that they play in the West Coast Conference which doesn’t give them enough tough games to prepare for the NCAA Tournament.
- Baylor Bears – The Bears couldn’t quite get over the hump and win at Allen Fieldhouse against Kansas but Baylor has three wins against teams ranked in the Top 25 this season.
- Kansas Jayhawks – The Jayhawks are one of the favorites at sports betting sites to make the Final Four. They have a lot of young talent and a very good coach in Bill Self.
- Villanova Wildcats – The defending champs have only two losses and those were against quality teams in Butler and Marquette.
- Arizona Wildcats – They are the hottest team in the country not named Gonzaga and the Wildcats are unbeaten in the Pac-12.
- Virginia Cavaliers – The top defensive team in the country is Virginia and this could be the year they have enough offense to make the Final Four.
- Louisville Cardinals – The Cardinals are well coached and they have no losses this season to teams that are not ranked.
- West Virginia Mountaineers – The Mountaineers have some quality wins against Baylor, Kansas and Virginia but they always seem to find a way to lose a game they shouldn’t.
- Wisconsin Badgers – The Badgers have lost just once since Thanksgiving and they are now favored to win the Big Ten.
- UCLA Bruins – The Bruins were rolling along until losing two straight games including to their rival USC. The Bruins can score a ton of points but they don’t play much defense.
- Kentucky Wildcats – The Wildcats have a great player in Malik Monk but they are not a great team as there are just too many question marks.
- North Carolina Tar Heels – This team has won eight of their last nine and they are 8-2 in the ACC. It would not be a surprise to see Roy Williams get another of his teams in the Final Four.
- Oregon Ducks – The Ducks are going to battle UCLA for the Pac-12 title with the winner likely getting the higher seed in the NCAA Tournament.
- Cincinnati Bearcats – The Bearcats have been rolling in the AAC and have won 12 straight since losing out of conference to Butler.
- Duke Blue Devils – The Blue Devils were thought to be national title contenders before the season began at sites that do sports betting sites reviews but they don’t look like a contender now.
- South Carolina Gamecocks – The Gamecocks have been great on defense and when both Sindarius Thornwell and P.J. Dozier play they are unbeaten.
- Purdue Boilermakers – The Boilermakers are a notch below Wisconsin in the Big Ten.
- Florida State Seminoles – The Seminoles are not a serious contender as they can’t win big games on the road as they are 1-3 in the ACC on the road.
- Notre Dame Fighting Irish – The Irish have fallen lately and go into the game against North Carolina having lost three straight.
- Maryland Terrapins – The Terps have yet to beat anyone of note but they already have 20 wins and they are starting to get some respect at sports betting sites.
