Morning Coffee: A March Madness futures play to consider

The NCAA men’s basketball tournament Round of 64 gets underway this afternoon on TSN.

This is your final reminder to fill out a bracket.

You’re welcome for the prompt.

Not all heroes wear capes.

In case you’re wondering, I just built my perfect bracket this morning.

Some call it impossible.

I call it another Thursday morning at the office.

Give me a follow @Domenic_Padula on X.

I’ll show you the proof of the perfect bracket on April 7^th.

What are the odds that somebody else will build a perfect bracket for the NCAA men’s basketball tournament?

Unofficially, it’s 1 in 9,223,372,036,854,775,808.

So, I’m saying there’s a chance.

Would I bet on somebody other than myself building a perfect bracket?

No.

The good news is that anybody 19+ in Ontario who wants to bet on the March Madness has a long list of alternate options to consider at FanDuel, including the opportunity to pick their NCAA title winners in both the men’s and the women’s brackets.

Please play responsibly.

This is the Morning Coffee for Thursday March 21^st, 2024.

A March Madness futures play to consider

The NCAA estimates that 60 to 100 million NCAA tournament brackets are filled out every year.

What are the odds that even one of those brackets will still have a chance of being perfect by the end of the Round of 64?

FanDuel recently posted a novelty betting market titled, “What round will the last perfect bracket be busted?”

First Round is the category favourite at -250 odds.

That number represents a 71.4 per cent implied probability.

The traders at FanDuel have the Second Round at +300.

The last perfect bracket to be busted in the Sweet 16 was priced at 8-to-1, the Elite Eight at 60-to-1, and the Final Four is 110-to-1.

A perfect bracket is 1000-to-1.

I was tempted to lay the juice and bet the last perfect bracket to be busted in the First Round at -250.

Instead, I’ll take my chances with a national champion prediction.

I took the Arizona Wildcats to win it all at 12-to-1 odds.

I’m also on Arizona to reach the Elite Eight at +102.

I understand that many readers are looking for a long shot with a much larger potential payout, but I think the Wildcats have a legitimate chance to go the distance.

The Wildcats rank in the top-12 in both offensive and defensive efficiency.

They also got a very favourable draw in the tournament.

After last year’s embarrassing exit, I expect the roster to be locked in and focused to avoid a repeat in the opening round.

Arizona is a 19.5-point favourite versus Long Beach State.

Then they’ll get either Dayton or Nevada in the second round.

I’m expecting the Wildcats to win both of those games and set up a match-up versus one of Baylor, Clemson, New Mexico, or Colgate in the Sweet 16.

I have Arizona over Baylor in the Sweet 16.

I also bet the Wildcats to reach the Elite Eight at +102.

The competition should get a lot tougher for Arizona in the Elite Eight, but this team has been solid all year at both ends of the floor, and they are versatile enough to be considered a serious contender.

UCONN, Houston and Purdue are all shorter than 10-to-1 to win the national title at FanDuel.

While I think the Cougars have the best shot of that group, I’m not willing to bet any one of those three to win it all at their current prices.

North Carolina is the No. 1 seed in the West Region.

However, it’s Arizona with the shortest odds to win the championship among the teams from the West.

At 12-to-1 odds, I’m willing to roll the dice on the Wildcats redemption story and bet on them to win the men’s title at FanDuel.

Arizona is my men’s national champion.

Enjoy the Round of 64, everybody.