March Madness is in full swing following the weekend’s announcement of the 68-strong line-up of teams that made it into the annual NCAA basketball tournament. Betting on this college level sporting leviathan is traditionally intense, generating millions in wagers and sportsbook wins. According to the Nevada Gaming Control Board, last year alone during the month of March, bettors in the state staked a record $439.5m on basketball, giving the sportsbooks a combined $41.2m win.
The single-elimination tournament pitches 68 college teams in a battle to be crowned national champions. Since the tournament’s inception in 1939, UCLA has claimed most titles with 11, closely followed by Kentucky with eight national titles and North Carolina on six.
The Washington Post has already earmarked its favoured top three tips for the tournament, Virginia, Villanova and Duke based on its own Winners Total Efficiency (WTeff) benchmark. The higher the WTeff the better and every title winner since 2002 has, says the Washington Post, achieved a mark of 20.4 or greater. Currently, Virginia has 32.1, Villanova 31.4 and Duke 29.1.
