MARCH MADNESS
FUTURE BETTING PRESENTED BY WILLIAM HILL SPORTSBOOK COLLEGE BASKE TBALL CH AMPIONSHIP: L ATEST ODDS, TRENDS, NOTABLE BE TS Six wins! That’s the path from the Round of 64 to celebrating a national championship. For the William Hill bettors who have placed a college basketball championship futures wager, the countdown is on to reach that magic number of six and cash in that ticket. Gonzaga was atop the board at William Hill at +700 when the season began on Nov. 25, and the Bulldogs have held onto the pole position ahead of March Madness. Gonzaga is the +210 favorite after being listed at +220 on Selection Sunday. The shortest title odds Gonzaga had all season was +180 back in January. Selection Sunday was the first time all season that Baylor did not have the second-lowest title odds. Illinois leapfrogged past the Bears, and now sits at +400. Before the bracket was unveiled, Baylor (+450) was slightly ahead of both Illinois (+500) and Michigan (+500). Meanwhile, Baylor currently is at +500 and Michigan is close behind at +600. Baylor and Michigan were tied for the second-lowest title odds at +350 at the start of March, however the Wolverines never surpassed the Bears before their odds rose again. There’s also a team that has separated itself from the pack behind the four No. 1 seeds. Houston, Iowa and Ohio State were all tied for the fifth-lowest odds at 15/1 ahead of the bracket release. Now Houston stands alone at 13/1, whereas Iowa is at 18/1 with Alabama (who swung over slightly from 20/1) and Ohio State is nearby at 20/1. Some of the longer shots that had their odds shorten following the bracket release include Arkansas
