March Madness 2025: Duke holds as title favorite entering Sweet 16

The second round of the NCAA Tournament was markedly Cinderella-less. Arkansas is the only double-digit seed remaining in the field after upsetting 2-seed St. John’s. But a John Calipari-led team making the Sweet 16 is exactly what Razorbacks leadership hoped to see when opening up the checkbook to bring the legendary coach to Fayetteville in the offseason.

Vegas is slow to back Calipari’s late-season turnaround. At ESPN Bet, Arkansas is tied with Michigan for the longest odds of any remaining team to win the title this season.

Each of the top 4 seeds in the field remains standing, and as such, they’re the favorites to win the title entering the Sweet 16. They are also the favorites to win their respective regions.

Below, you can find the latest March Madness odds, including odds to win each region and advance to the Final Four. You can see how the odds have changed from the second round here.

National Championship odds

odds via ESPN Bet

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Odds to win the East Region

Duke (-185) remains the outright favorite to win the East Region, and the Blue Devils odds have gotten slightly shorter since blasting Baylor in the Round of 32. Alabama has the next-best odds at +350. Arizona, the 4-seed in the region, has +750 odds to advance to the Final Four. BYU, Alabama’s Sweet 16 opponent, is priced at +875 to win the East.

Odds to win the South Region

Auburn (-135) remains the favorite to win the South. The Tigers beat Creighton 82-70 in the second round to advance to the second weekend of the Tournament. Though Johni Broome had only 8 points, Auburn pulled away from the Bluejays in the second half thanks to 23 points from guard Tahaad Pettiford.

Michigan, Auburn’s Sweet 16 opponent, is +600 to win the region. Michigan State is +260 while Ole Miss is priced at +600. The Spartans and Rebels meet on Friday. MSU is a one-possession favorite in that game.

Odds to win the West Region

Florida (-135) is the favorite to win the West. The Gators beat UConn 77-75 in the second round, snapping the Huskies’ 13-game March Madness win streak and officially ending the hunt for a 3-peat. Walter Clayton Jr. (23 points) was massive down the stretch as the Gators erased a 6-point deficit in the final 9 minutes of the game.

The Gators will face Maryland in their first Sweet 16 game since 2017. Maryland also dramatically won its second game. Thanks to a Derik Queen bucket at the buzzer, the Terps beat Colorado State 72-71. Maryland is +400 to win the West.

Arkansas (+750) has the longest odds to win its region despite upsetting 2-seed St. John’s in the second round. The Razorbacks will face Texas Tech in the next round. The Red Raiders are +275 to win the region.

Odds to win the Midwest Region

Houston is -140 to win the Midwest. The Cougars beat Gonzaga, 81-76, in a second-round battle. The Zags attempted a furious comeback to upset the 1-seed in the region, but 30 points and 6 triples from LJ Cryer gave the Cougars enough ammo to move on to a sixth consecutive Sweet 16 appearance. The Cougs made their first Sweet 16 appearance under Kelvin Sampson in 2019. They have lost both of their last 2 regional semifinal games. Purdue, the opponent this time around, is +700 to win the Midwest Region.

Kentucky and Tennessee are playing each other in the other regional semifinal game. The Vols are +230 to win the region while the Wildcats are +500. They met twice during the regular season; Kentucky won the first game by 5 in Knoxville and then won the second game at home by 9.

Derek Peterson

Derek Peterson does a bit of everything, not unlike Taysom Hill. He has covered Oklahoma, Nebraska, the Pac-12, and now delivers CFB-wide content.