After Mattress Mack placed a $1 million bet that the East Region will produce the NCAA champion, we asked our bettors which region they are backing.
Jim “Mattress Mack” McIngvale, the Texas businessman who has made his success by betting on local teams and underdogs as a promotion for his furniture store, placed a $1 million bet at +260 odds on the East Region to produce the NCAA champion.
However, now that both No. 1 Baylor and No. 2 Kentucky have been eliminated, you can bet Mattress Mack will be rooting for UCLA. The odds for the East to produce the champion are now +560—the lowest of any of the four regions—which means either Mattress Mack will be getting a big payout or it’s time to hedge his bet.
Matt Ehalt NCAA tournament against the spread (ATS) record: 19-16-1
Kyle Wood NCAA tournament ATS record: 16-23-1
Sweet 16 betting previews: Gonzaga-Arkansas | Villanova vs. Michigan | Arizona vs. Houston| Two Bets for Thursday
Denis Poroy/AP
Check the Latest NCAA Tournament Odds and Lines from SI Sportsbook
I asked our team at SI which region they would bet to win it all heading into the Sweet 16. No matter which region they pick, they could return more than their investment.
Here are the current odds at SI Sportsbook:
West (No. 1 Gonzaga, No.2 Duke, No. 3 Texas Tech, No. 4 Arkansas): +140
South (No. 1 Arizona, No. 2 Villanova, No. 5 Houston, No. 11 Michigan): +230
Midwest (No. 1 Kansas, No. 4 Providence, No. 10 Miami, No. 11 Iowa State): +400
East (No. 3 Purdue, No. 4 UCLA, No. 8 North Carolina, No. 15 Saint Peter’s): +560
SI Betting’s Matt Ehalt:
I picked Gonzaga to win it all and I’m not going to change my pick now. Gonzaga had two scares in its first two games, but that may just be what this team needs. Drew Timme produced a “HE’S ON FIRE” performance to down Memphis and possibly galvanize his squad. Gonzaga should defeat Arkansas, and then can best the Duke-Texas Tech winner. The East is down its top two seeds which could make for an easier Final Four matchup for the Bulldogs, leaving a final versus possibly No. 1 Kansas or No. 1 Arizona. I honestly believe if Gonzaga doesn’t win this year, you wonder if the Bulldogs ever will get it done.
BET: West (+140)
SI Betting and Fantasy’s Jennifer Piacenti:
I already made my long shot bets, opting to put $20 on Saint Peter’s with the hopes it pays me +35000. I’ll be smart today, and hedge that bet with Gonzaga and the West at +130. I picked them from the start and I am sticking to my guns. Quite simply, the Bulldogs are due.
BET: West (+140)
SI Fantasy’s Craig Ellenport:
My gut should tell me not to dare piggyback on a wager made by Mattress Mack, who bet $1 million that a champion would come out of the East. But here’s the deal: If there’s a good reason to take the longest odds on the board, I’m all for it. The East is at +560 to produce the tourney champion for good reason – it’s the only region that’s lost its top two seeds. But that just creates an easier path for No. 3 Purdue. The Boilermakers have won their first two games of the tournament by an average of 16 points and they should – SHOULD – have an easy time Friday against upstart but overmatched Saint Peter’s. So, Purdue will cruise into its Elite Eight matchup against the winner of UCLA-North Carolina. Once they reach the Final Four, I’ll gladly take +560 for the Boilermakers to win two games.
BET: East (+560)
SI Betting’s Frank Taddeo:
I have futures’ investments on both Arizona and Villanova to win the national championship, so I will grab the healthy odds of +225 assigned to the South Region. The teams remaining in the Region are No. 1 Arizona, No. 2 Villanova, No. 5 Houston and No. 11 Michigan. I still hold to my contention that a ‘Wildcats’ squad will cut down the ’nets in New Orleans (admitting I have lost my investment in Kentucky). Unfortunately, I will lose either my investment on Villanova or Arizona as they were placed in the same region and my wagers were made months prior to Selection Sunday. Backing that the National Champion will come from a Region possessing one of the best players in the country in Arizona’s Bennedict Mathurin, one of the best defensive teams in the nation in Houston or a Hall-of-Fame coach in Villanova’s Jay Wright is hard to not invest in at solid odds.
BET: South (+230)
Craig Mitchelldyer/AP
SI.com’s Dan Lyons:
The West Region is the favorite here and for good reason. The top four seeds all survived, and you have a powerhouse in Gonzaga, a talented, young Duke squad and Texas Tech, which is just a few years removed from a run to the title game. However, I don’t think the South is too far behind and I like the extra value. Arizona is up there with Gonzaga, Villanova has a national title pedigree and has played well in the tournament thus far, and analytics darling Houston looks the part so far. The Cougars dispatched of upset-minded UAB and made pretty easy work of Illinois in the round of 32. Michigan would be a giant surprise, but when a region’s Sweet 16 “Cinderella” is a very talented Big Ten team, you can do far worse.
BET: South (+230)
SI Betting and Fantasy’s Kyle Wood
I weirdly still like the East to take home the championship, even with would-be contenders like No. 1 Baylor and No. 2 Kentucky at home. This is a bit of a value pick given the huge plus-odds for this region to produce the champion the way the first two rounds unfolded, but I like No. 3 Purdue, No. 4 UCLA and No. 8 North Carolina. Picking the West to win makes sense with all four top seeds still standing, including the top overall team in Gonzaga, but you’re not getting a whole lot of value there. UNC, inbounding deficiencies aside, has had one of the more impressive tournament performances so far and the Bruins and Boilermakers both have complete teams. If the winner of the East makes it past the West winner, I think they can certainly beat whoever comes out of the right side of the bracket and cash in on this huge value bet.
BET: East (+560)
Check the Latest Odds at SI Sportsbook
Get fantasy and betting analysis in your inbox by signing up for the Winners Club newsletter
More Betting, Fantasy and College Basketball:
• Final Four, Championship Game and Champion Bets
• Betting Advice: Saint Peter’s Futures
• Sweet 16 Lines and Future Odds
• Duke Bettors Suffer Stunning Bad Beat
• How to Bet March Madness
• Top-Four Seeds Against the Spread
• Fantasy Impact: Tyreek Hill to the Dolphins
• Sweet 16 Rankings
• Re-Picking the Bracket