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March Madness Betting: Favorites Make History During Friday's of First Round Action
One of the best parts about March Madness is rooting for an upset, but the 2026 NCAA Tournament hasn't had many to this point.
In fact, on Friday in the first round, upsets were nowhere to be found.
Favorites made history during Friday's action, as they went 16-0 straight up for the first time since 1992. The only two lower seeds to win were No. 9 Utah State (over Villanova) and No. 9 Iowa (over Clemson), but both teams entered the game as betting favorites.
As a result, favorites went 12-4 against the spread, burning bettors that took some of the bigger underdogs in the tournament to cover.
Favorites in the men’s NCAA tournament went a perfect 16-0 on Friday for the first time since 1992, per ESPN research.
— Ben Fawkes (@BFawkes22) March 21, 2026
Favorites also went 12-4 ATS.
Every Top 4 seed advanced to Round 2 for the second straight year
That includes one bettor that placed over $100K on the Prairie View A&M Panthers to cover the spread against the Florida Gators. Florida was a 35.5-point favorite, and it ended up winning the game by nearly 60 points.
One bettor at Hard Rock Bet wagered $110,000 on No. 16 Prairie View +35.5 (vs. No. 1 Florida) on Friday.
— Ben Fawkes (@BFawkes22) March 21, 2026
Final score: Florida 114, Prairie View 55 ❌
So far in the NCAA Tournament, only a handful of lower seeds have advanced to the Round of 32. All four No. 9 seeds did win their games outright (although some of those wins weren't upsets) while No. 12 High Point, No. 11 Texas, No. 10 Texas A&M and No. 11 VCU were the only double-digit seeds to win in the first round.
So, there really aren't many options for a team to be "Cinderella" in the 2026 NCAA Tournament.
All four of those double-digit seeds will be in action on Friday, and none of them are favored to advance to the Sweet 16. Will we see another upset?
SI Betting's Iain MacMillan shared all of his picks for the Round of 32 action on Saturday, and he's eyeing most of the favorites to win and cover.
Odds refresh periodically and are subject to change.
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Peter is a senior editor for Sports Illustrated Betting. He has worked as a writer and editor for BetSided, NBC Sports, the Connecticut Sun and the Meriden Record-Journal covering the NBA, WNBA, NFL, MLB, and more. A New York City resident, he is a hoops fanatic with a soft spot for his New York Knicks.
Follow @peterdewey2