March Madness Odds: Updated Betting Odds & Lines Entering Thursday's First Round Play

Esten McLaren

Last Updated: March 19, 2025 11:28 PM EDT • 2 min 47 sec read. Twitter link Google News Link

March Madness Odds: Updated Betting Odds & Lines Entering Thursday's First Round Play — Pictured: Duke Blue Devils guard Kon Knueppel (7) celebrates with teammates. Photo by Jim Dedmon-Imagn Images.

The March Madness odds are now set for the field of 64 in the 2025 NCAA Tournament following the conclusion of the First Four and Xavier's win over Texas.

North Carolina is, obviously, the most notable team to gain a late bid into the March Madness bracket. But the Tar Heels are looking up at the archival Duke Blue Devils on the March Madness oddsboard, as they remain the clear consensus betting favorites to win the national championship on Monday, April 7.

Duke will open its 2025 tournament on Friday against Mount St. Mary's. North Carolina draws No. 6 seed Ole Miss on Friday.

Below, we look at the March Madness odds to win the national championship, along with the odds for every first-round game over Thursday and Friday.

🤖 See our March Madness AI bracket predictions for every game through Monday, April 7.

March Madness odds entering the first round

Don't miss our March Madness first-round predictions for all 32 games or our simulation of every March Madness game.

Duke, Florida, Auburn, and Houston are the heavy favorites by the March Madness odds as the four No. 1 seeds, and they're rightfully among the most popular March Madness bracket predictions

March Madness odds for Thursday

Here are the odds for all 16 first-round games to be played Thursday. Houston vs. SIU Edwardsville and Auburn vs. Alabama State features two of the four No. 1 seeds. All times are in Eastern Time.

🔮 March Madness bracket picks & tips

📖 March Madness regional previews: South | East | Midwest | West

March Madness odds for Friday

Here are the odds for all 16 first-round games to be played Friday. North Carolina vs. Ole Miss and Duke vs. Mount St. Mary's are games of particular interest.

Mississippi State vs. Baylor, 12:15 p.m.M

Mississippi State vs. Baylor prediction

Alabama vs. Robert Morris, 12:40 p.m.

Alabama vs. Robert Morris prediction

Iowa State vs. Lipscomb, 1:30 p.m.

Iowa State vs. Lipscomb prediction

Memphis vs. Colorado State, 2 p.m.

Memphis vs. Colorado State prediction

Duke vs. Saint Mary's, 2:50

Saint Mary's vs. Vanderbilt, 3:15 p.m.

Saint Mary's vs. Vanderbilt prediction

Ole Miss vs. North Carolina, 4:05 p.m.

Ole Miss vs. North Carolina prediction

Maryland vs. Grand Canyon, 4:35 p.m.

Maryland vs. Grand Canyon prediction

Florida vs. Norfolk State, 6:50 p.m.

Kentucky vs. Troy, 7:10 p.m.

Kentucky vs. Troy prediction

Marquette vs. New Mexico, 7:25 p.m.

Marquette vs. New Mexico prediction

Arizona vs. Akron, 7:35 p.m.

Arizona vs. Akron prediction

UConn vs. Oklahoma, 9:25 p.m.

Michigan State vs. Bryant, 10 p.m.

Michigan State vs. Bryant prediction

Oregon vs. Liberty, 10:10 p.m.

Oregon vs. Liberty prediction

💰 March Madness betting odds pages

March Madness odds	March Madness MVP odds
Women's March Madness odds	March Madness MVP predictions
Final Four odds	March Madness prop bets

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Written By:
Esten McLaren

Esten is the Senior Publishing Editor for SportsbookReview.com. He has been in the sports betting industry since the legalization of mobile sports betting in New Jersey, and with SportsbookReview prior to the launch of sports betting in Ontario. Esten's previous stops include the USA TODAY network, including GolfWeek. He previously worked in the fantasy sports industry, with FNTSY Sports Network, theScore, and USA TODAY. Esten graduated from the College of Sports Media with a diploma in Radio and Television Sports Broadcasting after acquiring a degree in Biological Sciences from the University of Guelph. He has appeared on FNTSY Sports Network, VSiN, and VSiN's Long Shots podcast, where he correctly called Will Zalatoris as the winner of the 2022 FedEx St. Jude Championship. Esten is a big proponent of the entertainment side of sports betting and loves to dip his toes into the novelty and alt-markets while chasing long shots with reduced wagers on golf outrights and futures markets. He's also been known to sprinkle some lunch money on touchdown-scorer parlays with two notable hits still funding his bankroll. Esten looks at sports betting much like golf and advises beginner bettors to compete against themselves rather than being concerned with what others may or may not be doing based on social media claims.

March Madness odds entering the first round

March Madness odds for Thursday

Louisville vs. Creighton, 12:15 p.m.

Purdue vs. High Point, 12:40 p.m.

Wisconsin vs. Montana, 1:30 p.m.

Houston vs. SIU Edwardsville, 2 p.m.

Auburn vs. Alabama State, 2:50 p.m.

Clemson vs. McNeese, 3:15 p.m.

BYU vs. VCU, 4:05 p.m.

Gonzaga vs. Georgia, 4:35 p.m.

Tennessee vs. Wofford, 6:50 p.m.

Kansas vs. Arkansas, 7:10 p.m.

Texas A&M vs. Yale, 7:25 p.m.

Missouri vs. Drake, 7:35 p.m.

UCLA vs. Utah State, 9:25 p.m.

St. John's vs. Omaha, 9:45 p.m.

Michigan vs. UC San Diego, 10 p.m.

Texas Tech vs. UNC Wilmington, 10:10 p.m.