Steve Helber / AP
Sunday, March 15, 2015 | 6 p.m.
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The betting windows have opened for the biggest weekend of the year in sports books.
Local bookmakers seem to post opening lines on the NCAA Tournament quicker every year. It took less than an hour Sunday after the selection show wrapped up for CG Technology to set the market
The sports book operator, which has nine Las Vegas locations including the Venetian and the M Resort, released point spreads on each of the 32 announced matchups beginning with Tuesday night’s First Four play-in games in Dayton, Ohio.
They showed that March Madness would feature plenty of competitive matchups. Nearly 70 percent of the opening games — 22 out of 32 — have a spread of less than 10 points.
Three points or less separated more than a third of the contests — 11 of 32 — on the betting line. That doesn’t mean there’s not an overwhelming favorite.
No. 1 overall seed Kentucky enters the tournament as the biggest favorite in at least 15 years. The undefeated Wildcats are offered at even money in the future odds at the Westgate Las Vegas Superbook, even chalkier than their 9-to-5 price to win the tournament in 2012.
But the high asking price won’t dissuade bettors from loading up on them anyway.
“Everyone thinks about Kentucky,” Sunset Station sports book director Chuck Esposito said earlier this week. “They’re perfect, but then again, we’ve seen it before.”
The last three teams to enter the tournament unbeaten failed to win the title, including Wichita State last year when Kentucky topped it in the round of 32 as a 4.5-point underdog. Kentucky will lay points in every game this year, but that’s about the only guarantee of betting the NCAA Tournament.
Check below for the opening lines and to the side for future odds. Stay tuned to lasvegassun.com for full coverage of betting throughout all of the NCAA Tournament.
First Four games
No. 16 seed Hampton plus-7.5 vs. No. 16 seed Manhattan
No. 11 seed Ole Miss plus-2.5 vs. No. 11 seed BYU
No. 16 seed Robert Morris plus-2 vs. No. 16 seed North Florida
No. 11 seed Boise State plus-2 vs. No. 11 seed Dayton
Midwest Region
No. 8 seed Purdue pick’em vs. No. 9 seed Cincinnati
No. 5 seed West Virginia minus-4 vs. No. 12 seed Buffalo
No. 4 seed Maryland minus-3.5 vs. No. 13 seed Valparaiso
No. 6 seed Butler pick’em vs. No. 11 seed Texas
No. 3 seed Notre Dame minus-12 vs. No. 14 seed Northeastern
No. 7 seed Wichita State minus-5 vs. No. 10 seed Indiana
No. 2 seed Kansas minus-12 vs. No. 15 seed New Mexico State
East Region
No. 1 seed Villanova minus-22 vs. No. 16 seed Lafayette
No. 8 seed North Carolina State minus-1.5 vs. No. 9 seed LSU
No. 5 seed Northern Iowa minus-7.5 vs. No. 12 seed Wyoming
No. 4 seed Louisville minus-9 vs. No. 13 seed UC-Irvine
No. 3 seed Oklahoma minus-12.5 vs. No. 14 seed Albany
No. 7 seed Michigan State minus-4.5 vs. No. 10 seed Georgia
No. 2 seed Virginia minus-16.5 vs. No. 15 seed Belmont
South Region
No. 8 seed San Diego State minus-2 vs. No. 9 seed Saint John’s
No. 5 seed Utah minus-6 vs. No. 12 seed Stephen F. Austin
No. 4 seed Georgetown minus-9 vs. No. 13 seed Eastern Washington
No. 6 seed SMU minus-2 vs. No. 11 seed UCLA
No. 3 seed Iowa State minus-12.5 vs. No. 14 seed UAB
No. 7 seed Iowa minus-1 vs. No. 10 seed Davidson
No. 2 seed Gonzaga minus-17 vs. No. 15 seed North Dakota State
West Region
No. 1 seed Wisconsin minus-19.5 vs. No. 16 seed Coastal Carolina
No. 8 seed Oregon minus-1.5 vs. No. 9 seed Oklahoma State
No. 5 seed Arkansas minus-7 vs. No. 12 seed Wofford
No. 4 seed North Carolina minus-9 vs. No. 13 seed Harvard
No. 3 seed Baylor minus-7.5 vs. No. 14 seed Georgia State
No. 7 seed VCU plus-2 vs. No. 10 seed Ohio State
No. 2 seed Arizona minus-23 vs. No. 15 seed Texas Southern
Case Keefer can be reached at 948-2790 or [email protected]. Follow Case on Twitter at twitter.com/casekeefer.
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