March Madness betting has become a national pastime with Americans from all walks of life plunking down a few dollars on their favorite teams or hoping their bracket picks bring them a nice payday at the end of the tournament.
Live betting odds for March Madness are actually available year-round (at least for the potential National Champion) and are some of the most closely watched lines in all of sports.
See below for the best March Madness betting sites and real-time odds at WV online sportsbooks. Jump to the best bracket contests in WV here.
Best March Madness Betting Sites
Live March Madness Odds
See below for live March Madness odss from WV online sportsbooks with point spreads, moneylines and totals odds for each game. You’ll also find live futures odds to win the National Championship or make the Final Four. Click on any odds to jump straight to the sportsbook and claim your bonus bets.
March Madness Bracket Contests in WV
The March Madness bracket contest is the most common way Americans get involved with March Madness betting. Most contests are free or very low buy-in and run among friends and colleagues.
Now that legal online sports betting is available in West Virginia, though, online sportsbooks have jumped in the game with some lucrative March Madness bracket contests. Here are some of the best you can access here in WV:
DraftKings March Mania Survivor
Open to all DraftKings players, the March Mania Survivor Pool has $30,000 up for grabs for the winner. You pick a team to win each day of the tournament. If you’re right, you advance. If not, you’re out. It’s that simple, and free to play to boot.
Second Chance March Madness Contests
If you’re out of the running with your original entries, you can take another shot with second chance March Madness pools. These are contests that begin with the Sweet 16 and roll through to the championship game. DraftKings has several free-to-play second chance games to choose from, including one with a $16,000 prize pool.
How Do March Madness Brackets Work?
How do March Madness brackets work? It’s pretty simple and can require some savvy picks or mere dumb luck, depending on how you approach your bracket and matchups.
The setup is pretty simple. Sixteen teams are seeded No. 1-16 in each of four different regions. A ranking is based on several factors including:
- NCAA basketball conference titles
- Regular-season performances
- The strength of a team’s schedule
It’s up to each individual bettor in the pool to fill out his or her bracket completely – all 67 scheduled games from Round 1 to the championship game.
That includes, of course, paying the pool fee so that winners can receive a nice cash prize. Traditionally completed on paper, more and more pools have moved to online selections. Some players also run a Sweet 16 pool to add some extra mid-tournament excitement, and a few more dollars on the line.
Players are awarded various point totals for winning teams depending on the round. The deeper a team goes, usually the higher points awarded in each round. The player with the most points, in the end, is the winner. Some pools may award payouts for several places depending on the number of entrants.
It’s that easy, and plenty of fun. Getting those matchups correct is the difficult part. Upsets are a regular part of the action on the court and in 2018, a No. 16 did the unthinkable in the first round.
For the first time in history, a 16th-ranked team knocked off one of the top seeds when the University of Maryland – Baltimore County (UMBC) defeated No. 1 Virginia handily (74-54). The Retrievers spoiled many brackets early, and despite losing in the Round of 32, gave their fans the win of a lifetime.
The Road to March Madness
This year’s college basketball championship festivities kick-off as it does every year – with Selection Sunday. After teams have played out their seasons, conference tournaments and champions have been crowned, the selection committee determines the tournament bracket and seeding for each team.
March Madness then ensues and ends with the NCAA Championship Game three weeks later. The annual tournament now consists of 68 teams playing in a single-elimination format.
It’s a classic structure with little room for error. If your team loses, it’s a long wait until next season. The annual event now includes two “play-in games,” an opportunity for four teams to play their way into the traditional 64-team field. In total, March Madness features 67 games over a period of 19 days.
March Madness Key Dates
March Madness Betting Tips
The UMBC win may be a bit of an outlier in college basketball betting but shows how upsets contribute to the excitement of March Madness. Don’t go too overboard picking upsets, however, but mixing in a few can have some positive results.
While filling out a bracket can bring plenty of fun with a chance at winning some cash, plenty of bettors also enjoy adding some action on individual matchups. Adding a few dollars with point spreads and the over/under can be fun and yield some returns for skilled gamblers.
When placing those bets, here are a few things to keep in mind:
Teams on a Heater – Records can be important but a team’s play down the stretch offers some insight as to how they’re really playing and their motivation. Look for teams who finished on a hot streak and seem to be on an upswing.
D Up – Many experts also say to look for team’s who play tough defense. These offer some value against the spread and always have a chance at a victory even when the shots aren’t falling.
Short Road Trips – Location can be important. Teams not traveling far to play may have more of a “home” game atmosphere with more fans and less fatigue from hitting the road.
No Emotions – It’s also always important to leave the biases behind when selecting games. You may be an LSU grad, but putting a couple grand on the Tigers versus a strong No. 1-ranked team against the spread could be unwise.
Select Small – Be selective with the number of games you plan on betting and how much of your bankroll you wager. Look for value and games where you’ve done your research and see a chance at making a solid score.
Too many bettors pick a deep slate of games rather selecting a smaller bunch that have a chance at a return on investment. Don’t look for one major score, but instead hope for a nice win overall. Going 7-0 is pretty unlikely, but a solid 6-3 could be a nice goal with hopes for even better. Look for consistency throughout the tournament to profit in the end.
Mind the Bankroll – When it comes to bankroll, don’t wager too large a percentage each round. Better smaller percentages so that your cash will last for the long haul – hopefully with a tidy profit by the time the championship game tips off.
Brief NCAA tournament history
The NCAA Tournament is college basketball’s ultimate tournament played every year since 1939. Now colloquially known as “March Madness,” this is a 68-team tournament where only one team emerges as the champion.
Each year, there are four regions with teams seeded from No. 1 to No. 16. They all square off to produce a winner. After each region has produced a winner, those teams make up the Final Four.
The Final Four square off to determine who is the ultimate National Champion.
Schools with the most Final Four appearances
- North Carolina (20)
- Kentucky (17)
- UCLA (17)
- Duke (16)
- Kansas (15)
- Michigan State (10)
- Ohio State (10)
Schools with most National Championships
- UCLA (11)
- Kentucky (8)
- North Carolina (6)
- Duke Blue Devils (5)
- Indiana (5)
- Connecticut (5)
- Kansas (3)
- Villanova (3)
March Madness Online Betting in West Virginia
West Virginia has legal online sports betting. FanDuel Sportsbook WV was the first to launch its legal sports betting app after a five-month hiatus. After FanDuel’s debut, DraftKings Sportsbook WV launched, and brought choice and accessibility to the residents of West Virginia.
That choice expanded further in 2020 when both BetMGM Sportsbook WV and Caesars Sportsbook in WV (originally William Hill Sportsbook) debuted in the Mountain State. That’s now four major names in the West Virginia sports betting market that are in hot competition for bets.
West Virginia law allows for up to 15 sportsbooks to launch in the state. Indeed, BETMGM is the second title to debut on The Greenbrier Resort’s license. However, the final number of sportsbooks that will be coming to the state remains unclear.
Live Betting on March Madness in West Virginia
For sports fans, there’s nothing quite like taking in some March Madness at a WV sportsbook watching your bets or bracket pool picks play out live. Sports betting has been legal in the state since August of 2018 and all five of the state’s casinos now host sportsbooks.
Here’s a look at the live betting opportunities in the state:
Hollywood Casino Sportsbook (Ranson) – This was the first sportsbook to open, and is located just off the casino floor near Skybox Sports Bar. It offers 24 odds-display monitors and 50 feet of wall space with 80-inch TVs for checking out games. The casino also offers online sports betting through its partner DraftKings Sportsbook.
Mountaineer Sportsbook (New Cumberland) – The Caesars WV Sportsbook offers plenty of action and amenities for every level of bettor. Make your picks and check out the action.
FanDuel Sportsbook at The Greenbrier (White Sulphur Springs) – This property has partnered with FanDuel Sportsbook for its members-only sportsbook lounge, which is located in The Casino Club and is open during regular hours.
March Madness FAQs
Yes. You can place wagers at any of the live five WV sportsbooks or at any legal online sportsbook or betting app. See the list above.
The first game tips off mid-March as four teams play their way into the group of 64 teams.
- Selection Sunday: Sunday, March 12 (6 p.m. ET on CBS)
- First Four: March 14-15
- First round: March 16-17
- Second round: March 18-19
- Sweet 16: March 23-24
- Elite Eight: March 25-26
- Final Four: April 1
- NCAA championship game: April 3
- First Four Play-IN games: truTV
- First and second rounds: CBS, TBS, TNT, and truTV
- Regional semifinals and finals: CBS and TBS
- Final Four: CBS
- NCAA Championship Game: CBS