2025 March Madness odds: Best bets for Florida-Auburn, Houston-Duke
Four great teams, four successful programs and four No. 1 seeds.
College basketball should impress this weekend down in San Antonio, where Auburn, Duke, Florida and Houston all aim to be the last team standing.
And say what you want about the lack of sleepers and upsets, this has all the ingredients to create one of the most exciting men’s Final Fours ever.
Let’s see if we can build on our 7-4 run this tourney.
No. 1 Florida (-2.5, O/U 159.5) vs. No. 1 Auburn
How healthy is Johni Broome?
That’s the million-dollar question among sports bettors. And even though Auburn is essentially saying Broome is "good to go," I know plenty of people who are skeptical.
My true numbers — assuming everyone is healthy — have Florida closer to -1, so the uncertainty is certainly baked in.
I might be in the minority thinking Broome will be fine, but I also can’t get to this number. It’s wild to me that we talked about Duke and Auburn vs. the field for five months, yet now Florida is a possession better.
Auburn’s offense hits you from every direction and the Tigers are as resilient as any team in the country. They’ve been through some battles this year and their calmness and composure keep winning out. I believe their guards can stifle Walter Clayton Jr. and that Auburn can deliver the knockout blow that UConn and Texas Tech couldn’t land against the Gators.
Take the points.
PICK: Auburn (+2.5) to lose by fewer than 2.5 points or win outright
No. 1 Duke (-5.5, O/U 136.5) vs. No. 1 Houston
The Blue Devils are the nation’s best team, and it’s no surprise that respected bettors fired Duke earlier this week at -4.5 and -5. I have no interest in laying -5.5, mostly because of the pre-existing positions on Duke to win the national title.