Lack of March Madness Upsets Leads to Moneyline Parlay Success for Bettors The tradition and allure of March Madness have long been the upsets that occur during the first and second rounds of the men’s NCAA tournament. Coming out of the first weekend, though, Cinderella is no more. No mid-majors made it to the Sweet 16 and no double-digit favorites were eliminated, leading to parlay victories in the sports betting market. "Without many upsets, bettors found success on moneyline parlays with favorites to start the NCAA Tournament," BetMGM senior trader Michael Ranftle said on Monday. "UConn covering was the best result of the early rounds for the sportsbook. BetMGM is cheering for at least one upset in each round moving forward to break up parlays." In the first round, favorites covered 19 of the 32 games with eight spread underdogs winning outright. Favorites were 7-8-1 in the second round with three moneyline underdogs cashing on Saturday and just two on Sunday, but none were massive odds payouts. "Overall, it’s been a choppy tournament for the house, as we’ve won the important decisions but have only had one major elimination with St. John’s," Rich Zanco, head of college hoops at Caesars Sportsbook, told Covers on Monday. "Bettors have been all over the SEC and with Arkansas, it was no different against Rick Pitino. "Most of the big-handle games have gone over the total, so bettors have reaped the rewards for the most part, especially with parlays in this first weekend of March Madness." Weekend recap Favorites were 36-12 straight up and 26-22 against the spread while unders won the totals battle 27-20-1 in the NCAA tournament’s opening two rounds. Only four conferences are represented in the Sweet 16, the lowest ever. Arkansas and Ole Miss were the only two underdogs in both rounds to advance to the Sweet 16.