NCAA predictions: How public is betting Sunday, March 20 March Madness games

Day 4 of the NCAA Tournament is set to begin at 12:10 p.m. ET Sunday with the No. 5 seed Houston Cougars taking on the No. 4 seed Illinois. On Saturday, we saw the underdogs hold serve as six of them covered and three teams won outright. The No. 8 seed North Carolina Tar Heels took down the No. 1 seed Baylor Bears 93-86 in overtime, while the No. 15 seed Saint Peter’s Peacocks defeated the No. 7 seed Murray State Racers 70-60.

As we get prepared for what should be another eventful day in the tourney, we are going to take a look at who the public is backing, with odds courtesy of DraftKings Sportsbook.

No. 4 Illinois vs. No. 5 Houston

In the first game on Sunday, the Fighting Illini are receiving a lot of support from bettors, despite their first round scare against No. 13 seed Chattanooga on Friday night. Illinois is getting 53% of the handle and 51% of bets over the AAC champion Cougars. But the public also loves Houston to get the outright win with 53% of the handle and 62% of the bets. The Cougars went to the Final Four last season and have returned with most of the players from that squad.

No. 3 Purdue vs. No. 6 Texas

Out of all the games on today’s schedule, the Boilermakers are receiving the most bets out of all the teams at 71%. They are also getting 67% of the handle against the Longhorns, who defeated the No. 11 seed Virginia Tech Hokies in the first round. The public also loves Purdue to outright win as they are receiving 73% of the handle and 71% of the bets.

No. 2 Duke vs. No. 7 Michigan State

Lastly, the game that will have most fans attention is the Blue Devils taking on the Spartans for right to go to the Sweet 16. It will also be the last time that we will see Mike Krzyzewski and Tom Izzo face off against each other. In this particular Round of 32 matchup, the public loves Duke to cover as they are receiving 55% of the handle and 54% of the bets.

Duke is 0-5 against the spread in their last five games, while the Spartans are 5-0 ATS over that span of time. Despite that, the public still thinks that the Blue Devils win tonight. They are hammering the moneyline with Duke receiving 76% of the handle and 85% of the bets.

If you or someone you know has a gambling problem, crisis counseling and referral services can be accessed by calling 1-800-GAMBLER (1-800-426-2537) (IL/IN/MI/NJ/PA/WV/WY), 1-800-NEXT STEP (AZ), 1-800-522-4700 (CO/NH), 888-789-7777/visit ccpg.org/chat (CT), 1-800-BETS OFF (IA), 1-877-770-STOP (7867) (LA), 877-8-HOPENY/text HOPENY (467369) (NY), visit OPGR.org (OR), call/text TN REDLINE 1-800-889-9789 (TN), or 1-888-532-3500 (VA).21+ (18+ NH/WY). Physically present in AZ/CO/CT/IL/IN/IA/LA/MI/NH/NJ/NY/OR/PA/TN/VA/WV/WY only. Eligibility restrictions apply. See draftkings.com/sportsbook for full terms and conditions.