Betting the Connecticut Parlay: March Madness Value Bet

It's March Madness time! The casinos in Las Vegas are bursting with college basketball speculators.

Question: Has any college ever won *both* the men's *and* women's NCAA basketball championships in the same year?

Answer: Yes! In fact, it's happened twice (2004 and 2014) -- and was accomplished by the same school.

Bonus Fact: Even more incredibly, that same school has a chance to win it yet again, which would be a record third time.

The Connecticut Huskies, a.k.a. "UConn," has been a virtual dynasty among college basketball programs. This goes for both the men's and women's teams. 

Super-Strong UConn Men

First, let's examine the UConn men's team. These Huskies have been ranked inside the top-5 all season long. The Huskies are one of four schools seeded #1 in their bracket in the upcoming March Madness brackets. Oh, and by the way -- UConn won the NCAA championship last year, and is looking to repeat as the defending champions.

The UConn men finished first in the Big East conference, known as a longtime basketball gauntlet with several top programs. The Huskies posted a 30-3 record this season, which includes a current 7-game winning streak. Their perfect 16-0 home record was the best in the nation.

Experienced, Hungry UConn Women

The UConn women's squad is even more impressive, historically speaking. The Lady Huskies are the most successful women's basketball program ever, having won a whopping NCAA record 11 national championships (including a four in a row stretch from 2013-2015). 

UConn women have played in every NCAA tournament since 1989. Their all-time record 14 consecutive Final Four appearances came to an end last season. They're motivated to get back into the limelight.

UConn women face a formidable challenge in this year's tournament, most notably #1-ranked South Carolina, who currently look unbeatable. However, if any team and program is primed to pull off what would be an upset, it's these Huskies with a long history of achieving greatness.

An Uber-Enticing UConn Parlay

Now, here's where things might get interesting. Really interesting. This is especially true if you're considering putting down a few bets on the March Madness tournament.

Based on the consensus odds at several Las Vegas-based sportsbooks, betting a futures parlay might be worth a shot. 

Typically, parlays are sucker bets. However, this is a very special circumstance that offers too good a value not to consider. Think of it as an intangible.

intangible (adjective) – impossible to touch, to describe exactly, or to give an exact value

UConn men are +400 to win the NCAA national championship. In fact, they're the current favorites. 

Meanwhile, UConn women are +1500 to win the NCAA national championship on the women's side of the tournament. Sure, those are longer odds, but the feeling here is that the men might spark a stronger effort from the women, and vice versa. 

Clearly, something's unique about these two powerhouse University of Connecticut basketball programs, having been the only school ever to accomplish the "championship parlay" in history, plus the fact they've done it twice!

I'm not superstitious, but keep in mind the two times when UConn won their duel championships was in 2004, and then again in 2014. Now, here we are ten years later in 2024.

So, this year we might see what could be a "correlated" parlay for the most unusual of circumstances, but which has proven to be profitable.

Based on current odds (subject to change), the UConn parlay would pay roughly 79-to-1 odds. 

I believe this is a rare value and opportunity, especially if you want action on both the men's and women's side of the March Madness brackets.

Go Huskies!

Images: Mary Altaffer / Associated Press / Alamy (left) and Jessica Hill / Associated Press / Alamy (right)