LAS VEGAS (AP) — Duke shines even in a Final Four of all No. 1 seeds.
The early betting money went on the Blue Devils to win their semifinal Saturday against Houston, with the opening line at DraftKings Sportsbook quickly going from 4 1/2 to 5 1/2 points.
Bettors see a Duke team led by sensational freshman Cooper Flagg that has won 15 games in a row, all but three by double digits.
“(Bettors will) continue to play Duke,” said Johnny Avello, DraftKings race and sports operations director. “Duke has been been brilliant through the ACC Tournament right into the big tournament here, and Flagg's playing great. So they'll just continue to put their money on them.”
BetMGM Sportsbook is seeing a similar surge in Blue Devils bets.
Duke by far is drawing the most money at BetMGM, taking in 40.5% of the handle to win the national championship. The next closest is Florida at 11.7%.
It's largely big bets on the Blue Devils because the total number of tickets is much closer, with Duke attracting 14.1% compared to 9.1% for the Gators. One person put $500,000 at that sportsbook on Duke at +350 to win the title.
That turned out to be a good price. Duke opened the season at +1100 at BetMGM to win the championship and now is at -110. Florida had an even more dramatic move, going from +4000 to +300.
The Gators are favored by 2 1/2 points at both sportsbooks to beat fellow Southeastern Conference member Auburn.
“The tournament has gone in the bettors’ favor with favorites consistently winning,” BetMGM trading manager Christian Cipollini said. "The sportsbook is cheering against a Duke-Florida final.”
On the women's side, bettors believe in championship coaches Dawn Staley of South Carolina and Geno Auriemma of UConn to get it done, even though the Huskies are the only No. 2 seed in either Final Four.
UConn, in fact, is attracting 30.3% of the handle and 17.3% of the ticket count to win the national championship, which would be the school's 12th but first in nine years. Paige Bueckers and the Huskies first have to get by UCLA in Friday's semifinal, but they are 8 1/2-point favorites at BetMGM and DraftKings.
The number opened at 10 1/2 points at DraftKings before it was bet down.
“Connecticut's always loaded,” Avello said. “Paige Bueckers is a special player. It will be tough to beat that team because he's an outstanding coach. He knows how to get it done. (Bettors) thought 10 1/2 points was a bit too many.”
South Carolina has won three national championships since 2017, including last year's title. The Gamecocks are in the Final Four for the fifth consecutive season.
They are behind only UConn at BetMGM in terms of money bet (23.9%) and number of tickets (14.8%).
South Carolina is favored by 4 1/2 points in the semifinals at both sportsbooks.
“BetMGM will be pulling for the dogs to cover and hopefully pull off an upset if not two," BetMGM sports trader Hannah Luther said. "Factoring in the futures markets, a Texas versus UCLA final is the best case scenario.”
DraftKings has lines up for the potential men's championship matchups. Duke would be favored by 4 1/2 points over Florida and 5 1/2 over Auburn. The Gators would be 1 1/2-point favorites over Houston, and the Cougars would be a 1-point favorite over Auburn.
Lines weren't available on the women's side, but UConn was a -160 favorite to win it all. South Carolina was +260.
This has been a difficult March Madness for sportsbooks because casual bettors tend to put their money on favorites.
“This hasn't been our greatest tournament revenue-wise,” Avello said. “But we've still got a couple of games to go. I can tell you, the players have a lot of bullets right now, so I expect a lot of action in this Final Four.”
Michigan State bettors had to be cursing when the Spartans beat Mississippi 73-70 in the Sweet 16. Ole Miss' Matthew Murrell made a 3-point — off the back iron, no less — at the buzzer that allowed those betting on the Rebels to cover the 3 1/2-point spread at BetMGM.
AP March Madness: https://apnews.com/hub/march-madness and AP technology coverage: https://apnews.com/technology
Florida players celebrate after their win against Texas Tech in the Elite Eight of the NCAA college basketball tournament, Saturday, March 29, 2025, in San Francisco. (AP Photo/Godofredo A. Vásquez)
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — U.S. President Donald Trump said Iran wants to negotiate with Washington after his threat to strike the Islamic Republic over its bloody crackdown on protesters, a move coming as activists said Monday the death toll in the nationwide demonstrations rose to at least 544.
Iran had no immediate reaction to the news, which came after the foreign minister of Oman — long an interlocutor between Washington and Tehran — traveled to Iran this weekend. It also remains unclear just what Iran could promise, particularly as Trump has set strict demands over its nuclear program and its ballistic missile arsenal, which Tehran insists is crucial for its national defense.
Meanwhile Monday, Iran called for pro-government demonstrators to head to the streets in support of the theocracy, a show of force after days of protests directly challenging the rule of 86-year-old Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. Iranian state television aired chants from the crowd, who shouted “Death to America!” and “Death to Israel!”
Trump and his national security team have been weighing a range of potential responses against Iran including cyberattacks and direct strikes by the U.S. or Israel, according to two people familiar with internal White House discussions who were not authorized to comment publicly and spoke on condition of anonymity.
“The military is looking at it, and we’re looking at some very strong options,” Trump told reporters on Air Force One on Sunday night. Asked about Iran’s threats of retaliation, he said: “If they do that, we will hit them at levels that they’ve never been hit before.”
Trump said that his administration was in talks to set up a meeting with Tehran, but cautioned that he may have to act first as reports of the death toll in Iran mount and the government continues to arrest protesters.
“I think they’re tired of being beat up by the United States,” Trump said. “Iran wants to negotiate.”
He added: “The meeting is being set up, but we may have to act because of what’s happening before the meeting. But a meeting is being set up. Iran called, they want to negotiate.”
Iran through country's parliamentary speaker warned Sunday that the U.S. military and Israel would be “legitimate targets” if America uses force to protect demonstrators.
More than 10,600 people also have been detained over the two weeks of protests, said the U.S.-based Human Rights Activists News Agency, which has been accurate in previous unrest in recent years and gave the death toll. It relies on supporters in Iran crosschecking information. It said 496 of the dead were protesters and 48 were with security forces.
With the internet down in Iran and phone lines cut off, gauging the demonstrations from abroad has grown more difficult. The Associated Press has been unable to independently assess the toll. Iran’s government has not offered overall casualty figures.
Those abroad fear the information blackout is emboldening hard-liners within Iran’s security services to launch a bloody crackdown. Protesters flooded the streets in the country’s capital and its second-largest city on Saturday night into Sunday morning. Online videos purported to show more demonstrations Sunday night into Monday, with a Tehran official acknowledging them in state media.
In Tehran, a witness told the AP that the streets of the capital empty at the sunset call to prayers each night. By the Isha, or nighttime prayer, the streets are deserted.
Part of that stems from the fear of getting caught in the crackdown. Police sent the public a text message that warned: “Given the presence of terrorist groups and armed individuals in some gatherings last night and their plans to cause death, and the firm decision to not tolerate any appeasement and to deal decisively with the rioters, families are strongly advised to take care of their youth and teenagers.”
Another text, which claimed to come from the intelligence arm of the paramilitary Revolutionary Guard, also directly warned people not to take part in demonstrations.
“Dear parents, in view of the enemy’s plan to increase the level of naked violence and the decision to kill people, ... refrain from being on the streets and gathering in places involved in violence, and inform your children about the consequences of cooperating with terrorist mercenaries, which is an example of treason against the country,” the text warned.
The witness spoke to the AP on condition of anonymity due to the ongoing crackdown.
The demonstrations began Dec. 28 over the collapse of the Iranian rial currency, which trades at over 1.4 million to $1, as the country’s economy is squeezed by international sanctions in part levied over its nuclear program. The protests intensified and grew into calls directly challenging Iran’s theocracy.
Nikhinson reported from aboard Air Force One.
In this frame grab from video obtained by the AP outside Iran, a masked demonstrator holds a picture of Iran's Crown Prince Reza Pahlavi during a protest in Tehran, Iran, Friday, January. 9, 2026. (UGC via AP)
In this frame grab from footage circulating on social media from Iran shows protesters taking to the streets despite an intensifying crackdown as the Islamic Republic remains cut off from the rest of the world in Tehran, Iran, Friday, Jan. 9, 2026.(UGC via AP)
In this frame grab from footage circulating on social media from Iran showed protesters once again taking to the streets of Tehran despite an intensifying crackdown as the Islamic Republic remains cut off from the rest of the world in Tehran, Iran, Saturday Jan. 10, 2026. (UGC via AP)
