Truthfully, I’m not the biggest NCAA basketball fan.
There’s something about relying on 19-year-old college athletes to hit their free throws in front of thousands of screaming fans for me to make a profit that never really piqued my interest the way that other sports did.
Then again, it’s called March Madness for good reason.
On Sunday, when UCONN trailed top-seeded Duke by as many as 19 points late in the first half, the FanDuel US trading team waived the white flag for the Huskies.
While some bettors were already turning their attention to a potential Final Four match-up between Duke and Illinois, UCONN went to work in the second half and rallied to pull off the largest comeback in tournament history by a team against a No. 1 seed.
The Blue Devils were 27-0 in the NCAA tournament all-time when leading by 15 or more at the half.
The 19-point comeback is also the third largest in the Elite Eight or later in NCAA tournament history.
The Huskies are +118 to upset the Fighting Illini in the Final Four and +700 as a long shot to win the title.
Illinois is a 2.5-point favourite for the Final Four and +420 to win the championship.
Michigan is -1.5 versus Arizona in the other semi-final.
The winner of that showdown is expected to be an obvious favourite for the championship game with the Wolverines down to +155 as the title favourite, followed closely by the Wildcats at +175 to win the tournament.
March Madness update 🚨➕
Michigan to reach Final Four ✅
Arizona to reach Final Four ✅
Michigan to win title +410 ⏳
Wolverines now +155 as the title favourite. Add Arizona to advance to win one unit and lock in a profit for the tournament best bets. ☕️🫡 pic.twitter.com/VjYxLL7xjU
— Domenic Padula (@Domenic_Padula) March 30, 2026
I’m not willing to wait to lock in a profit on the FanDuel best bets I gave out prior to the start of the tourney.
Meanwhile, it was also a good day for the UCONN women’s team, which advanced to the Final Four.
It’s the sixth time both teams have made the Final Four in the same season.
Unlike on the men’s side, the UCONN women’s team is an obvious title favourite at -250 at FanDuel.
UCLA is the only other contender at shorter than +950 to win the women’s title with a pair of Elite Eight matchups on deck tonight.
Texas is a 9.5-point favourite against Michigan.
South Carolina is a 14.5-point favourite versus TCU.
Meanwhile, the first weekend of the baseball season is in the books, and if you watched our MLB Season Preview Show powered by FanDuel, you shouldn’t be surprised that the Toronto Blue Jays are sitting at 3-0.
Ricky Romero, Steve Phillips, and Tekeyah Singh echoed the public betting sentiment when they backed Toronto as the most popular pick to win the AL East at FanDuel.
The Blue Jays and New York Yankees are both off to hot starts after weekend series sweeps, but New York is +145 as the favourite to win the division, followed by Toronto at a much better number at +280 as the second choice.
Meanwhile, my biggest takeaway from opening weekend might be the number of remarkable performances by this year’s rookie class, particularly in the American League.
Those performances have led to an early shakeup when it comes to FanDuel’s AL Rookie of the Year futures.
Let’s dive into those moves in this Morning Coffee column for Monday March 30th, 2026.
Star-Studded Rookie Class Stealing Early MLB Spotlight
Kevin McGonigle of the Detroit Tigers was +550 to win American League Rookie of the Year when we revealed Steve Phillips’ top recommended plays on FanDuel’s MLB Futures Day.
One week later, McGonigle to win AL Rookie of the Year is down to +300 as the favourite at FanDuel following a hot start to his career.
McGonigle went 4-of-5 with two RBI in Detroit’s 8-2 win over the San Diego Padres to open the season.
Considered one of baseball’s best prospects entering this season, the 21-year-old McGonigle became the youngest player to record four or more hits on MLB Opening Day since 1990.
24 hours later, McGonigle hit the go-ahead, two-run single that lifted the Tigers to a 5-2 win over San Diego.
While Randy Vasquez shut down Detroit’s batters in a 5-0 win on Sunday to avoid the series sweep, McGonigle remains the AL Rookie of the Year favourite this morning.
Right behind him is Chase DeLauter of the Cleveland Guardians, who became the second player in MLB history to hit four home runs in his first three career games.
CLEVELAND’S NEXT STAR HAS ARRIVED 💫
Chase DeLauter is the SECOND player in MLB history with four home runs in his first three career MLB regular season games 🔥
DeLauter to win AL Rookie of the Year +550 📈 +350 pic.twitter.com/8oAUzN5OKv
— TSN EDGE (@TSN_Edge) March 29, 2026
DeLauter is the second choice to win AL ROTY at +350.
Chicago White Sox rookie Munetaka Murakami is +650 as the third choice to win AL ROTY after becoming the first player in franchise history to hit a home run in each of his first three career MLB games.
Murakami joined DeLauter, Trevor Story, and Kyle Lewis as the only players in MLB history to accomplish that feat.
Then there’s the pre-season favourite to win AL ROTY in Kazuma Okamoto of the Blue Jays.
Okamoto went 4-for-12 with a home run as Toronto swept the Athletics in their opening series.
Despite a strong start, Okamoto’s odds to win AL ROTY climbed from +500 to +700 as the fourth choice behind McGonigle, DeLauter, and Murakami.
Okamoto and Trey Yesavage were 1-2 as the top choices to win AL ROTY at FanDuel as recently as two weeks ago.
In a 162-game regular season, it’s far too early to write either of them off, but it’s clear the bar has been set high.
FIRST IMPRESSIONS 💥
Kevin McGonigle and Chase DeLauter did enough in their season openers to bump Kazuma Okamoto from the favourite to the third choice to win AL Rookie of the Year @FanDuelCanada 😮
What does Okamoto have in store for his Blue Jays debut⁉️ pic.twitter.com/aHO91NyQja
— TSN EDGE (@TSN_Edge) March 27, 2026
Meanwhile in the National League, J.J. Wetherholt of the St. Louis Cardinals, Sal Stewart of the Cincinnati Reds, Nolan McLean of the New York Mets, and Konnor Griffin of the Pittsburgh Pirates are all shorter than 10-to-1 to win Rookie of the Year.
Wetherholt is the first Cardinals player to hit a home run in his first career game on MLB Opening Day since 1957.
His walk-off single in his second career MLB game on Saturday is the earliest a Cards rookie has recorded a walk-off hit in their career since Curt Ford in 1985.
Meanwhile, Stewart went 7-for-10 with a home run and three walks as the Reds took two of three games against the Boston Red Sox.
The pre-season NL ROTY favourite McLean tossed eight K’s and gave up two earned runs over five innings of work in a no decision against the Pittsburgh Pirates.
The Pirates kept baseball’s No. 1 prospect Griffin in Triple-A to begin the season, where he’s hit .500 with three walks and two stolen bases through three games.
It seems like only a matter of time before Griffin is back in Pittsburgh.
The fact that he’s still just +700 to win NL ROTY despite starting the season in Triple-A is a testament to his talent and potential to shine when he gets called up.
With March Madness, World Cup qualification matches, and the NHL playoff races heating up, it’s been unusually busy for this time of the year at the office.
Thanks in large part to a star-studded rookie class, I’ve found myself enjoying a lot more March baseball than I’m accustomed to watching.
Who do you think will ultimately win the AL and NL Rookie of the Year awards?
Hit me up @Domenic_Padula on X and let me know your thoughts.
I can’t wait to see what these guys do next.
Have a great day, everyone!