Yesterday we saw High Point, a 12-seed, upset five-seed Wisconsin. That was as regal as the underdog got, in terms of longshot seeding. We’ve got eight more shots (two more games each with 13-seeds all the way to 16-seeds) to see if a more Cinderellesque midmajor can out-shock the Panthers in purple. Indeed, High Point was DraftKings’ King of the Dogs yesterday; who will be crowned here on the second day of Round 1?
I get into the promo details below, and give you details on my favorite King of the Dogs picks for the Round of 64 on Friday, 3/20/26.
Let’s meet the darlings, shall we? I’ll be pumping out these predictions for individual games all season, with plenty of coverage here on DraftKings Network. Follow my handle @dansby_edits for more betting plays.
DraftKings Sportsbook’s King of the Dogs promotion
Details
King of the Dogs – Key Details
- Objective:
Pick the lowest-seeded team (No. 8–16) that wins its Round of 64 game on March 20. - How to Enter:
- Opt in to the promo
- Use your single-use Qualifying Bet Token
- Place a pre-game moneyline bet (no spreads, totals, or live bets)
- Minimum bet: $5
- What Wins:
If your team is the lowest seed to advance to Round 2, you qualify as a winner. - Prize:
- Winners split a $2,000,000 bonus bet pool
- If multiple teams tie for lowest seed, the pool is split across all qualifying bettors
- Important Restrictions:
- Must be a single moneyline bet using the token
- Cashed-out or voided bets do NOT count
- Must use cash or DK Dollars (not other bonus bets)
- Payout Details:
- Bonus bets issued within 24 hours after Round 1 ends
- Bonus bets are non-withdrawable and expire in 7 days
- Stake is not returned on bonus bets
Best King of the Dogs picks for 3/20/26
Miami (OH) (No. 11) over Tennessee (No. 6)
Miami (OH) is a different kind of King of the Dogs play because the leverage math is subtler. An 11-seed is not as exotic as a 13, but it still lives outside the overcrowded 12-seed fantasy aisle where a huge chunk of the field usually congregates. That matters. Tennessee is the bigger brand, the SEC team, the team with the better raw identity, and the Volunteers opened as a 10.5-point favorite against the RedHawks. That is exactly why Miami works as a promo token. The public sees Tennessee’s league pedigree; the sharper promo angle sees an 11-seed with a real offensive engine and a recent-form runway sturdy enough to justify the discomfort.
The recent form is not cosmetic. Miami entered the NCAA field after an outstanding season and then immediately validated its at-large case by beating SMU 89-79 in the First Four, with Eian Elmer scoring 23 points and hitting six of nine from three. That win came after a year in which the RedHawks stacked elite results almost wire to wire, and their statistical profile stayed balanced rather than gimmicky. Official team stats show Miami getting 14.4 points per game from Peter Suder, 14.4 from Brant Byers, and 12.9 from Elmer, with Suder shooting 54.5% from the field, Byers 40.0% from three, and Elmer 44.7% from three. That is not one hot scorer and a prayer. That is a real perimeter-and-playmaking spine.
And that is the strategic appeal in this promotion. Tennessee is excellent—Ja’Kobi Gillespie averages 18.0 points, Nate Ament 17.5 and 6.6 rebounds, and Felix Okpara gives the Volunteers 7.7 points, 6.2 rebounds, and elite interior efficiency at 58.8% from the field. Tennessee also had three players earn major All-SEC recognition, which tells you exactly what caliber of opponent Miami is dealing with. But King of the Dogs is not asking which underdog is most likely to survive. It is asking which underdog gives your token the best combination of plausible life and reduced duplication. Miami gives you that. The RedHawks just hung 89 in a tournament game, they have multiple efficient scorers, and an 11-seed hit still lifts you above the louder 12-seed crowd. That is not maximum chaos, but it is a smart middle ground between survival odds and payout leverage.
Cal Baptist (No. 13) over Kansas (No. 4)
Cal Baptist is the cleaner leverage swing. A 13-seed win immediately jumps past the promotion’s most popular upset neighborhood, which is the whole point of using the token on a team like this instead of following the herd into a 12-over-5 everybody already likes. Kansas has the armor: second-ranked strength of schedule through March 12, a Big 12 pedigree, Bill Self, and enough blue-blood gravity to scare away all but the most adventurous entries. That fear is what makes Cal Baptist attractive in this format. You are not trying to make the safest bracket pick. You are trying to buy a rarer outcome that still has enough basketball behind it to feel like a live idea rather than a prank.
Cal Baptist won the WAC automatic bid by closing the season on a five-game winning streak. The Lancers beat Tarleton State 82-67, then rolled through March with an 87-48 win over Abilene Christian, an 82-75 win at Southern Utah, an 86-72 win over Utah Tech in the WAC semifinals, and a 63-61 win over Utah Valley in the title game. Dominique Daniels Jr. was incandescent in that run: 22 points against Abilene Christian, 32 against Southern Utah, 41 against Utah Tech, and 23 in the championship. For the season he is at 23.2 points per game, fifth nationally, while ESPN lists him as the clear focal point of this team’s offense. That is the sort of star-level usage that can make a one-game upset token at least imaginable.
Most stat sites have the Lancers at 73.0 points per game, while team leaders include Daniels at 23.2, Thomas Ndong at 6.6 rebounds, and Devon Malcolm at 1.2 steals. Kansas, obviously, is the better team on paper: Flory Bidunga averages 13.5 points and 9.2 rebounds while shooting 64.5% from the field, and Kansas just got 24 points from Darryn Peterson in a Big 12 tournament win over TCU before being run off the floor by Houston 69-47 in the semifinals. But that last part matters a little for promo logic. Kansas is powerful, not invulnerable, and Cal Baptist enters with the fresher emotional arc—the conference title, the hot scorer, the kind of late-season momentum that at least gives a 13-seed some temperature. In King of the Dogs terms, that is exactly the sweet spot: a lower seed than the trendy upset picks, a much less crowded ticket, and just enough recent-form evidence to justify taking the swing.
