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How a Bettor Won Over $26,000 With a $25 March Madness Parlay on DraftKings Sportsbook

Zach Thompson breaks down how a sports bettor turned $25 into a huge profit with a March Madness College Basketball Parlay on DraftKings Sportsbook.

By Zach Thompson
NCAA Basketball: NCAA Tournament East Regional-Florida Atlantic vs Kansas State Brad Penner-USA TODAY Sports

College Basketball is getting ready for the Final Four this weekend, and this year’s version of March Madness has already been packed with great drama and compelling storylines. There are plenty of great ways for you to get involved in the action on DraftKings Sportsbook every night.

One bettor jumped into the fray after the Sweet 16 was set and built a perfect Parlay bet that resulted in a monster payout of over $26,000. From the 16 teams remaining at that point, the bettor selected the four teams who would win a pair of games over the weekend and advance to the Final 4.

The bettor placed $25 on the 4-leg parlay at +107,315 odds, and when all four teams successfully cut down the nets, the parlay paid out $26,853.75!

Check out the list of the picks here and scroll for more details as to how it all unfolded.

  • Florida Atlantic To Win East Region 2023 (+450)
  • UConn To Win West Region 2023 (+210)
  • San Diego State To Win South Region 2023 (+600)
  • Miami FL To Win Midwest Region 2023 (+800)

Check out Stepped Up Same Game Parlays on DraftKings Sportsbook for big profit boosts! The more legs in the parlay, the bigger the boost! See the Stepped Up Same Game Parlays page for more details!

Before we dive in, just a quick reminder that a parlay bet is a bet that requires multiple outcomes to occur. A parlay bet cashes when all outcomes within the parlay are selected correctly. You can learn more about how they work in the DraftKings Sportsbook How To Bet Guide!

The first team to punch its ticket to Houston was the Florida Atlanta University Owls, who edged Kansas State, 79-76. The Owls were +450 to reach the Final Four as part of this parlay before the Sweet 16. At that point, they had already defeated Memphis and Fairleigh Dickinson, who knocked off top-seeded Purdue. FAU outlasted the Tennessee Volunteers, 62-55 to set up their big game with Kansas State.

The Owls secured their first trip to the Final Four in just their second trip to the NCAA Tournament. Alijah Martin sent a message to K-State early with the dunk in the highlight below, and he also hit a clutch three late on his way to a team-high 17 points. Bryan Greelee added 16 points before fouling out, and 7-foot-1 Vladislav Goldin posted a big double-double of 14 points and 13 rebounds.

A few hours later, UConn joined FAU in the Final Four after cruising to a comfortable 32-point win over Gonzaga. The Huskies were actually the lower seed, coming in at No. 4 to the third-ranked Zags. Despite that fact, the team had the shortest odds of the four teams in this parlay. Part of that was due to their bracket already being busted wide open by the Sweet 16. They beat Arkansas 88-65 in their first game of the weekend before trouncing Gonzaga.

The Huskies didn’t leave any doubt about who was the better dog in the fight, dominating on both ends of the court and building a 23-point lead early in the second half. The balanced attack featured seven players with at least eight points led by Jordan Hawkins, who had 20 points, including the three-pointer below.

While the Huskies took most of the drama out of that game, there was plenty of drama in store on Sunday. San Diego State was +600 to win the South at the start of the Sweet 16. The Aztecs had to knock off the No. 1 overall seed in Alabama in the Sweet 16, but they got the job done on Friday, 71-64.

They were then challenged by the Creighton Blue Jays in what turned out to be the most competitive of the four Elite Eight games. After trailing by five at halftime, San Diego State stormed back to take the lead with just under seven minutes remaining for the first time since they led 5-4 in the opening minutes.

The game seesawed back and forth down the stretch and was tied at 56 after Baylor Scheierman stole an in-bounds pass from San Diego State and made a layup. After running the clock down, Darrion Trammell drove to the hoop. He was fouled by Ryan Nembhard in the highlight below and made one of his two free throws to power the Aztecs to their hard-fought 57-56 victory.

With the first three legs of the parlay done, the last piece this bettor needed was a win from Miami. The U was +800 coming into the Sweet 16, giving them the longest odds of all the teams selected in this parlay. In their first game of the weekend, the Hurricanes knocked off the No. 1 seed in their region, the Houston Cougars. After a convincing 14-point win, Miami took on the No. 2 see in their region, the Texas Longhorns.

Texas jumped out to an early lead and built a 13-point lead early in the second half. The Canes came back, though, behind a perfect shooting night from Jordan Miller. Miller went 7-for-7 from the field and 13-for-13 from the foul line on his way to a team-high 27 points. Miller’s impressive performance even got a reaction from this college hoops legend:

In the second half, Miller got help from Isaiah Wong, who scored 12 of his 14 points after halftime, and from Wooga Poplar, who had 16 points, four assists and six rebounds. The trip to the Final Four was also a huge accomplishment for coach Jim Larrañaga, who brought Miami to the first Final Four in school history on the 17th anniversary of his legendary trip to the Final Four with George Mason.

With that unlikely Final Four set, this become the first time since seeding began in 1979 that the Final Four will not include any team ranked in the top four in their region. It apparently wasn’t a surprise to this bettor, though, who navigated through the madness and turned the four-leg $25 parlay into a payout of over $26K.

You can build your own parlay for the upcoming Final Four and find Championship odds for each of the four teams remaining on DraftKings Sportsbook. There are also picks from plenty of other sports to consider, with the NBA and NHL regular seasons winding down and Major League Baseball’s Opening Day just around the corner. Get started on building your betting slip today!

Same Game Parlay (SGP) is available on DraftKings Sportsbook for multiple sports! To place a SGP:

  1. Find a game that has a +SGP icon in the top-left corner.
  2. Toggle “Same Game Parlay” on. Once it’s on, all available bets will appear.
  3. Build your Same Game Parlay. Combine multiple bets from one game. The more bets you combine, the more you can win.
  4. Place your parlay. Add your Same Game Parlay to your bet slip, enter your wager amount, and submit your bet.

Read more about SGP at the DraftKings Sportsbook SGP page!

I am a promoter at DraftKings and am also an avid fan and user (my username is Z.Thompson) and may sometimes play on my personal account in the games that I offer advice on. Although I have expressed my personal view on the games and strategies above, they do not necessarily reflect the view(s) of DraftKings and do not constitute a representation that any particular strategy will guarantee success. All customers should use their own skill and judgment in building lineups. I may also deploy different players and strategies than what I recommend above. I am not an employee of DraftKings and do not have access to any non-public information.

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