NCAA Basketball 2010 Championship Betting Odds - Butler vs DukeThe Butler Bulldogs continued to crush giants in March Madness betting, adding the Michigan State Spartans to a list of victims that already includes Kansas State and Syracuse. Led by Gordon Hayward, Butler proved that name-recognition for a program means nothing if you can't back it up on the court. The problem is that now they face the biggest goliath of them all. On Monday night, Butler will try to achieve its first national title in school history by testing the Duke Blue Devils.
Butler Bulldogs +7 vs Duke Blue Devls -7 April 5 2010, 9:15pm CBS
The opening line for the game has already been listed with Duke being heavy favorites at -6.5. I still can't figure out how I feel about this line because it's right on the money. Duke has proved time and again in the tournament that they're talented enough to stave off even the best opponents. They are the only school that has averaged a better scoring against average than Butler.
Of course, the win over West Virginia was shadowed by the heart breaking injury to Da'Sean Butler, whose knee imploded during a baseline drive to the net. The injury has likely cost Butler a chance at the NBA draft, and while there is still potential for him to return next season to the college ranks, you have to sympathize with a guy who has worked immensely hard to become one of the best players in the country. The injury sealed the win for Duke, which won 78-57 blowing the doors off a feisty West Virginia team that many had listed as the best team in the tournament.
Using incredible defense and a towering front court that doesn't allow too many second chances, Duke continues to be the best-of-the-best in the tournament. While the rest of the betting public tries to find a champion in the mix, Duke has done an uncanny job of proving time and again that they are a championship caliber team.
When the national title game rolls on Monday night, Duke will be making its first NCAA tournament title appearance since 2001 which also marks the last time the storied program claimed the championship. Standing in their way will be a program that nobody has cared to acknowledge as a true basketball juggernaut.
Whether Butler wins or loses when they face Duke as heavy underdogs, they've proven their point. As they say, to be the best, you must beat the best. Butler now has that chance when they face what has been the best team in March Madness betting thus far. If there is one thing we know for sure on Monday night, Butler has given us zero reason to lose faith in them.
This is going to be great.
(c)1994-2009 BetUS.com
West Virginia vs. Kentucky
March Madness betting heads into the 'Elite 8' and we'll start with a heavyweight matchup between SEC entrant Kentucky and Big East representative West Virginia. Kentucky v. West Virginia-the jokes practically write themselves, don't they? Good thing the NCAA tournament doesn't have a 'written test' (rim shot). A couple of states where most family trees cross in the middle several times (rim shot).
Seriously, this should be a very good basketball game with the winner heading to the 'Final Four'. Based on my pseduo-scientific observations I will have to say this-Kentucky may have race horses and bourbon, but West Virginia has hotter chicks. Maybe if the Mountaineers make the Final Four they can buy their dance team a second sleeve for their uniforms.
MARCH MADNESS-WEST VIRGINIA VS. KENTUCKY
We haven't really thought much of Bob Huggins' West Virginia Mountaineers all season, and had written them off as a team that isn't worth backing when they leave their home court. Obviously we were wrong-Huggins has built a tough, battle tested group that can play good defense, force tempo and basically do whatever it takes to win basketball games. Kentucky, as we've discussed, isn't quite as disciplined and regimented a team because they have so much talent they really don't need to be. So can Huggins' Mountaineers slow down the Wildcats' pack of future NBA stars?
We think they can. Kentucky eventually pulled away and covered the spread against Cornell, but clearly they don't like playing at a slow tempo. The Big Red pulled within single digits several times in the second half. The Wildcats could play 'cat and mouse' with a team from the Ivy League. They'll have a much harder time against West Virginia's athletes. Look for West Virginia to force Kentucky into an ugly, half court game and keep this one close. Don't be surprised to see the Mountaineers win this one outright.
PLAY WEST VIRGINIA +4 OVER KENTUCKY
(c)2009 SportsUntapped.com
No. 5 Michigan State vs. No. 4 Maryland
The fifth-seeded Michigan State Spartans will try to take another step toward teaching their second consecutive Final Four when they take on the fourth-seeded Maryland Terrapins at Spokane Arena in a March Madness matchup that gets underway at 2:30 PM ET.
Sunday, March 21, 2:30 PM ET
NCAAB Betting Odds: Maryland -1
(O/U) 143
Michigan St. (25-8 SU, 12-20 ATS, 14-17 O/U)
Maryland (24-8 SU, 18-10 ATS, 17-8-1 O/U)
Michigan State 411
Spartans are 5-2 ATS in their last 7 NCAA Tournament games.
Spartans are 4-9 ATS in their last 13 games overall.
Spartans are 1-4 ATS in their last 5 neutral site games.
Spartans are 0-4 ATS in their last 4 non-conference games.
Spartans are 0-4 ATS in their last 4 vs. Atlantic Coast.
Kalin Lucas scored a game-high 25 points to lead Michigan State to a thrilling 70-67 win over New Mexico State in the first round of the NCAA tournament on Friday.
The Spartans failed to cover the NCAA basketball betting odds as whopping 13-point favorites to fal1 to 01-3 ATS over the last four games.
Maryland 411
Terrapins are 6-1 ATS in their last 7 games as a favorite of 0.5-6.5.
Terrapins are 10-2 ATS in their last 12 games as a favorite.
Terrapins are 5-1 ATS in their last 6 games overall.
Terrapins are 4-1 ATS in their last 5 games vs. a team with a winning S.U. record.
Terrapins are 1-4 ATS in their last 5 neutral site games.
Maryland scored 50 second-half points to roll to a convincing 89-77 win over Houston in their first round matchup on Friday. The Terrapins covered the March Madness betting line as 9.5-point favorites against the Cougars to move to a bankroll-boosting 5-1 ATS over the last six games as Jordan Williams led the way with a fine double-double of 21 points and 15 rebounds.
Analysis: I really like the Maryland Terrapins in this matchup and genuinely believe they can beat any (and I do mean, any) team in the country on any give day.
With Michigan State's Kalin Lucas hurting (despite his strong performance the last time out) and backcourt mate Chris Allen, a game-time decision, the Spartans look like they may not get the normal production they are used to from their guard-led team.
Maryland superstar Greivis Vasquez hasn't disappointed so far and Maryland has three other players that average double figures in scoring and a fourth player that is just percentage points away from double figures.
I know Michigan State's Tom Izzo is one of the finest coaches in the nation, but I say Maryland's Gary Williams takes a back seat to no one.
Maryland allows four points per contest more than the Spartans but also average seven points per game more offensively and have played really solid basketball in winning eight of its last nine games compared to Michigan State's 6-4 SU mark over their last 10.
I know the Spartans have gone an impressive 5-2 ATS in their last seven NCAA Tournament games, but that was in the past.
Michigan State has gone a disappointing 4-9 ATS in their last 13 games overall, 1-4 ATS in their last five neutral site games and a bankroll-breaking 0-4 ATS in their last four non-conference games.
Maryland on the other hand, has recorded a blistering 6-1 ATS record in their last seven games as a favorite of 6.5 points or less while also going 10-2 ATS in their last 12 games as a favorite and 5-1 ATS in their last six games overall.
I say, play the Maryland Terrapins to cover the March Madness betting line as slight favorites.
NCAAB Expert Picks: Maryland -1 Point
(c) 1994-2009 BetUS.com
Betting Competition Wide Open
The calendar says March and Madness is in the air. For college basketball betting fans this what you live for. The few weeks in March and April when March Madness takes over and college basketball betting is king, if only for a few fleeting moments.
The basketball betting in 2010 should be as good as we've seen in awhile. The main reason is that the talent is as good, or better, than ever thanks to the NBA rule change prohibiting players from jumping straight to the NBA. As such top talents are playing for at least a year of college level basketball betting competition and March Madness has been much the richer for it.
But that rule has been in effect for several of the most recent bouts of March Madness Odds. What makes this year so interesting is that the competition is wide open. Sure, there have been several teams that have been dominant throughout the season (think Kansas, Syracuse, Kentucky) but past that the top 25 rankings have been a constant game of musical chairs and the world waits to see who will have a chair when the music finally stops.
Further, conferences that generally dominate the March Madness are having awful seasons. The ACC has a few good teams but none that will seriously challenge for a title. And the PAC10, generally the most successful of all teams in tournament doesn't even have a single team ranked in the top 25.
And even the top teams like Syracuse have hit the skids of late losing 3 of its last 4 games.
Let the Madness begin!
2009 Sportsmedianetwork.com
Women's Basketball Gets Literal with March Madness
They call it March Madness for a reason, but this probably isn't the one they usually allude to. In the green corner meet Baylor basketball player, Brittney Griner. In the red corner meet Texas Tech player, Jordan Barncastle. Throws, blows and broken noses ensue. Welcome to full contact, end of the season basketball.
Now that I have your attention let's talk about the incident. Barncastle hooked Griner and slung her off. Griner came back with a punch to the face. What do I see? Just another example of a women's contact sport getting attention because of rough behavior--cue the Elizabeth Lambert soccer hair pull. My question to you is this:
Is bad press better than no press at all?
My answer is yes. This will get more people tuning in to women's hoops. Sponsors will see that as profitable and there will be a snowball effect for the good players as well as the bad. Don't think me insensitive... like Elizabeth Lambert, I think that penalties should apply, but what should also apply is that Griner and Barncastle are athletes and follow those rules--not women following different ones.
I believe the NCAA rule here is throw a punch, get suspended a game. Candace Parker threw a punch way back when and she's one of the most recognizable figures in the sport. Griner, recently spotlighted as a double dunker, is poised to do the same - it's up to her to decide if she wants to play the villain or the hero.
Some are calling this a black eye for Baylor women's basketball, but aren't you going to tune in to see Baylor play? Sure. Everyone slows down to see the car wreck; it's human nature. Many times I've heard the analogy that athletes are our modern gladiators. Maybe the women are finally getting their chance to fight it out in the ring. So be it... I'll watch.
Copyright (c) 1995-2010, SheWired.com
Cram Session: Don't wait to bet March Madness
The time to bet college basketball is now. Are you properly prepared for the Madness?
For sharp college basketball handicappers, the most profitable part of March starts this week, with the tip-off of the conference tournaments. It will peak the middle of next week leading up to Selection Sunday.
This is the time sharps unleash their bankrolls. They don't wait for the Big Dance.
"You can tell who's really a serious college basketball handicapper by how they approach the conference tournaments and the NCAA tournament," said Covers Expert Teddy Sevranksy, a longtime Vegas pro with a knack for feasting on soft Championship Week lines. "I will find 10 bets in the conference tournaments, 10 really good bets, for every one of equal value in the Big Dance."
This advantageous betting environment is created by a number of factors that oddsmakers really can't do anything about. It's a beautiful thing.
The most significant factor working against oddsmakers is the sheer amount of games and quick turnarounds. They simply don't have time to produce their sharpest lines and are forced to stick closely to their power ratings.
"On big Wednesday and Thursday before Selection Sunday," said Sevranksy, "when there's going to be 120 tournament games going on ... are you kidding? ... How tight those numbers are compared to how tight numbers are for the Big Dance -- It's not even close."
Secondly, there are certain coaches whose teams you know aren't going to lay it all out on the line in the conference tournaments.
North Carolina's Roy Williams infamously called the ACC Tournament a "cocktail party" and reportedly had set-up a tee time for the Saturday of the 2008 tourney.
Just last week, Kentucky's John Calipari said the conference tournaments are only about his team's seed in the NCAA Tournament. Even with Saturday's loss to Tennessee and barring a complete meltdown, Kentucky is going to be a No. 1 seed no matter what happens in the SEC Tournament.
If Calipari feels comfortable with where his team stands, he admitted "that's how we will prepare" during the conference tournament.
Oddsmakers aren't naïve to this news, but what are they going to do? You can't exactly make Kentucky an underdog to Auburn.
"The power ratings say you have to make Kentucky or whoever an 8- or 9-point underdog, but you know they aren't going to show up," explained Sevranksy. "It's unbelievable."
Kansas, and to some degree, Gonzaga and Butler are three other examples of teams not likely to give it all they got in their conference tournament.
A third situational advantage bettors have during the conference tournaments is depth. Teams are playing three and four days in a row, forcing coaches to use more of their benches. Increased minutes from bench players can skew the statistics that oddsmaker power ratings are built around.
Georgia Tech, BYU, Northern Iowa and Villanova are examples of teams with deep benches.
But it gets even better. While we're watching all the action, cherry-picking soft lines and building our bankrolls, we also can learn some valuable information that will help when the Big Dance does roll around.
Covers Expert David Malinksy, a big proponent of the handicapping value of watching games, tries to pinpoint teams that consistently get quality shots out of their offense.
"As we get to the late part of the schedule, teams should have their offensive playbooks taken to a higher level, a combination of the players learning their sets, and how to work with each other," said Malinsky. "We like to look for teams that are getting comfortable, and show a particular sense of purpose with the ball, and also for a high level of confidence down the stretch in close games.
"And of course we say the same about defense - we are looking for teams that are coming together and forcing the opposition to take tough shots, regardless of whether those shots are made."
There are only four teams that rank in the top 30 in both field goal offense and defense: Syracuse, Kansas, Coastal Carolina, Maryland and Kentucky.
Malinsky also suggests looking for teams who are comfortable at the slower pace in which tournament games are generally played.
"Many times we'll lower our ratings on teams that live by running and pressing," he said.
Malinsky also made a good point when asked which conferences bettors should pay the most attention to during the conference tournaments.
"There is a built in negative of focusing on the lower seeds, of course - you do not get to put the information into play as often, since the likelihood is that they will be out early," he explained. "So while there is a temptation to work extra hard on those teams to find a bargain that the oddsmakers may not have properly recognized, we also have to be prudent with our time management.
"That is particularly true for so many of the non-board teams, who will only be expected to play one tournament game."
Copyright (c) 1995-2010 Covers Media Group Ltd
SEC, ACC, and Big Ten contenders square off
Starting five
The kids are all right: John Calipari's heralded freshman class has been, for the most part, as good as advertised for No. 2 Kentucky. No. 12 Tennessee has been inconsistent since its personnel changes. The Vols have been superb at times on their home court, such as when they handed top-ranked Kansas its only loss to date. But the road has been more troublesome, and the Wildcats will try to make sure that trend continues Saturday night (ESPN, 9 ET). Tennessee senior F Wayne Chism has emerged as the team leader, and he'll have to avoid foul difficulty while keeping one of Kentucky's freshman phenoms, DeMarcus Cousins, off the boards.
Substitute: Maryland's snow-induced schedule change gave it some down time heading into Saturday's date at No. 7 Duke (CBS, 1 p.m. ET). But it also means the daunting trip to Cameron Indoor Stadium will be the first of three games in five days. A Maryland win, nevertheless, means sole possession of first place in the Atlantic Coast Conference and a likely return to the top 25. The Blue Devils are likely to regain their shooting form on their home court after some struggles Wednesday night at North Carolina, so Terps leader Greivis Vasquez must answer. Duke probably will be without one of its better defenders, senior F Lance Thomas. The school announced Thursday that he suffered a severe bone bruise in his right knee early in the second half of Wednesday's win against UNC.
Won't get fooled again: The Big Ten race is now anything but the runaway that was shaping up two weeks ago as the field has reeled in Michigan State. Two of the beneficiaries, No. 16 Ohio State and surging Illinois, square off Sunday (CBS, 1 p.m. ET) at the Illini's Assembly Hall to maintain a share of first place. The Buckeyes' top priority will be containing Illinois's red-hot G Demetri McCamey.
Boris the Spider: Speaking of numerically incorrect conferences, the Atlantic-10 picture resembles a tangled web, thanks in part to the Richmond Spiders taking down two of the other contenders in back-to-back outings. Those two, No. 21 Temple and Rhode Island, do battle Saturday in Philadelphia. The Owls will be more rested and will try to impose the deliberate pace that has them leading the A-10 in scoring defense at 57.6 points a game. Rams G Keith Cothran must provide an early spark.
Magic bus: No. 22 Cornell's highest ranking and Ivy League lead gets possibly its toughest remaining test on this weekend's road trip. After Friday's date at Penn, the Big Red visit Princeton on Saturday. The Tigers also enter the weekend without an Ivy loss and figure to challenge Cornell's efficiency with its defense that leads the country, allowing 52.9 points a game. The Big Red are hard to stop when their treys are falling, and Ryan Wittman & Co. knock down 9.6 a game.
Under the radar
Power conference teams don't want to be matched against members of the Colonial Athletic Association when Selection Sunday rolls around. George Mason became the embodiment of that sentiment with their Final Four run in 2006, and the Patriots kept themselves near the top of the league standings this season thanks to an overtime triumph Wednesday at home against Virginia Commonwealth. GMU's next challenge is Saturday at Old Dominion, a team that has a decent at-large profile and a 20-game home winning streak. Mason has not won on ODU's floor since February 2004 and hasn't swept a season series with the Monarchs since 2001-02.
Number of the week: 25
Among the numerous casualties of the downtrodden Pacific-10 might be Arizona's streak of consecutive NCAA tournament appearances, now at 25. If the Wildcats don't win the conference tournament next month, the honor of longest streak of appearances will fall to Kansas, all but certain to make the field for a 21st season in a row.
Copyright 2010 USA TODAY, a division of Gannett Co. Inc
|
