College basketball fans all over the nation will come together two weeks from today (Thursday, March 20th) for the tip-off of the NCAA Hoops Championship Tournament.  There’s no doubt that there will be thousands of ways to wager games throughout the tournament, not to mention the countless number of brackets that you’re probably going to fill out.  Today I want to take a look at a slightly different betting angle and examine the odds on each conference to win the NCAA Tournament.  Initially I was thinking that wagering on the conference you think will win was kind of pointless.  If you have a team that you favor to win, why not just bet on them?  You get much better odds.  But, what’s great about betting the conference, particularly conferences with more teams in the tournament, you really do increase your odds to win your wager.  I’m all about increasing my odds to win during March Madness, so, needless to say, I am fairly intrigued by this futures bet.  We’ll take a quick look at the favorite conferences, the ones in the middle, and those conferences that might be flying under the radar, plus give you a rundown of which teams might make a splash in the tournament.

Odds On Which Conference Will Win The 2007-2008 NCAA Basketball Tournament - Odds by BetUs.com

Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) -  5/2
With both Duke and North Carolina it’s pretty hard not make the ACC  the favorite conference to win the tournament. 

Pacific-10 Conference (PAC-10) - 3/1
The PAC-10 has three teams that are currently in the top 25:  #3 UCLA, #7 Stanford, #23 Washington State.  There are a few 2nd-Tier teams that may sneak in the tournament from the PAC-10, but it’s doubtful they will make it very deep into the tournament. 

Big 12 Conference - 13/4
The Big 12 has some ridiculous talent.  It also looks like they will get around 6 teams in the NCAA bracket, which is impressive in itself.  Kansas is certainly one of the favorites to make a run at the Championship, though Texas is built for tournament play and could also make their mark.  Kansas State, Texas A&M, Baylor, and Oklahoma are all very likely candidates to make it to the big dance.  With all of these talented teams you have to like the odds that any one of them will be holding the championship title when it’s all said and done.

Conference USA - 5/1
Frankly, I’m a little surprised by this number.  Sure, Conference USA might get 3 teams in (Memphis, UAB, and Houston), but to think that any team from this conference other than the Memphis Tigers will have a chance to run the table is unwise!  Trust me, you’re better off betting on Memphis straight-up at 8/1 odds if you are thinking they are the team that’s going to win it all.

Big East Conference - 13/2
The Big East is tough to read for the tournament because they have the most teams of any other conference currently in the Top 25 with five teams, but they also have no team ranked in the top 10 in the nation.  There are going to be a ton of teams from this conference from the tournament for sure.  Georgetown, Louisville, Notre Dame, UConn, and Marquette are all but guaranteed a bid, and you could make a case for West Virginia and Pittsburgh to make the trip as well.  The Big East might end up giving you the most teams for your buck, but, apart from Georgetown, I don’t think any of them are true contenders for the title.

Big 10 Conference - 12/1
The Big 10 is another conference that could get in between 4 and 6 teams, but only one or two of them can be considered a real threat to win it all.  Wisconsin and Indiana could conceivably make a run while teams like Purdue, Michigan State, Ohio State, and Minnesota have a chance to get to the big dance, but little chance of making an impact.

Southeastern Confernce (SEC) - 15/1
Tennessee and Vanderbilt get top billing in the SEC, and with good reason.  The SEC will probably get a few more teams in the tournament and the race is between Kentucky, Florida, Mississippi State, Arkansas, and Ole Miss.  Unless you are hanging your hopes on Tennessee, you’ll probably want to stay out of the SEC.

The Field (All other Conferences) - 15/1
Don’t count “The Field” out of your consideration.  There are plenty of teams in the mid-major conferences that could give the big dogs a run for their money (think about George Mason a few years ago making it to the Final Four).  So, here’s our run-down of mid-major teams that have a chance to go deep in the tournament:  Xavier, Butler, Drake, Illinois State, Davidson, Gonzaga, and St. Mary’s.

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