The 2008 NBA Draft is set for June 26th, but it’s never to early to start making predictions about who will be selected as the #1 overall pick.  The Chicago Bulls won the first pick in the lottery and they will have a tough choice to make.  The two favorite candidates right now are Derrick Rose and Michael Beasley.  Rose should be a solid NBA guard.  You might remember him tearing it up for Memphis throughout the regular season and the NCAA Tournament.  In 2007, Rose averaged 14.9 points per game, 4.2 assists per game, 4.5 rebounds, and 1.2 steals.  While those numbers don’t exactly jump out and say “superstar”, keep in mind he had a lot of teammates who could score, and he’s consistently shown he has NBA talent.  The Bulls already have a decent back-court, but Rose would certainly be an upgrade.  According to reports around the major sports networks, the Bulls aren’t sold on Beasley’s ability to have an immediate impact, so Rose is being touted as the favorite to be selected at the top spot.  It should go without saying, however, that the Bulls have to be considering drafting the services of Kansas State power forward, Michael Beasley.  Beasley was the most prolific scorer in college basketball in 2007.  He averaged 26.2 points, 12.4 rebounds, and 1.6 blocked shots per game.  At 6-10 he has the size to be an immediate impact player on any team.  The Bulls could certainly use a presence in the paint, but we’ll have to wait and see which direction they decide to go.  Beyond these two outstanding players, there isn’t another #1 overall pick in the class, but SportsBook.com has posted the odds for a few of the other players that have entered the NBA draft for 2008.

2008 NBA Draft - Odds to be Selected with the #1 Pick from Sportsbook.com

Brock Lopez - Forward - Stanford:  50-1

Derrick Rose - Guard - Memphis:  10-13

Kevin Love - Center - UCLA:  250-1

Michael Beasley - Forward - Kansas State:  1-1

O.J. Mayo - Guard - USC:  50-1

*Field - Any other player to be selected #1 overall:  50-1

Popularity: 14% [?]

Now that the field has been set for the NCAA Men’s College Basketball Tournament, we’d like to take a look at who Vegas thinks is going to win it all.  As you might expect, the #1 seeds have the best odds.  North Carolina and UCLA are the odds-on favorites, both coming in at 4 to 1 to win the tournament.  Kansas and Memphis, the other two #1 seeds, are coming in at 5/1 and 6/1 respectively, so, according to Las Vegas odds makers, one of the number one seeds is likely to win the NCAA Championship.  But you don’t need us to tell you that the #1 seeds are the favorites to win the tourney, that’s why they are ranked #1, right?  What we’re more interested in, and what you’re probably more interested in, is which teams could make a run at the tournament that have odds that are a little more in your favor.  The first two teams I’d consider are Texas and Duke, both with 14 to 1 odds to win it all.  You aren’t looking at a monster pay off if one of them does win it all, but I feel that both Duke and Texas have just as good a chance to win the title as a team like Memphis or UCLA and you have to love 14 to 1 compared to 6 to 1 or worse.  Other teams I like in the field to possibly make a run are Wisconsin at 20/1, Stanford at 25/1, and Pitt at 30/1.  These are teams that, if they catch fire, could make a legitimate run in the tournament.  Granted, it would be difficult to do, but the possibility is enough for me to put them on this list.  There are two 40/1 teams that I also like, UConn and Clemson.  These are teams that struggled a little down the stretch, but teams I could see making it deep into the tournament and possibly upsetting one of the big guns in the bracket.  Well, those are our opinions on the recently released odds for the NCAA Basketball Tournament.  Here is the complete listing of the odds from BodogLife.com so you can form your own opinions: 

American 2000/1
 
Arizona 80/1

Arkansas 150/1
 
Austin Peay 1000/1
 
Baylor 150/1
 
Belmont 1500/1
 
Boise State 750/1
 
Butler 100/1
 
BYU 200/1
 
Cal State Fullerton 1500/1
 
Clemson 40/1
 
Connecticut 40/1
 
Coppin State 2500/1
 
Cornell 750/1
 
Davidson 150/1
 
Drake 80/1
 
Duke 14/1
 
George Mason 500/1
 
Georgetown 14/1
 
Georgia 250/1
 
Gonzaga 125/1
 
Indiana 100/1
 
Kansas 5/1
 
Kansas State 75/1
 
Kent State 200/1
 
Kentucky 150/1
 
Louisville 18/1
 
Marquette 55/1
 
Memphis 6/1
 
Miami Florida 100/1
 
Michigan State 50/1
 
Mississippi State 80/1
 
Mississippi Valley State 2500/1
 
Mount St. Mary’s 2500/1
 
North Carolina 4/1
 
Notre Dame 60/1
 
Oklahoma 150/1
 
Oral Roberts 500/1
 
Oregon 150/1
 
Pittsburgh 30/1
 
Portland State 2500/1
 
Purdue 70/1
 
Saint Joseph’s 250/1
 
Saint Mary’s 150/1
 
San Diego 500/1
 
Siena 500/1
 
South Alabama 200/1
 
Stanford 25/1
 
Temple 300/1
 
Tennessee 18/1
 
Texas 14/1
 
Texas A&M 200/1
 
Texas Arlington 2000/1
 
UCLA 4/1
 
UMBC 2000/1
 
UNLV 250/1
 
USC 45/1
 
Vanderbilt 50/1
 
Villanova 250/1
 
Washington State 40/1
 
Western Kentucky 500/1
 
West Virgnia 125/1
 
Winthrop 500/1
 
Wisconsin 20/1
 
Xavier 35/1

Popularity: 38% [?]

Thursday, March 13th we’ll get a chance to see the Big 12 in action as its men’s conference championship starts up.  Perhaps more than any other conference, the Big 12 is a top-heavy conference.  There are two elite teams in this race, Kansas and Texas, then four teams we’d consider “near the front of the pack” in Kansas State, Baylor, Texas A&M, and Oklahoma, followed by a big gap with Texas Tech, Oklahoma State, Nebraska, and Missouri, and an even bigger gap with Iowa State and Colorado finishing way behind the rest.  The point being, if Kansas or Texas isn’t hoisting up the Big 12 Conference Tournament Championship trophy this Sunday, you better stay home on Monday because something in the universe isn’t right.  That being said, I do like Kansas State and Michael Beasley, who is unquestionably the best player in college basketball this season (side note:  if you haven’t seen the kid play, you owe it to yourself as a basketball fan to check out one of K-State’s games ASAP!).  Baylor has been great surprise in the conference this season, but I don’t see them getting past Oklahoma in the second round of the tournament, assuming they throttle Colorado like they should.  Oklahoma and Texas A&M are teams that should be labeled “dangerous” as they could knock off one of the top teams in this tourney.  The remaining teams in the conference will be in the tournament, but I don’t expect they’ll be there very long.  For a full listing of the odds to win the Big 12 Conference Championship as posted at BetUs.com, see below:

Odds to Win the NCAA Men’s Big 12 Conference Tournament

Kansas  5/6  

Texas  3/1  

Kansas State 15/2  

Baylor  10/1  

Oklahoma 15/2  

Texas A&M 12/1  

Texas Tech 20/1  

Oklahoma State 20/1  

Nebraska 25/1  

Missouri 30/1  

IowaState 75/1  

Colorado 100/1  

Popularity: 12% [?]

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.

Popularity: 74% [?]

For Wednesday I’m taking a look at all eight Top 25 games going on today and providing the odds and my picks for each contest.  Today’s featured match up comes in Big Ten play where Indiana hosts Wisconsin.  Both teams are at the top of the Big Ten and the winner of this game could very well end up winning the conference come conference playoff time.  Duke/Maryland has classically been a great rivalry, but Duke has maintained its dominance while Maryland seems to have fallen a little over the past several seasons.  Let’s get right into it:

Bet on College Basketball with SportsBook.com

7:00PM ET
Maryland @ #2 Duke -12
Pick:  Maryland +12

7:00PM ET
#14 Wisconsin @ #12 Indiana -4
Pick:  Indiana -4

8:00PM ET
Arkansas @ #4 Tennessee -8.5
Pick:  Tennessee -8.5

9:00PM ET
#22 Kansas State @ Texas Tech +2.5
Pick:  Kansas State -2.5

7:00PM ET
#18 Notre Dame @ #17 Connecticut -5.5
Pick:  Notre Dame +5.5

7:30PM ET
#13 Xavier @ Charlotte +6.5
Pick:  Xavier -6.5

8:05PM ET
#15 Drake @ Southern Illinois -3
Pick:  Southern Illinois -3

9:00PM ET
Houston @ #1 Memphis -16
Pick:  Houston +16

Popularity: 11% [?]

Looking over the College Basketball schedule today there are a total of 9 games that include at least one team in the top 25.  Of those 9 games, three feature two teams in the top 25 playing each-other.  It’s a big day to say the least.  No analysis today, but below are the odds on each game plus our leans on every match-up.

Odds by Sportsbook.com

1/30/2008

7:00PM ET
St. Louis @ #19 Dayton -8
Pick:  Dayton -8

7:00PM ET
#18 Villanova @ # 17 Pittsburgh -7.5
Pick:  Villanova +7.5

8:00PM ET
#1 Memphis @ Houston +9.5
Pick:  Memphis -9.5

8:05PM ET
Creighton @ #23 Drake -3.5
Pick:  Drake -3.5

9:00PM ET
#12 Texas @ #16 Texas A&M -3
Pick:  Texas A&M -3

7:00PM ET
#9 Georgetown @ St. John’s +9
Pick:  Georgetown -9 

8:00PM ET
#2 Kansas @ Kansas State +7
Pick:  Kansas -7

8:00PM ET
#13 Vanderbilt @ #15 Mississippi -5
Pick:  Vanderbilt +5

9:00PM ET
Illinois @ #10 Michigan State -9.5
Pick:  Illinois +9.5

Good luck today!  Remember, today’s picks are just leans, nothing we feel totally solid about.  We’ll see you tomorrow for more free college basketball picks!

Popularity: 10% [?]