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% [?]

Game time:  Saturday, April 5th - 6:05 PM ET
Pick:  UCLA +2 vs Memphis
Memphis looks to be the better team in this match up on paper.  Their problem is that, of course, basketball is not played on paper, it’s played on the hardwood.  I still have a problem with Memphis accumulating their stats for the season in Conference USA.  My contention is that UCLA would earn at least as good of stats as Memphis if they were to play in Conference USA while I do not think Memphis could match UCLA’s numbers in the PAC 10.  What I’m really saying here is that I see UCLA as the better team.  I can tell you right now that Memphis has impressed me throughout this tournament.  It’s not that I didn’t think they could make it to the Final Four, it’s just that I did not expect them to dominate teams like Texas and Michigan State like they did.  UCLA has done pretty much what everyone thought they would do.  They play some of the best defense in the nation and they’ve dominated the teams you’d expect them to.  It probably sounds like a broken record at this point since it’s been said so many times, but the difference in this game will come from the Bruins’ defense.  You basically have to pick a side.  You’ve got a Memphis team that has been virtually unstoppable on offense, against the UCLA team that has held three of their last four NCAA tournament opponents under 60 points.  Match that stat with the fact that UCLA has been able to play with high-octane offenses throughout the season and you’ve got a real winning combination.

Popularity: 13% [?]

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% [?]

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% [?]

Why Memphis is NOT the best Team in College Hoops
Memphis continues to hold the #1 spot in the national rankings, but are they the best team in nation right now?  The short answer to that questions may be yes right now, but can this team really go the distance?  To begin, does Memphis have a strong strength-of-schedule?  That answer is a resounding “No”.  Their schedule strength is ranked somewhere the low 100s, something none of the other teams in the top 10 can say.  In the Top 10 ranked teams in the nation to date, Kansas comes in with the next worst schedule strength at 66, nearly 40 points better than the Tigers.

How does their conference stack up?  As it turns out, and as you probably already knew, not very well at all.  Conference USA may have the #1 team in the country, but there is a huge drop-off in performance beyond the mighty Memphis Tigers.  The conference holds no other teams in the Top 25 rankings.  The Big 10, Big 12, Big East, and ACC all have multiple teams ranked on the national scale.  While you can’t really compare Conference USA to any of those other conferences (nobody expected them to have any major players in the NCAA hunt other than Memphis), this is still significant because they are housing the #1 team in the nation.  The Tigers’ best conference competition comes from Houston at 19-6 and then UAB at 18-8.  If you go any further down the list you will mostly find mid-level teams fighting amongst themselves to be the least mediocre of the mediocre teams in Conference USA.

Why Memphis IS the Best Team In College Hoops
Their record.  It doesn’t matter what conference you play in, 26-0 is impressive on any level, particularly Division I basketball where, with a hot-shooting 3-point team, every team is vulnerable to pick up a loss here and there.  I’m not sure how the Tigers have managed to escape this phenomenon, but at this point in the season I’m certain that it’s not just a lucky break. 

Their record when it matters.  Against other Top 25-ranked opponents, Memphis is a perfect 4-0.  There are only two teams with 5 wins against Top 25 opponents, UCLA and UConn, and the list of teams with 4 wins against the top 25 is a pretty exclusive bunch: Duke, Texas, Purdue, and Arizona State.  The big difference being, of course, that the Tigers have yet to take a loss from their Top 25 opponents.

So, Are They The Best Or Not?
Obviously they are the best team record-wise and rankings-wise, but they have a lot left to prove.  They still have some tough games coming up, but let’s say, just for the sake of argument, that they do end up finishing the regular season undefeated.  I still do not think that, at the end of the season, they will come out of the NCAA Tournament as Champions.  The regular season and conference play is one thing, but making a run all the way through the bracket is on a different level completely.  Now, do I really think they will even make it as far as remaining undefeated for the entire regular season.  Absolutely not.  In fact, next week we could very well have a new #1.

#1 Memphis hosts #2 Tennessee this Saturday, February 23rd - You can check the latest lines and bet on the game at SportsBook.com

Popularity: 8% [?]

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% [?]

Saturday we take a look at the key odds in college hoops for the top 10, plus our picks for each game. 

Odds by SportsBook.com 

Central Florida @ #1 Memphis -20.5
Pick:  Memphis -20.5

Boston College @ #2 Duke -19
Pick:  Boston College +19

Baylor @ #5 Kansas -17
Pick:  Baylor +17

#6 Georgetown @ Louisville -3
Pick:  Georgetown +3

#7 Tennessee @ LSU  +12.5
Pick:  Tennessee -12.5

Purdue @ #8 Wisconsin -10
Pick:  Wisconsin -10

Oregon State @ #9 Stanford -21
Pick:  Oregon State +21

Northwestern @ #10 Michigan State -18.5
Pick:  Michigan State -18.5

That’s it for our Saturday Top 10 round-up.  Good luck!

Popularity: 10% [?]

8 of the top 10 teams in the nation play today.  This Saturday we’ll give you a run-down of the odds that are out there and who we like in each game.  We know that the Super Bowl rules this weekend, but that doesn’t mean you should miss out on some of the great college basketball games being played today!

1:00PM ET
UTEP @ Memphis -22
Pick:  Memphis -22

3:30PM ET
#2 Kansas @ Colorado +19.5
Pick:  Kansas -19.5

3:30PM ET
Miami (FL) @ #3 Duke -15
Pick:  Duke -15

7:00PM ET
#5 Tennessee @ Mississippi State +1
Pick:  Tennessee -1

3:30PM ET
#6 Washington State @ #21 Stanford +5
Pick:  Stanford +5

9:00PM ET
Arizona @ #7 UCLA -8
Pick:  Arizona +8

12:00PM ET
Seton Hall @ #9 Georgetown -14.5
Pick:  Seton Hall +14.5

8:00PM ET
#10 Michigan State -10.5 @ Penn State
Pick:  Penn State +10.5

That will do it for our college basketball picks and odds for Saturday.  Check back tomorrow for more free picks and tips from SpreadReport.com!

Popularity: 10% [?]

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% [?]

There are a bundle of quality college basketball games today.  We have 7 free picks Saturday.  With some of the games starting as early as 12PM EST we are going to forgo the write-ups today and get straight to the games we think have the best value.

Gonzaga +12 @ Memphis

Kansas -21 vs. Nebraska

Washington State - 2.5 @ Arizona State

Oregon State +16.5 vs. UCLA

Georgetown +3 @ West Virginia

Georgia +13 @ Tennessee

UConn +9 @ Indiana

Those are our top NCAA Basketball picks for Saturday!  Check back soon for more free picks and updates.  Good Luck!

Popularity: 10% [?]