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Manne wrote:

College basketball betting resumes this weekend with the Final Four. The Kentucky Wildcats will be looking to add to their legacy when they take on UConn. Let’s review Kentucky’s path to the Final Four.

The Wildcats (29-8, 17-14-1 ATS) have gained some major momentum after a few midseason stumbles. Kentucky endured a 3-4 run at the beginning of February but, since then, the team has bounced back and won 10 consecutive games. More importantly, the team has been brilliant against the spread; the Wildcats are 7-1 in their past eight games versus the college basketball odds, including three straight victories.

Kentucky entered the NCAA Tournament as a No. 4 seed, largely aided by a win over Florida in the SEC Tournament. The Wildcats drew No. 13 Princeton in the first round. Despite being 13-point favorites, they needed every ounce of energy to beat Princeton 59-57. Brandon Knight scored the winning bucket in the game’s dying seconds.

It’s only gotten tougher since then. Kentucky drew No. 5 West Virginia in the second round. The Wildcats looked shaky early on, but they outscored the Mountaineers by 16 points in the second half, giving them a 71-63 victory.

Next up was a daunting battle with No. 1 seed Ohio State. The Buckeyes had crushed everything in their path so far, but OSU was completely cold against Kentucky, hitting just 32.8 percent of its shots. Kentucky won 62-60.

Finally, the Wildcats toppled No. 2 North Carolina 76-69 in the Elite Eight, largely thanks to the play of Knight. The freshman guard has been inconsistent in the tourney, but he’s been there when Kentucky needed him most. After scoring the game-winner against Princeton, Knight dropped 30 points on West Virginia. He scored 22 against the Tar Heels.

Get all your March Madness odds and college basketball betting at Bodog Sportsbook. MADNESS WOULD BE MISSING IT!

The Tar Heels was supposed to win that game against Kentucky! There weas a foul at the end as barnes shot a 3 but they didn't call it. 😔 I hope VCU takes it down!
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meatbeastoftheeast wrote:

The Tar Heels was supposed to win that game against Kentucky! There weas a foul at the end as barnes shot a 3 but they didn't call it. 😔 I hope VCU takes it down!

The Tar Heels was supposed to win that game against Kentucky! There weas a foul at the end as barnes shot a 3 but they didn't call it. 😔 I hope VCU takes it down!

I agree, and on a different note, Kentucky was credited with a late 3 that was really a 2 - which cost me a 3 game teaser by a half point. Heinous!
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Before the 2011 NCAA Tournament began, the favorite to be this year’s Final Four Most Outstanding Player was Kansas star and Big 12 Player of the Year Marcus Morris. Right behind him was the national freshman of the year Jared Sullinger, who led Ohio State to the No. 1 overall seed in this Big Dance. KU and OSU had the shortest odds to win the national title, so it made perfect sense those two players, the best on their respective teams, were the MOP favorites.

But Kansas and Ohio State are long gone, as are the other two No. 1 seeds. In fact, this is the first time in NCAA Tournament history that neither a No. 1 or No. 2 seed is in the Final Four. But one of the national player of the year candidates, UConn’s Kemba Walker, is still playing. And Walker is the co-favorite for MOP with Kentucky freshman Brandon Knight at 2/1. Interestingly, those two will face off and should be guarding each other most of Saturday night for the right to face VCU or Butler on Monday for the title.

Walker has been the tournament’s biggest star so far, averaging 26.8 points and 6.8 assists in the four games. He has actually been unstoppable for about a month, leading the Huskies to an unprecedented five wins in five days on the way to the Big East Tournament title. Knight, on the other hand, hasn’t dominated in this tournament but has come through in the clutch. He is averaging 15.8 points and 4.3 assists. But numbers don’t do him justice. In the opening round, Knight hit a driving layup in the final seconds to beat Princeton – it was his only two points of the game. In the Sweet 16, when he was held to nine points, Knight hit the game-winning 15-foot jumper with five seconds left.

The only other player on this prop with less than double digits against is Butler guard Shelvin Mack at 13/2. While Matt Howard (12/1) has been the guy in the clutch for Butler, Mack leads the team in scoring at 21.3 points per game.

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Two of Bodog’s very interesting props for this weekend’s Final Four in Houston are whether any of the three remaining games – Saturday’s semifinals and Monday’s national title game – will feature a buzzer-beater or go to overtime.

The chance that a game goes to overtime is listed at -450 for no and +300 for yes. The buzzer-beat one is a bit tricky: the game-winning shot must literally come at the buzzer; in other words, the losing team can’t even have the chance to inbound the ball.

This tournament has been epic in terms of last-second finishes. But to get to overtime is pretty rare in the Big Dance. As close as this tournament seems to have been, there have been only four overtime games: San Diego State beating Temple 71-64 in double overtime in the Round of 32, Florida beating BYU 83-74 in OT in the Sweet 16, VCU beating Florida State 71-70 in OT also in the Sweet 16, and Butler beating Florida 74-71 in OT in the Elite Eight. Thus barring Butler playing overtime games in the Final Four and national title game one record is safe: Syracuse in 1975 holds the record for most overtime games by one team in a tournament with three.

There has been only one overtime championship game since 2000, when Kansas beat Memphis 75-68 in 2008, only getting to the extra period on a Mario Chalmers clutch 3-pointer. The last Final Four game to go overtime was Kentucky over Stanford in 1998.

Meanwhile, buzzer-beaters are even rarer if you have to use this prop’s definition. There have been an incredible amount of last-second finishes this tournament, but only one true buzzer-beater: a tip-in by Butler’s Matt Howard in the opening round against Old Dominion. In the Round of 32, Howard hit a free throw with less than a second left but that wasn’t technically a buzzer-beater. What is it about Butler? Last season the Bulldogs nearly upset Duke in the championship game on a Gordon Heyward buzzer-beater from half court. There is only a yes option on this prop, with it paying at +1000.

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College basketball programs as good as Duke’s don’t ever rebuild – they just reload. And the Blue Devils will no doubt be a national title contender again next season even after losing senior stars Kyle Singler and Nolan Smith. But they might have been the Bodog NCAA basketball betting favorites had star freshman point guard Kyrie Irving shocked the world and put off going to the NBA for another year. But no one really expected that and the news became official on Wednesday that Irving will leave.

Irving will hire an agent and thus there’s no chance now that he can change his mind. He could well be the No. 1 overall pick in this summer’s draft depending on which team wins the lottery (the Wizards, for example, would be a rare team to pass on Irving because they took their franchise point guard last year in John Wall). Irving averaged 17.5 points and 4.3 assists in 11 games this past season. He missed 26 games after severely injuring the big toe on his right foot in December. But Irving returned for the NCAA Tournament and scored 28 points in Duke's Sweet 16 loss to Arizona. Some questioned whether it was wise for Coach Mike Krzyzewski to integrate Irving back into the lineup so late in the season.

"Our whole program is overjoyed with having Kyrie here for one year and that he has the chance now to pursue a dream of being a high draft pick and a great player in the NBA," Krzyzewski said. "We are totally supportive of Kyrie, his family and his decision."

Irving is just the third one-and-done player at Duke. Corey Maggette and Luol Deng were the others. Underclassmen have until April 24 to declare for the NBA draft. Provided they have not hired an agent, they have until May 8 to withdraw and return to school.

Duke will be just fine without Irving. The Blue Devils have signed Quinn Cook, a McDonald's All-American point guard from Oak Hill (Va.) Academy. Duke also has Tyler Thornton, a point guard who played in 34 games as a freshman this season and averaged 1.6 points and 1.0 assists per game.

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March Madness has come and gone, with the Connecticut Huskies being crowned the National Champions.

Connecticut was an absolute force once its disappointing regular season ended. Though the team was just 23-12 during regular season play, it ripped off an 11-0 run during the postseason, with six of those games coming during the NCAA Tournament. Most impressively, the Huskies crushed the spread, going 10-1 during the playoffs and 5-1 in March Madness.

Butler—a 53-41 loser in the NCAA title game—nearly pulled off an undefeated postseason run. The Bulldogs won and covered their first seven postseason games before finally falling, and failing to cover, against UConn. Butler faced no shortage of tough competition, covering against Florida, Wisconsin and Pittsburgh.

Perhaps the sweetest surprise of this year’s March Madness, though, was Virginia Commonwealth. Despite a 28-12 run during the regular season, many observers questioned VCU’s inclusion in the tourney. VCU enjoyed a brilliant run to the Final Four, though, winning and covering its first five games before losing 70-62 to Butler.

All four No. 1 seeds turned out to be tremendous disappointments. Ohio State, the top seed in the tournament, covered its first two games with blowout victories against overmatched opponents (Texas-San Antonio and George Mason). Then, despite being a 5.5-point favorite, the Buckeyes were ousted by Kentucky.

Pitt, meanwhile, was knocked out in the second round by Butler. The Panthers had the game locked up, but an absolutely mind-boggling, needless foul in the dying seconds cost them the game.

Kansas at least covered in the second and third rounds, though that hardly makes up for losing as 11-point favorites to VCU. Duke suffered a similar fate, losing to Arizona despite being favored by 9.5 points.

It won't be long until the 2011-12 approaches, so consider long term and 2012 March Madness futures at Bodog Sportsbook.
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The start of college football season is about five months away, but a decision on Wednesday in Columbia, S.C., could well determine your 2011 SEC champion.

South Carolina coach Steve Spurrier has suspended starting quarterback Stephen Garcia indefinitely, and it’s quite likely that the oft-troubled senior’s collegiate career is over. This is the fifth suspension since Garcia arrived on campus. Reports are that Garcia showed up Tuesday night for an SEC-mandated life skills event smelling of alcohol and was asked to leave after being disruptive. Garcia later admitted to Spurrier that he had been drinking prior to the event while celebrating teammate Kyle Nunn's birthday according to reports. But Spurrier wouldn’t say officially what the suspension was for and that it would last through the spring semester and Garcia’s status beyond that would be determined at a later date.

Garcia helped lead the Gamecocks to the SEC East Division title and the school’s first-ever SEC Championship Game last season, where they were route by Auburn. Garcia was set to lead all SEC returning quarterbacks in passing yards; he threw for 3,059 yards and 20 touchdowns with a 64.2 percent completion rate in 2010. But he threw an SEC-high 14 interceptions and had three picks in the Chick-Fil-A Bowl loss to Florida State. Garcia was found with girls in his room during a routine bed check the night before that bowl game. That led to a suspension for the first week of spring practice and Garcia was told he had a zero tolerance policy for any other issues.

USC is projected as a betting favorite to win the East again with stars Marcus Lattimore (tailback) and Alshon Jeffery (receiver) back. Connor Shaw, a sophomore backup, will become the starting quarterback in Garcia’s absence. Shaw threw just 33 total passes last year. The Gamecocks’ spring game is this Saturday. They are 35/1 on Bodog’s NCAA football odds to win the national title next season.

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The chances of the Connecticut Huskies repeating as national champions next basketball season just got substantially longer with the news that All-American point guard Kemba Walker will declare for the NBA draft.

This isn’t much of a surprise, as Walker’s stock will never be higher and he should be a lock to be chosen in the lottery. He had quite possibly the greatest season of a UConn player in history, and that’s saying something. Walker was the most valuable player of the Maui Invitational, the most outstanding player at the Big East tournament, the most outstanding player of the Final Four, a first-team All-American, the Cousy Award winner as the nation's top point guard and he finished the season with a UConn-record 965 points.

In leading the Huskies to their third national title in the past 13 years, Walker averaged 23.5 points (fifth in the nation), 5.4 assists and 4.5 rebounds. Even Coach Jim Calhoun had said he saw no reason for Walker to return to school as he graduates in May. At UConn’s championship celebration at Gampel Pavilion last week, Walker’s jersey was lifted to the Huskies’ Wall of Honor, the first time that’s ever been done for an “active” player.

This continues a trend at Connecticut. Star Richard Hamilton left following UConn's first title in 1999. Stars Emeka Okafor and Ben Gordon left after the Huskies won again in 2004. All were juniors like Walker. The Huskies will still be a contender next season. In addition to Walker, UConn started freshmen Jeremy Lamb, Tyler Olander and Roscoe Smith and sophomore Alex Oriakhi in the title-game victory over Butler. Shabazz Napier will step in for Walker.

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Go ahead and mark it down now: the North Carolina Tar Heels will open the 2011-12 NCAA basketball season as the No. 1 team in the polls and as the likely betting favorite to win the national title with the news that superstar freshman Harrison Barnes has decided to return to school instead of declaring for the NBA draft.

Fellow studs Tyler Zeller and John Henson already have said they were coming back to Chapel Hill as well, so that means the Heels will bring back all five starters from last year’s ACC regular-season championship and Elite Eight team. Barnes, who would have been a lock Top 5 pick in the draft, co-led North Carolina (29-8, 14-2 ACC) in scoring with Zeller during the regular season, averaging 15.7 points. Barnes also sank a team-high 67 3-pointers, shooting 35 percent. Overall the Heels bring back their top seven scorers from last year. And heralded freshmen P.J. Hairston and James McAdoo arrive on campus as well. McAdoo was MVP of the McDonald’s All-American Game and the Jordan Brand Classic.

The only team that could now threaten North Carolina’s status as the overwhelming preseason national title favorite is Kentucky. That’s if DeAndre Liggins, Doron Lamb, Terrence Jones and Brandon Knight all decide to remain in school as well. Of course UK beat North Carolina this past season in the Elite Eight. The deadline for underclassmen to declare for the draft is Sunday. They can withdraw their names from the draft by May 8 to preserve their eligibility. Three possible top picks — Barnes, Ohio State’s Jared Sullinger and Baylor’s Perry Jones – have already pulled out of draft consideration. An impending NBA lockout probably played a role in those decisions.

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The Ohio State Buckeyes close spring practices today Saturday with their spring game – at the Horseshoe they often draw more fans for the spring game than most college football teams get for a regular-season game. Coach Jim Tressel has said that, because of a lack of depth on the offensive line, the spring game will actually be a scrimmage, pitting the offense against the defense with a modified scoring format.

It has been a long offseason for Tressel, who was found to have failed to tell the NCAA of the violations surrounding some of his players that led to five-game suspensions to start this season. And that’s probably the major question for Tressel this spring and the fall: He and his staff must figure out who will fill the temporary voids left by starters QB Terrelle Pryor, WR DeVier Posey, RB Daniel “Boom” Herron and LT Mike Adams on offense and DE Solomon Thomas on defense. Those five inexplicably were allowed to play in the Sugar Bowl but all will miss the first five games of 2011: home to Akron and Toledo, at Miami (Fla.) and home to Colorado and Michigan State in the Big Ten opener. Tressel also will sit out those five games but will be involved in all non-game day activities around the team. The Buckeyes are 14/1 on Bodog’s NCAA football odds to win the national title.

Not including those suspended guys, the Buckeyes have to replace three offensive and seven defensive starters. That defense was the strength last year as it ranked No. 1 overall in the Big Ten. Ohio State allowed only 96.7 rushing yards per game last season, and gave up just nine rushing and nine passing touchdowns in 13 games.

The OSU offense has struggled this spring, but Pryor is recovering from foot surgery and all those offensive linemen are sidelined. But wide receiver looks like a problem area, especially with Posey out those five games. The offensive line will have only two starters back until Adams’ suspension is over. And it’s still not clear who will replace Pryor during those five games. The spring has been a massive audition for senior-to-be Joe Bauserman, sophomore Kenny Guiton, redshirt freshman Taylor Graham and incoming freshman Braxton Miller.

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One of the plum open jobs in college basketball has been filed as the University of Maryland made official its hiring of former Texas A&M coach Mark Turgeon on Tuesday. Turgeon replaces a retiring Gary Williams on the Terps’ bench.

Maryland’s apparent first choice was Arizona’s Sean Miller. And he said he was very close to accepting the job but instead got a contract extension from the Wildcats. Maryland also reportedly reached out to Notre Dame’s Mike Brey, Villanova’s Jay Wright, Pittsburgh’s Jamie Dixon and Butler’s Brad Stevens, only to be turned down or rebuffed by all.

Turgeon isn’t a sexy hire like any of those above guys might have been. But he has led the Aggies to the NCAA tournament in each of his four basketball seasons at the football-crazy university. He also was named Big 12 Coach of the Year in each of the past two seasons. Turgeon posted a 97-40 record at Texas A&M. In each of his four seasons, his teams won at least 24 games. He played at Kansas and is a protege of North Carolina coach Roy Williams and longtime NBA and NCAA coach Larry Brown.

Maryland probably won’t be contending for the ACC title next year – not with North Carolina loaded and Duke reloading. The 2010-11 Terps didn’t beat one ranked team and finished at 19-14, failing to earn an at-large berth to the NCAA tournament or NIT for the first time since 1993. And Maryland lost leading scorer and rebounder Jordan Williams as an early entrant to the NBA draft. Not coincidentally, Williams retired the day after Williams made that announcement.

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A No. 2 seed in the NCAA Tournament this year, North Carolina failed to advance to the Final Four. However, they're still the oddsmakers' choice to bounce back from that disappointment and win the tourney in 2012.

On the Bodog NCAA basketball futures list the Tar Heels currently lead the way at 3/1 odds to navigate all the way through March Madness next spring. Right behind them on that list at 11/2 are the Kentucky Wildcats, the team that beat North Carolina in the Elite Eight this year.

Kentucky, though, fell to eventual champion Connecticut in the Final Four, and is about to lose guards Brandon Knight and DeAndre Liggins to the NBA Draft.

Bet on March Madness 2012 now.

Last year's other Final Four teams aren't riding high on the Bodog college hoops futures right now, with UConn at 25/1, Butler at 50/1, and Virginia Commonwealth not even listed.

Connecticut is going to have to find a way to make due without star guard Kemba Walker in the upcoming season, as he's going to be a lottery pick in this week's NBA Draft. Butler guard Shelvin Mack is also expected to go in the draft's first round.

Rounding out the top five on the futures list behind North Carolina and Kentucky are Duke (8/1), Louisville (17/2), and Ohio State (17/2).

The Blue Devils, a No. 1 seed, were upset by Arizona in the third round of this year's March Madness, and guard Kyrie Irving is expected to go first overall to the Cavaliers this week. Duke guard Nolan Smith is also headed for this week's draft.

Second-tier contenders on the NCAA basketball futures list include Syracuse at 12/1, and both Florida at Texas at 18/1.

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The NBA Lockout: Because one major sports work stoppage is just not enough.

NBA owners officially locked out their players last week, putting the 2011-12 season in jeopardy. That's going to push college basketball betting to the forefront for hoops fans, especially if the NBA's lockout does actually stretch into the fall.

So what's available for NCAA basketball odds right now? Currently the focus at Bodog is on the futures to win the 2012 NCAA Tournament, with North Carolina set as the 3/1 favorite, and Kentucky right behind them at 11/2 odds to win the championship.

Kentucky, of course, lost to Connecticut in this year's Final Four, with the Huskies going on to win the title with a 53-41 victory over Butler. The Bulldogs had knocked off the tourney's Cinderella story, Virginia Commonwealth, in the Final Four.

With college basketball betting, though, you have to watch roster turnover. Kentucky lost star point guard Brandon Knight to the Pistons in the NBA Draft, and they'll be looking for their recruits (including coveted power forward Anthony Davis) to step up and keep them a top contender for March Madness.

Champion UConn might be in bigger trouble because they no longer have guard Kemba Walker, the key to their tourney run, who went to the Bobcats in the NBA Draft. Connecticut is back at 25/1 odds to win the 2012 NCAA Tournament.

What about Duke, the school most college hoops fans love to hate? As usual, they're high on the championship futures at 8/1 at Bodog right now, although they did get bounced in the regional semifinals at this year's NCAA Tournament by Arizona.

That ended Kyrie Irving's short Blue Devils career, as he was then taken first overall in the NBA Draft by the Cavaliers. Guard Austin Rivers, a top recruit, joins Duke for next year, but if you want another chance to bet on Irving you can get him at 11/2 odds to win the NBA's Rookie of the Year award in 2011-12 – if there's a season.

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The North Carolina Tar Heels bowed out in the Elite Eight of this year's NCAA Tournament, but they're the college basketball betting favorite to come out on top at March Madness next spring.

The Tar Heels' 76-69 loss to Kentucky was disappointing for the school; they were the No. 2 seed in the region, while the Wildcats were the No. 4. And this year expectations are going to be even higher.

That's because North Carolina's roster from last year returns intact, plus they've added a couple of top recruits to the lineup.

Headlining the list of returnees is forward Harrison Barnes, who averaged 15.7 points per game last season and decided to hold off on entering the NBA Draft for another shot at an NCAA Tournament title.

Also returning are center Tyler Zeller (15.7 points per game) and forward John Henson (11.7 points, 10.1 rebounds per game). They'll be joined by the top-recruited pair of forward James McAdoo and guard P.J. Hairston.

That adds up to the Tar Heels being pegged as the 3/1 favorite at Bodog to win next year's NCAA Tournament, which puts them just ahead of Kentucky (11/2).

Rival Duke sits at 8/1 to cut down the nets at next year's Big Dance, with both Louisville and Ohio State at 17/2, and Syracuse at 12/1. Florida and Texas round out the top tier of contenders at 18/1 to win the tournament, with Kansas at 20/1.

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After coming up a round short in the NCAA Tournament in April, the Kentucky Wildcats are listed as strong contenders to go further next time around on the college basketball betting lines for the 2012 Big Dance.

At Bodog the Wildcats are sitting just behind North Carolina at 11/2 to win the NCAA Tournament next spring – the Tar Heels are the favorites at 3/1 odds to claim the title.

Kentucky actually beat North Carolina 76-69 in the regional finals this year, but then fell short against Connecticut 56-55 in the Final Four in Houston. The Wildcats subsequently lost guard Brandon Knight, center Josh Harrellson, and guard DeAndre Liggins to the NBA Draft.

However, a fresh recruiting class is coming to the rescue for Kentucky. Power forward Anthony Davis, ranked the No. 1 recruit in the land, will be joining the Wildcats this season, along with small forward Michael Gilchrist, point guard Marquis Teague and center Kyle Wiltjer.

That freshman class is expected to keep the Wildcats near the head of the field again.

Following North Carolina and Duke on the current NCAA Tournament futures odds at Bodog are Duke (8/1), Louisville (17/2), and Ohio State (17/2), with Syracuse at 12/1, and both Florida and Texas at 18/1.

UConn, which vanquished Kentucky in the Final Four and went on to win the title in the spring, sits back at 25/1 odds to come out on top in March Madness next year, with point guard Kemba Walker lost to the Charlotte Bobcats in the NBA Draft.

Butler, the Huskies' victim in last year's title game, is a 50/1 longshot to win the 2012 NCAA Tournament.

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The top three teams on the college basketball futures board at Bodog Sportsbook right now are from the ACC and SEC, but it's the Big East that probably has the best claim on being the toughest place to play in the upcoming season.

North Carolina leads the way at 3/1 on the college basketball betting lines to win the NCAA Tournament next spring, with fellow ACC school Duke at 8/1, and the SEC's Kentucky sandwiched between them at 5/1.

However, while those conferences boast the top odds, the Big East makes up a third of the top contenders to claim the Big Dance in the upcoming season: Each of Louisville (17/2), Syracuse (12/1), Connecticut (25/1), Pittsburgh (25/1), and St. John's (25/1) sit in the first 15 spots on the championship odds list right now.

North Carolina and Duke are the only ACC schools in that top 15, while Florida (18/1) joins Kentucky from the SEC. The Big 12 and Big Ten also offer up two teams each in that top 15, with Texas (18/1) and Kansas (20/1) representing the Big 12, and Ohio State (17/2) and Michigan State (25/1) on the board for the Big Ten.

Conference USA's Memphis (25/1) and the Pac-12's UCLA (25/1) round out the top 15 as the lone representatives from their respective conferences at that level on the odds.

Also adding to the Big East's claim of being the toughest conference in college basketball? They boast the defending champions in Connecticut, and they had seven teams in the AP Top 25 in last season's final poll.

The Big 12 had four teams in that Top 25, while the Big Ten and SEC had three apiece, and the top-heavy ACC had just the two powerhouses (UNC and Duke). The Mountain West and Pac-10 had two teams in the Top 25 of that poll as well, with one each coming from the Atlantic 10 and Western Athletic conferences.

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The ACC put just four teams into the NCAA Tournament last season and didn't have any representation in the Final Four. So how does that conference look on the college basketball betting lines at Bodog Sportsbook right now to win the 2012 Big Dance?

In one hyphenated word, top-heavy. While North Carolina and Duke have short odds to claim the championship this season, the other 10 schools are longshots on the list.

The Tar Heels and Blue Devils were two of the ACC's entries into the 2011 NCAA Tournament, but both schools ended up disappointing their supporters; Duke fell in their third game to Arizona, while North Carolina lost in the Elite Eight to Kentucky.

The other two ACC schools at that Big Dance were Clemson and Florida State; the Tigers fell to West Virginia in their first game, and the Seminoles lost to Virginia Commonwealth in their third game. Overall in the tourney the ACC went 8-4.

On the NCAA Tournament odds for the upcoming season North Carolina sits at 3/1 to win the title, with Duke just behind them at 8/1. Those two schools each had a Top-10 recruiting class in the offseason, and combined for 61 wins last season.

From there it's a big drop on the odds list for ACC members to Florida State at 65/1, Boston College at 75/1, and each of Virginia Tech, Clemson, Maryland, North Carolina State, and Georgia Tech at 100/1.

Miami is at 150/1 to win the 2012 NCAA Tournament, with Virginia and Wake Forest the ACC's real longshots at 200/1 to claim the title.

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Manne wrote:

The top three teams on the college basketball futures board at Bodog Sportsbook right now are from the ACC and SEC, but it's the Big East that probably has the best claim on being the toughest place to play in the upcoming season.

North Carolina leads the way at 3/1 on the college basketball betting lines to win the NCAA Tournament next spring, with fellow ACC school Duke at 8/1, and the SEC's Kentucky sandwiched between them at 5/1.

However, while those conferences boast the top odds, the Big East makes up a third of the top contenders to claim the Big Dance in the upcoming season: Each of Louisville (17/2), Syracuse (12/1), Connecticut (25/1), Pittsburgh (25/1), and St. John's (25/1) sit in the first 15 spots on the championship odds list right now.

North Carolina and Duke are the only ACC schools in that top 15, while Florida (18/1) joins Kentucky from the SEC. The Big 12 and Big Ten also offer up two teams each in that top 15, with Texas (18/1) and Kansas (20/1) representing the Big 12, and Ohio State (17/2) and Michigan State (25/1) on the board for the Big Ten.

Conference USA's Memphis (25/1) and the Pac-12's UCLA (25/1) round out the top 15 as the lone representatives from their respective conferences at that level on the odds.

Also adding to the Big East's claim of being the toughest conference in college basketball? They boast the defending champions in Connecticut, and they had seven teams in the AP Top 25 in last season's final poll.

The Big 12 had four teams in that Top 25, while the Big Ten and SEC had three apiece, and the top-heavy ACC had just the two powerhouses (UNC and Duke). The Mountain West and Pac-10 had two teams in the Top 25 of that poll as well, with one each coming from the Atlantic 10 and Western Athletic conferences.

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Hard to argue about that.
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Manne wrote:

College basketball programs as good as Duke’s don’t ever rebuild – they just reload. And the Blue Devils will no doubt be a national title contender again next season even after losing senior stars Kyle Singler and Nolan Smith. But they might have been the Bodog NCAA basketball betting favorites had star freshman point guard Kyrie Irving shocked the world and put off going to the NBA for another year. But no one really expected that and the news became official on Wednesday that Irving will leave.

Irving will hire an agent and thus there’s no chance now that he can change his mind. He could well be the No. 1 overall pick in this summer’s draft depending on which team wins the lottery (the Wizards, for example, would be a rare team to pass on Irving because they took their franchise point guard last year in John Wall). Irving averaged 17.5 points and 4.3 assists in 11 games this past season. He missed 26 games after severely injuring the big toe on his right foot in December. But Irving returned for the NCAA Tournament and scored 28 points in Duke's Sweet 16 loss to Arizona. Some questioned whether it was wise for Coach Mike Krzyzewski to integrate Irving back into the lineup so late in the season.

"Our whole program is overjoyed with having Kyrie here for one year and that he has the chance now to pursue a dream of being a high draft pick and a great player in the NBA," Krzyzewski said. "We are totally supportive of Kyrie, his family and his decision."

Irving is just the third one-and-done player at Duke. Corey Maggette and Luol Deng were the others. Underclassmen have until April 24 to declare for the NBA draft. Provided they have not hired an agent, they have until May 8 to withdraw and return to school.

Duke will be just fine without Irving. The Blue Devils have signed Quinn Cook, a McDonald's All-American point guard from Oak Hill (Va.) Academy. Duke also has Tyler Thornton, a point guard who played in 34 games as a freshman this season and averaged 1.6 points and 1.0 assists per game.

Bet on 2012 NCAA hoops futures soon at Bodog Sportsbook!

Kyrie Irving has much more potential then those who came before him so he should be successful as long as the curse doesn't slow him down.
Join: 2011/08/30 Messages: 9
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Manne wrote:

Two of Bodog’s very interesting props for this weekend’s Final Four in Houston are whether any of the three remaining games – Saturday’s semifinals and Monday’s national title game – will feature a buzzer-beater or go to overtime.

The chance that a game goes to overtime is listed at -450 for no and +300 for yes. The buzzer-beat one is a bit tricky: the game-winning shot must literally come at the buzzer; in other words, the losing team can’t even have the chance to inbound the ball.

This tournament has been epic in terms of last-second finishes. But to get to overtime is pretty rare in the Big Dance. As close as this tournament seems to have been, there have been only four overtime games: San Diego State beating Temple 71-64 in double overtime in the Round of 32, Florida beating BYU 83-74 in OT in the Sweet 16, VCU beating Florida State 71-70 in OT also in the Sweet 16, and Butler beating Florida 74-71 in OT in the Elite Eight. Thus barring Butler playing overtime games in the Final Four and national title game one record is safe: Syracuse in 1975 holds the record for most overtime games by one team in a tournament with three.

There has been only one overtime championship game since 2000, when Kansas beat Memphis 75-68 in 2008, only getting to the extra period on a Mario Chalmers clutch 3-pointer. The last Final Four game to go overtime was Kentucky over Stanford in 1998.

Meanwhile, buzzer-beaters are even rarer if you have to use this prop’s definition. There have been an incredible amount of last-second finishes this tournament, but only one true buzzer-beater: a tip-in by Butler’s Matt Howard in the opening round against Old Dominion. In the Round of 32, Howard hit a free throw with less than a second left but that wasn’t technically a buzzer-beater. What is it about Butler? Last season the Bulldogs nearly upset Duke in the championship game on a Gordon Heyward buzzer-beater from half court. There is only a yes option on this prop, with it paying at +1000.

Get all your Final Four props at Bodog Sportsbook!

A few things:

1. No shot clock
2. 8 minute quarters
3. 4 minute overtimes
Join: 2011/09/01 Messages: 83
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