With
the college basketball season right around the corner, what better time than
now to do our conference predictions according to the sports book odds
that we have posted. Even though there are seemingly thousands of conference in
NCAA basketball, many a sportsbook already
has odds for all of the major ones that we like to bet on.
For
those of you who like to bet favorites, underdogs or just bet online in general, here’s a breakdown
of the major conferences:
ACC -
Atlantic Coast Conference 2008-09 Betting Odds
It’s
pretty much North Carolina along with Psycho T, Tyler Hansbrough and everybody
else. That’s how good North Carolina is this year. They are a -285 favorite
while the next best team, the Duke Blue Devils, is +285. Just to give you a
taste of what that really means, in none of these other college
basketball conference odds do you have to lay money on any team to pick
them to win it - everyone else in every other conference is an underdog.
PAC
10 - Pacific 10 2008-09 Betting Odds
Arizona
might be the second-favored team in this conference but you have to be deterred
by the fact that Lute Olson has stepped down and some of their recruits have
departed as well. UCLA is still the class of the PAC 10 and there’s really
nobody for them to fight with. With Darren Collison and Josh Shipp back, expect
another good NCAA tournament run and a Pac 10 crown.
Big
12 - Big 12 2008-09 Betting Odds
With
Kansas losing four of their five starters from their National Championship
team, obviously this will be a rebuilding year for them. Texas is the premier
team in the Big 12 that online sports betting
enthusiasts should be looking at. They return a pretty solid team including
potentially All-American A.J. Abrams and should finish atop the Big 12 this
year.
SEC
West - South Eastern Conference West 2008-09 Betting Odds
The
SEC to football is definitely not what the SEC is to basketball. Alabama is the
premier team in the SEC West and should contend with LSU for the West. Alabama
has a healthy Ronald Steele, who has now fully recovered from two knee injuries
and should lead the way. LSU is in the mix but with a new head coach, Trent
Johnson, online
sports betting sharps just aren’t sure what to expect.
SEC East
- South Eastern Conference East 2008-09 Betting Odds
Billy
Donovan’s Florida Gators are once again favored to the SEC East with only
Kentucky supposedly as their real competition. But Florida took a big hit when
Mareese Speights bolted for the NBA Draft and left them without and inside
scoring presence. Kentucky, at +300, might offer some value. They are off an
injury riddled season and are underrated heading into this one.
Big
East - Big East 2008-09 Betting Odds
There’s
plenty of options in the Big East, which is the basketball powerhouse
conference, but when looking at your sportsbook, how do
you decide on who’s the best option? First off, narrow it down to four teams:
Connecticut, Pittsburgh, Lousiville and Notre Dame. Notre Dame and UConn have
dominant big men, which should be the difference. Hasheem Thabeet and Luke
Harangody will likely compete for Big East Player of the Year and whoever plays
better will likely lead his team to the conference win.
Big
10 - Big 10 Conference 2008-09 Betting Odds
Who
do you like in the Big 10? Michigan State, who is one of the favorite but lost
its two Drews who led them last year? Or Purdue, who is surrounded with
optimism in Matt Painter’s fourth year? I’ll take Purdue, who was 15-3 in
conference action and 9-0 at home. More importantly, they return all five
starters. Everything is in place for Purdue to establish themselves as a strong
Big 10 contender.