The NCAAB Tournament starts this Thursday and sportsbook fans couldn’t be happier.
Without a doubt the Big Dance is easily one of the best wagering events
of the year.
The sportsbook has released odds on which teams will win the
four regions in the NCAAB Tournament.
Betting a team to win a regional at the beginning of the
tournament is the only way to get good odds.
Let’s analyze the East Regional.
NCAAB
Preview: East Regional
Top Four Seeds: Pittsburgh
Panthers, Duke Blue Devils, Villanova Wildcats, Xavier Musketeers
- Pittsburgh Panthers +125 - - Pittsburgh will go as
far as Levance Field, their injured starting point guard, will take
them. Yes, DeJuan Blair is as good
as any big man in the nation but Fields runs the show at Pitt. If he’s healthy going into the
tournament, then the Panthers have a solid chance to not only get to the
Final Four but to become the kings of March Madness.
- Duke Blue Devils +300 - - The Blue
Devils enter the Big Dance on a roll after winning the ACC Conference
Tournament. Their best chance of
making it to the Elite Eight, and a chance at the Final Four, will be if
Gerald Henderson gets off and dominates the way he can at times. The problem with the Blue Devils is that
they rely on the three point shot too much. When they’re hitting the three, like
this past Sunday versus Florida
State, they’re tough
to beat. When they’re not hitting
the three, they could get squashed.
They’ve got a shot but it won’t be easy for them.
- Villanova Wildcats +500 - - With
Dante Cunningham and Scottie Reynolds on the court, Villanova is primed to
be a major player in this year’s East Regional. ‘Nova, like Pitt, had to traverse a
tough Big East schedule. That
should have set them up well to take it to whatever teams they face in the
NCAAB Tournament. Villanova is a
solid, solid team and looking past them would be a huge mistake.
- Xavier Musketeers +1000 - - The
Musketeers received a four seed in the East by going 24 and 6 during the
regular season. But I can’t endorse
them in this bracket even a little because they’ve lost games to Richmond, Dayton, Temple, Charlotte
and Duquesne. I mean, none of those
teams belong on the same court with Duke, Villanova, and Pittsburgh.
Best Long Shots
Florida State Seminoles +1200 - - Sure, they lost to
Duke in the ACC Tournament Championship but the Blue Devils shot over 30%
better from behind the arc in that game than they had all season long. Florida
State has already beaten
1 number one seed, the North Carolina Tar Heels. This is a good team that could challenge for
the East Regional Championship.
UCLA +650 - - The Bruins didn’t have their usual Pac-10 season, but
they do have three fellas on their team with Final Four experience in Josh
Shipp, Darren Collison and Alfred Aboya.
Collison is the key. If he can
control the tempo, then the Bruins have a shot.
And the Winner is…
Pittsburgh Panthers at +125 - - Forget it. If Levance Fields is okay, and the early word
is that he should be just fine later on this week, then the Pittsburgh Panthers
win this bracket. Pittsburgh
has been solid all season long beating Connecticut
twice and Florida
State once. They also dominated most of their opponents
in the Big East. They did, however, lose
to Villanova in their lone game against that rival, but I believe that DeJuan
Blair is just too tough for the rest of the teams in this region if Levance
Fields is healthy. Teams won’t be able
to double on Blair if Fields can split the defense. That makes Pittsburgh a solid bet to win the East
Regional.