Friday, March 24, 2006

The largest sports betting site on the Internet, PinnacleSports.com has listed individual odds on several likely tournament-bound teams capturing the NCAA crown. Perhaps the nation's most talented team from top to bottom, the Connecticut Huskies are the odds-on favorites to win their third national championship under Jim Calhoun at 5/2 odds. Despite losing back-to-back games to Florida State and North Carolina, PinnacleSports.com lists Duke at 4/1 to survive "March Madness". Big East regular season co-champions Villanova currently stand at 8/1 to win the national championship while reigning champions North Carolina are at 10/1 to become the first repeat winners in over a decade. PinnacleSports.com lists the Texas Longhorns at 11/1 to add the men's basketball title to the BCS championship they won in January's Rose Bowl. Other teams that should be in contention for the national title include: Memphis (12/1); Ohio State (14/1); West Virginia (19/1); Illinois (21/1) and Florida (26/1).

In addition to offering odds on which team will win the national championship, PinnacleSports.com has also created a betting option on the Division I conference of the tournament winner. With likely number 1 seeds Connecticut and Villanova, the sixteen-team Big East is an overwhelming 7/5 favorite to win this year's NCAA tourney. PinnacleSports.com lists the Duke and North Carolina-led ACC with the second best odds at 14/5 followed by a deep Big 10 conference at 8/1 and the Big 12 at 9/1. With Memphis likely to earn a high seeding in the NCAA tournament, Conference USA is 11/1 to capture the title while the SEC and PAC-10 are at 20/1 and 23/1, respectively.