With only Super Bowl LV remaining on the NFL schedule, sports bettors will begin to focus their attention and bankrolls on college basketball as we head towards arguably the best time of the calendar year for wagering – March Madness!
As with many areas of life in 2021, the collegiate hardwood landscape continues to change 'by the day', thus offering bettors tremendous opportunities to find value in conference futures. Here are the latest tournament odds for several of the biggest conferences in the country according to DraftKings Sportsbook:
ODDS TO WIN 2021 AMERICAN ATHLETIC CONFERENCE TOURNAMENT
Houston -335
SMU +270
Wichita State +1700
Tulsa +2000
South Florida +2500
East Carolina +4000
Memphis +4000
UCF +9000
Cincinnati +10000
Tulane +30000
Temple +50000
Vegas Whispers Breakdown: In the ACC, Houston appears to be the clear class of the American Athletic Conference. The Cougars (13-1 SU, 8-1 AAC), who have won six straight games, are the only team currently ranked in the AP Top-25 (No. 6) and the prohibitive market price of (-335) continues to reflect Houston’s dominance.
ODDS TO WIN 2021 ATLANTIC COAST CONFERENCE TOURNAMENT
Virginia +225
Florida State +350
Louisville +450
North Carolina +575
Duke +650
Virginia Tech +675
Clemson +3500
Pittsburgh +2000
Georgia Tech +3500
Syracuse +7000
NC State +10000
Notre Dame +15000
Miami +20000
Boston College +50000
Wake Forest +100000
Vegas Whispers Breakdown: Virginia (11-2 SU, 7-0 AAC) (No. 8), who has won seven straight games, remains the only undefeated team in ACC play. The conference currently has three other teams ranked in the AP Top-25 with Virginia Tech (No. 20), Florida State (No. 16) and Louisville (No. 25) . It is interesting to note that last week we stated that Florida State (9-2 SU, 5-1 AAC) – who was unranked but were the second overall betting choice (+350) according to the oddsmakers at DraftKings Sportsbook – are now getting their respect in the polls. Duke, who has is 1-3 in their last four, are 6-5 overall and in serious danger of missing the Big Dance. Keep an eye on the North Carolina Tar Heels (11-5 SU, 6-3 AAC) who remain unranked but saw a sizable move in the ACC betting market dropping from 11/1 to +575 after wins over Wake Forest and NC State last week. For my money, Virginia is the class of the ACC and the team who grabs my attention.
ODDS TO WIN 2021 ATLANTIC 10 TOURNAMENT
Saint Louis +125
Richmond +175
St. Bonaventure +565
VCU +1000
Davidson +1500
UMASS +2000
Dayton +2500
Rhode Island +4500
Duquesne +10000
George Mason +10000
George Washington +30000
Fordham +35000
St. Joseph’s +50000
La Salle +50000
Vegas Whispers Breakdown: St. Louis ranked (7-2 SU, 0-1 A-10) (No. 22) in the AP Top-25 remain the favorites (+125) to win the Atlantic 10 Tournament according to the oddsmakers at DraftKings Sportsbook, despite only playing one conference game this season due to COVID-19 issues. St. Bonaventure (8-1 SU, 6-1 A-10) saw the biggest move from last week dropping from 20/1 to +565 after winning six consecutive games and boasting the best record in the conference at 6-1.
ODDS TO WIN 2021 BIG EAST CONFERENCE TOURNAMENT
Villanova -265
Creighton +400
UCONN +450
Xavier +2000
Marquette +5500
Providence +6000
St. Johns +15000
Butler +20000
Depaul +50000
Georgetown +50000
Vegas Whispers Breakdown: Villanova (10-1 SU, 5-0 Big East), remains ranked No.3 in the latest AP Top-25 and are the prohibitive favorites (-265) to win the Big East Tournament according to the oddsmakers at DraftKings Sportsbook. Villanova returned to action last week – after being forced to pause basketball operations following a COVID-19 outbreak – and quickly earned wins over Seton Hall and Providence. Villanova, who has won four of the last five Big East Tournaments, are the clear class of the Big East once again so far in 2021. Jay Wright, arguably the best coach in college basketball today, has the Wildcats on a collision course with another deep run in March after bringing two of the last four NCAA National Championship titles back to the Main Line.
ODDS TO WIN 2021 BIG 10 TOURNAMENT
Michigan +260
Iowa +300
Wisconsin +300
Illinois +700
Ohio State +700
Minnesota +1500
Michigan State +1700
Purdue +2000
Indiana +6000
Maryland +10000
Northwestern +10000
Penn State +50000
Nebraska +100000
Vegas Whispers Breakdown: The Big 10 conference currently has six teams ranked in the AP Top-25 with Michigan (13-1 SU, 8-1 Big 10) ranked the highest at No. 4, closely followed by Iowa Hawkeyes (12-3 SU, 6-2 Big 10) at No. 7 and Wisconsin (12-4 SU, 6-3 Big 10) at No. 14. Michigan and Iowa appear to be the strongest teams in the Big 10 this season, with Ohio State as a possible dark-horse.
ODDS TO WIN 2021 BIG 12 TOURNAMENT
Baylor -250
Texas +650
Kansas +700
Oklahoma +850
Texas Tech +900
West Virginia +1500
TCU +20000
Kansas State +30000
Iowa State +50000
Vegas Whispers Breakdown: The Big 12 conference currently has six teams ranked in the AP Top-25 with the undefeated Baylor Bears (14-0 SU, 7-0 Big 12) ranked the highest at No. 2 in the country. The Bears are led by National Player of the Year candidate Jared Butler who is shooting an impressive 50.3% from the field and an insane 49.4% from beyond the arc through 14 games. Remember the name.
Baylor is closely followed by Texas (11-3SU, 5-2 Big 12) at No. 5 and Texas Tech Red Raiders (11-5 SU, 4-4 Big 12) and West Virginia (11-4 SU, 4-3 Big 12) at No. 10 and No. 11. Kansas (10-5 SU, 4-4 Big 12) at No. 15 and Oklahoma (10-4 SU, 6-3 Big 12) round out the other schools garnering strong respect at No. 15 and No. 24, respectively. After Tuesday's 80-79 upset road win over Texas, the Oklahoma Sooners saw their odds drop drastically from 18/1 to +850 on Wednesday morning.
ODDS TO WIN 2021 MOUNTAIN WEST TOURNAMENT
Utah State +125
Boise State +200
Colorado State +365
San Diego State +800
UNLV +5000
Wyoming +4000
Nevada +5000
Fresno State +10000
New Mexico +30000
San Jose State +30000
Air Force +50000
Vegas Whispers Breakdown: Boise State (13-1 SU, 9-0 MW) and Utah State (12-5 SU, 9-2 MW) sit atop the Mountain West with nine conference wins followed closely by Colorado State (11-3 SU, 8-2MW). The oddsmakers at DraftKings Sportsbook continue to strongly favor Utah State as they land as the top overall betting choice at odds of +125. However, while the Aggies have been strong on the defensive end they have struggled to find consistent scoring, losing their past two games to Colorado State and UNLV. Following their 59-56 upset win over Utah State, the oddsmakers made a huge adjustment in UNLV's odds slashing the Rebels from 50/1 to 11/1 on Wednesday morning.
ODDS TO WIN 2021 PAC 12 TOURNAMENT
Oregon +120
UCLA +200
USC +375
Colorado +500
Stanford +1700
Utah +2000
Arizona State +5000
Washington State +10000
Oregon State +300000
Washington +50000
California +100000
Vegas Whispers Breakdown: The Pac 12 conference is currently only represented by one team ranked in the AP Top-25 as UCLA (12-3 SU, 8-1 Pac 12) slides in at No. 23. USC (12-3 SU, 6-2 Pac 12), who we highlighted last week as an intriguing option at odds of 10/1, have seen their odds cut to +375 winning seven of their last eight games.
ODDS TO WIN 2021 SEC TOURNAMENT
Alabama +250
Missouri +270
Tennessee +270
Kentucky +600
LSU +700
Florida +1300
Arkansas +2000
Mississippi State +10000
Ole Miss +10000
Georgia +20000
South Carolina +20000
Texas A&M +30000
Vanderbilt +50000
Vegas Whispers Breakdown: Alabama (14-3 SU, 9-0 SEC) – the only undefeated team in SEC conference play – have now become the highest ranked team at No. 9 in the latest AP Top-25 – thanks to a 10-game overall winning streak. Their run finally caught the attention of the oddsmakers Tuesday morning when they catapulted to the top overall betting choice (+250) after last week being the fourth overall choice at +470. Missouri (10-3 SU, 4-3 SEC) has moved up to No. 12 in the AP poll and have moved from +325 to +270 at DraftKings Sportsbook. Meanwhile, Tennessee (10-3 SU, 4-3 SEC) the other co-favorite according to the oddsmakers, has dropped two straight games and dropped to No. 18 in the country.
ODDS TO WIN 2021 WEST COAST TOURNAMENT
Gonzaga -2500
BYU +800
San Francisco +1100
Saint Mary’s +1450
Pepperdine +5500
Pacific +30000
Santa Clara +30000
Loyola Marymount +50000
San Diego +50000
Portland +100000
Vegas Whispers Breakdown: This is easily the biggest no-brainer of any of the conference betting markets with the No. 1 overall team in the AP Top-25, the Gonzaga Bulldogs (15-0 SU, 6-0 WCC), listed as overwhelming prohibitive favorites to win the West Coast Conference at odds of -2500. The Bulldogs, who already beaten three top-15 teams in Kansas, Iowa and Virginia this season, have won seven of the last eight West Coast titles and it appears that head coach Mark Few may have his best shot at a National Championship in 2021.
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ODDS TO WIN 2021 COLLEGE BASKETBALL NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP