Complete List of Odds to Win The Midwest Bracket Can Be Found Below!

(2010 NCAA Tournament Printable Brackets; PDF – GIF) The Midwest Bracket is where the #1 overall seed in the tournament, the Kansas Jayhawks are playing. However, the Selection Committee probably didn’t do Rock Chalk any real favors, as this is clearly the most difficult bracket to be playing in. Look out for all of the superstars in this region (and we’re not even going to mention any Jayhawks!).

The Jayhawks are going to need every bit of their depth to get through this bracket. It’s going to get very difficult, very quickly for KU. The winner of the #8 UNLV/#9 Northern Iowa game is going to be playing with a chip on its shoulder and will be out to prove that the mid-majors can indeed play with the big boys.

If Kansas does make a deep run into March, both the #2 Ohio State Buckeyes and #3 Georgetown Hoyas are going to be waiting for it. That means that the Jayhawks will most likely have to get through either F Evan Turner, the AP National Player of the Year, or C Greg Monroe, who is largely considered the most versatile big man in the game.

However, don’t think that a Sweet 16 clash of the Big Ten and Big East titans is a certainty. The #7 Oklahoma State Cowboys have the man probably most suited to take over this entire tournament on their roster in the form of G James Anderson. Anderson, who averaged over 22 points per game this season, is largely being overlooked. The Cowboys draw the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets out of the #10 hole, who just have to feel fortunate to be in this tournament after needing to play four games in four nights in the ACC Tournament just to make it here.

Complete List of Odds to Win The Midwest Bracket Can Be Found Below!

A prospective #4/#5 match between the Maryland Terrapins and Michigan State Spartans is intriguing as well. What Sparty did in last year’s tournament was remarkable, and virtually the entire cast of characters is back. G Kalin Lucas dominated the March Madness proceedings last year, but he’s going to have a tough time pulling his team through the field of 65 once again.

For the Terps, G Greivis Vasquez is wrapping up a fine collegiate career. There’s nothing that he can’t do on the floor, as he is a general, a scorer, a distributor, and a rebounder all in one body. Ask any of the teams in the ACC that have been dealing with this guy for years. Vasquez can single-handedly take Maryland from a ten point deficit to a five point lead in a matter of minutes.

If you’re looking for an upset in this bracket, there are plenty of double digit seeds that are unlikely conference winners. #12 New Mexico State stole a bid to the dance by winning the WAC, while #13 Houston did the exact same thing in Conference USA. The #11 San Diego State Aztecs are the winners of the very dangerous Mountain West, while #14 Ohio toppled both of the MAC powers, Kent State and Akron, to go dancing.

Click Here For A Complete List of Odds To Win The Entire 2010 NCAA Tournament

Current March Madness Odds to win the Midwest Bracket @ BetUS (as of 3/17/10):
(Get a HUGE 100% Bonus up to $1000 at BetUS Sportsbook When Using This Link)

Kansas -140
Ohio State +350
Georgetown +550
Michigan State +1000
Maryland +1300
Tennessee +2000
Oklahoma State +2500
Georgia Tech +4500
UNLV +5000
Northern Iowa +5000
San Diego State +7500
New Mexico State +10000
Houston +10000
Ohio +15000
UC Santa Barbara +30000
Lehigh +30000

List of Current Odds to Win The South Bracket Can Be Found Below!

(2010 NCAA Tournament Printable Brackets; PDF – GIF) The South Region is considered arguably the weakest bracket of the four in this year’s tournament. However, that should make for some competitive basketball over the next couple weeks, as there are legitimately a dozen teams that have to feel like they have a chance to go to the Final Four.

We’ll start at the top with #1 Duke Blue Devils, who are arguably the weakest top seed in this field in spite of the fact that they were rated #3 of the four. They’ve got a trio of players that is just as good as any threesome in the country with G Jon Scheyer, G Nolan Smith, and F Kyle Singler. Those three are scoring over 68% of the Dookies’ points this year, and that ratio has done nothing but go up over the course of the season.

Are the Blue Devils vulnerable? Most likely. That could take a toll on the team very early, as the winner of the California/Louisville game in the #8/#9 draw may prove to be a real threat.

There are four very dangerous double digit seeds in this bracket as well. The #10 St. Mary’s Gaels were the WCC winners this season against a Gonzaga team that is always known to cause problems for big schools this time of year. #11 Old Dominion could’ve snagged an at-large bid to the dance without the Colonial’s automatic bid. This is a squad that already has beaten Georgetown in Washington DC this season, so it’s one that can’t be rested upon.

List of Current Odds to Win The South Bracket Can Be Found Below!

Utah State and Siena, the #12 and #13 seeds respectively, were two of the biggest players in the BracketBusters this year. The Aggies knocked off Wichita State, which is probably what put them in the field of 65 as an at-large team. Siena’s loss to Butler most likely is what punished the Saints with this high seeding. However, this is a team with a great history having advanced to the second round of the dance in back-to-back years out of the Metro Atlantic.

#2 Villanova slumped down the stretch, but it was still a great candidate for a #1 seed until the very end of the season. #3 Baylor is accepted as one of the most talented teams in the country that could cause some big hassles for anyone it runs into if it catches fire.

Don’t forget about #5 Texas A&M, who much like the Bears, are going to get the privilege of playing close to home in Houston should either team make it to the Sweet 16.

The #6 Notre Dame Fighting Irish have found a groove playing their “burn” offense, which is designed to slow down the pace of games. The #4 Purdue Boilermakers are going to be the forgotten team in this bracket. HC Matt Painter’s team may not be playing with F Robbie Hummel and was just destroyed by Minnesota in the Big Ten semifinals, but it is still capable of playing like a #1 seed.

Click Here For A Complete List of Odds To Win The Entire 2010 NCAA Tournament

Current March Madness Odds to win the South Bracket @ BetUS (as of 3/16/10):
(Get a HUGE 100% Bonus up to $1000 at BetUS Sportsbook When Using This Link)

Duke -105
Villanova +250
Baylor +400
Purdue +1600
Texas A&M +1800
Notre Dame +2000
Louisville +2500
California +3000
Richmond +3500
Utah State +4000
St. Mary’s +5000
Old Dominion +5000
Siena +7500
Sam Houston St. +7500
Robert Morris +25000
Winthrop +30000
Arkansas Pine Bluff +35000

List of Current Odds to Win The East Bracket Can Be Found Below!

(2010 NCAA Tournament Printable Brackets; PDF – GIF) The East Bracket is largely considered a wide open bracket. HC John Calipari’s club is the top seed in this region, but with the Big East and Atlantic 10 champs roaming in this conference, there are plenty of other squads that can knock off the top seed.

Assuming that the Kentucky Wildcats can get out of the first round against East Tennessee State, they’ll have to face off against two teams that both have the ability to be very, very dangerous for them. The #8 Texas Longhorns were 17-0 once upon a time in this season before falling off the face of the earth, but there’s still no reason to believe that the Horns can’t be frightening to the top seeds. Don’t count out #9 Wake Forest either, as the Demon Deacons played in the rough and tumble ACC.

Two brackets down, there’s a ton of defense. The fight between the #5 Temple Owls and #12 Cornell Big Red should be a fantastic clash between the nation’s top three-point shooting team and one of the best at defending the long ball. Watching F Ryan Wittman try to compete against a squad that is only allowing 56.1 points per game and letting teams shoot 28.1% from downtown should be fantastic.

The winner will get yet another defensive showcase either against the #4 Wisconsin Badgers, who notoriously have one of the best ‘D’s in the nation or the #13 Wofford Terriers, who held teams to just 61.2 points per game.

The other half of the bracket is littered with a lot of marquee at large teams and the #2 West Virginia Mountaineers, who won the Big East for the first time in school history. Their fellow Big East cohorts, the #6 Marquette Golden Eagles are also in this bracket and could be considered very dangerous.

Watch out for the #3 New Mexico Lobos, who were the regular season Mountain West champions. HC Steve Alford thinks he has a team that can win the entire tournament, and even though the Lobos have to travel a long way if they reach the second week of the dance, they’re certainly still going to be a real threat.

The Pac-10 champions, the Washington Huskies, the Big Sky champs, the Montana Grizzlies, and two other at-large teams, the #7 Clemson Tigers and #10 Missouri Tigers round out this bracket.

Click Here For A Complete List of Odds To Win The Entire 2010 NCAA Tournament

Current March Madness Odds to win the East Bracket @ BetUS (as of 3/16/10):
(Get a HUGE 100% Bonus up to $1000 at BetUS Sportsbook When Using This Link)

Kentucky +120
West Virginia +200
Wisconsin +700
New Mexico +1200
Temple +1600
Marquette +1800
Clemson +2000
Texas +2000
Missouri +2000
Washington +3000
Wake Forest +4000
Cornell +10000
Wofford +15000
Montana +20000
Morgan State +30000
East Tennessee State +30000

List of Current Odds to Win The 2010 NCAA Tournament Can Be Found Below!

(2010 NCAA Tournament Printable Brackets; PDF – GIF) On Tuesday night, 65 teams vie for college basketball’s biggest prize in the greatest tournament in all of sports. The NCAA Tournament will kick off with the play-in game between the Arkansas-Pine Bluff Golden Lions and the Winthrop Eagles, and wrap up on Monday April 5th with the National Championship Game between the two teams that are left standing when the madness of March is complete.

The three leading favorites to win this tournament should come as no surprise to anyone. The Syracuse Orange (+800 at Oddsmaker), Kentucky Wildcats (+400 at Oddsmaker), and Kansas Jayhawks (+200 at Oddsmaker) are the three teams of choice. Some combination of those three teams were all supplanted in the AP’s Top 5 for the better part of the last two months, and even though the Orange bowed out of the Big East Tournament early, they are absolutely still deserving of their spot on the bracket and their status as a favorite to win the whole enchilada.

The fourth #1 seed, the Duke Blue Devils and the four #2 seeds all chime in somewhere between +600 and +800 to round out the overwhelming favorites to win the dance at Oddsmaker.

Looking for some nice prices on underdogs? Try to see if the teams that you’re looking at meet this generic eye test before placing a bet.

#1: Does the team have a true scorer that can take over the game?
#2: Does the team have a relatively favorable draw in the first weekend of the tournament?
#3: Is the team playing anywhere near home?
#4: Is the team going to essentially be playing a road game at any point against a team with home court advantage?
#5: Is there another team that fits this bill in their bracket?

There are a few teams that meet this mold that you’ll be able to get some decent prices on along the way.

Take the #12 Cornell Big Red for example (+75000 at Oddsmaker). The Ivy League champs are proven to be able to stick with anyone in the country (especially after nearly winning in Allen Fieldhouse earlier this year), and they have a big time scoring machine in F Ryan Wittman (17.5 PPG). Their draw isn’t the easiest in the world, but the way that Temple and Wisconsin both play, Wittman can catch some fire and knock out either team. Yes, at that point, #1 Kentucky probably awaits, but by then, you’ve got +75000 on a team that you can just scalp out of every step of the way in the future.

The odds aren’t quite as long on the #5 Texas A&M Aggies (+6000 at Oddsmaker), but this team has a schedule that could arguably leave it in the Final Four. Yes, Utah State is a difficult first game and could go against our rule of thumb about going against teams with home court advantage, but if the Aggies can dispose of USU, there could be some really, really clear sailing to the Elite Eight. Purdue is the weakest #4 seed in the field, and the Boilers may be primed to be upset by #13 Siena. Duke may get a heck of a challenge from the Cal/Louisville winner, and as a #5, if there’s a #1 seed that you want to face in this tournament, Coach K’s club is the one. A&M will also be playing just up the road in Houston, which could provide a major boost to a team which has the ability to catch fire in a hurry.

Lastly, stay away from all of these glitzy odds on teams like the #16 Lehigh Mountain Hawks (+2500000 at Oddsmaker) and the sorts. There are only probably 20 teams that legitimately have a chance of winning the National Championship, and none of the teams with seven digit odds are amongst them. It may be nice to laugh and say that you’ve got a $10 ticket that can turn into 2.5 million bucks, but you seriously have a better chance of buying ten quick picks for your local lottery than you do of one of these teams at these odds winning one game, let alone six of them against the elite teams in the nation.

Current Odds to win the 2010 NCAA Tournament @ Oddsmaker (as of 2/26/10):
(Get a HUGE 100% Bonus up to $1000 at Oddsmaker Sportsbook When Using This Link)

Kansas +200
Kentucky +400
Duke +600
Syracuse +800
Ohio State +600
West Virginia +800
Villanova +800
Kansas State +800
Georgetown +1000
New Mexico +3000
Pittsburgh +4000
Baylor +2000
Maryland +3000
Wisconsin +2000
Vanderbilt +5000
Purdue +5000
Temple +6000
Butler +7500
Texas A&M +6000
Tennessee +7500
Marquette +6000
Xavier +6000
Notre Dame +5000
Oklahoma State +6000
Clemson +10000
BYU +5000
Richmond +20000
UNLV +30000
Texas +4000
Gonzaga +15000
California +15000
Northern Iowa +50000
Wake Forest +10000
Florida State +7500
Louisville +5000
Georgia Tech +25000
Missouri +6000
Florida +15000
St. Mary’s +30000
San Diego State +75000
Washington +15000
Minnesota +10000
Old Dominion +15000
New Mexico State +75000
Cornell +75000
Utah State +30000
UTEP +50000
Houston +75000
Wofford +150000
Siena +75000
Murray State +300000
Ohio +150000
Montana +300000
Oakland +1500000
San Houston State +150000
UC Santa Barbara +300000
Morgan State +2500000
North Texas +1500000
Robert Morris +1500000
Lehigh +2500000
East Tennessee State +2500000
Vermont +1500000
Arkansas Pine-Bluff +2500000
Winthrop +2500000

Oddsmaker is offering a 100% Signup Bonus For Bankroll Sports Visitors; Click Here!
New Oddsmaker Players Only: Must Mention Bankroll Sports & Use This Link!
(Must Use Above Links – $100 Min. / $1000 Max. – 20% Bonus For All Future Redeposits)

Let’s get one thing straight before I get started with this little rant: Mississippi State and Minnesota don’t deserve to be in the NCAA Tournament in they don’t win their respective conferences on Sunday. But neither do Illinois, Florida, Rhode Island, Seton Hall, or any other teams that are sitting on this proverbial “bubble” that we have come to know and love.

Come to think of it, Virginia Tech, Florida State, Wake Forest, and probably about 12 other teams shouldn’t get the right to play for the National Championship either.

And you want to expand this field to 96 teams next year???

Regardless of whether I like it or not, the Golden Gophers and Bulldogs are both going to get to win their way onto the dance floor the old fashioned way: by winning their conference tournaments.

These two teams should both take lessons from the teams before them. Washington was considered a bubble team until it removed all doubt by winning the Pac-10. San Diego State could say the same thing with the Mountain West.

The other lesson that Mississippi State and Minnesota should take into consideration: Don’t complain if you don’t get into the field.

The Golden Gophers have some unsightly losses on their resume, including a 28-point defeat to Michigan which capped a season sweep for the Wolverines over Minnesota, a loss at Northwestern, and ‘L’s to Portland and Miami. Winning more than one legitimate road game (@ Illinois) in conference would’ve helped quite a bit, too.

Hey Mississippi State, why the heck are you losing at home to Rider? It doesn’t matter that that loss came on the first night of the regular season. It’s Rider! Tournament teams don’t lose to Western Kentucky or to Arkansas, Alabama, or Auburn in conference play. The only road wins in SEC play came at Ole Miss, LSU, and South Carolina.

Don’t get me wrong… Anyone that wins their conference tournament is deserving of a spot in the field of 65. It’s all of these bubble teams that annoy the heck out of me.

I’ll admit this much: I smirked just a bit when Utah State and UTEP both lost their conference finals, which is probably going to take a bid away from one of these teams that doesn’t deserve to go dancing.

And once again, I’d love nothing more than to see the Dawgs and Gophers take care of business, pull upsets in their conference finals, and take automatic bids to the dance. Then there will be two more teams deserving of their tickets to the NCAA Tournament, while more teams will be left at home, complaining that the system doesn’t work and that there should be more teams allowed in the NCAA Tournament.

But don’t worry, all of you 21-10 teams. When the field expands to 96 teams, you’ll all be in the tournament. Then all we’ll have complaining is all of the 18-14 teams why they’re not allowed to play for college basketball’s biggest prize.

Nineteen turnovers, 37.5% shooting from the field, and a bitter 22-point loss to a 13th place team in the Big East later, and the 2009-2010 Connecticut Huskies effectively watched their season come to an abrupt end on Tuesday afternoon at Madison Square Garden.

This UConn team is going to be one that is remembered for all of the wrong reasons. For starters, this was a squad that was in the Final Four a year ago. Who could forget when a young, promising G Kemba Walker dropped 23 points on the Missouri Tigers in the Elite 8 or when F Stanley Robinson ate up Purdue for ten points and 11 boards in the Sweet 16? The only major piece to this puzzle from last year’s team that didn’t come back was C Hasheem Thabeet.

Sure, Thabeet was the #2 pick in the NBA Draft that next season, and if he was still on this UConn team, the story could be completely different. But let’s be real here. This is Connecticut. Finishing 17-15 isn’t acceptable.

While watching television on Tuesday night, ESPN’s Doug Gottlieb mentioned that HC Jim Calhoun may not even want to take this bunch of Huskies to the NIT, assuming that they are invited.

Originally, I thought this was crazy. But upon further thought… why would Calhoun want to play with this bunch of kids anymore?

F Jerome Dyson had a miserable game against St. John’s on Tuesday. He turned the ball over nine times and shot just 2/6 from the floor before getting benched for lack of production. I might not be some college basketball guru, but even I can tell that he pretty much gave up on this team.

The aforementioned Kemba Walker shot 4/17 from the floor and was taking some ill-advised shots. I’ll give him this: Walker was fighting the whole way through, which is why Calhoun let him keep playing. But this was a case of a youngster without much experience ultimately trying to put the whole team on his back instead of playing team basketball to try to erase a huge deficit.

Calhoun’s health issues are well-documented. It felt like his leave of absence really took any potential momentum away from this team. Even when he came back from his hiatus, a miserable 60-48 loss to Cincinnati at home was called “an embarrassment” by the head coach.

Three straight wins were nice after that, but a 78-76 home loss to Louisville might’ve marked the end of the season. Losses got progressively worse. Dropping to Notre Dame without F Luke Harangody was disgraceful. Losing at South Florida was appalling. Wrapping it up with a 22-point defeat to St. John’s just has no description.

Calhoun has reportedly been offered a new contract by the university, but he is going to strongly consider whether or not he wants to take the Huskies up on it or not. After winning 822 career games and two National Championships, the sixth most winningest coach in NCAA Division I history has nothing left to prove.

It’s pretty clear that the Connecticut Huskies are still a long ways away from being able to compete in the rough and tumble Big East again. If Jim Calhoun is smart, he’ll realize that it’s time to step away and let the Huskies fend for themselves.

March Madness has officially kicked off, as conference tournaments are underway and the first official tickets to the dance will be handed out in the days to come. When it’s all said and done, there are 35 teams that won’t win their conference tournaments that are invited to the grandest dance in the world anyway.

Truth be told, a whole bunch of those spots have already been handed out for certain. Figure that these teams, without any shred of a doubt whatsoever, are already making plans for being in the brackets come Selection Sunday…

Atlantic 10 (3): Temple, Xavier, Rhode Island
ACC (1): Duke
Big XII (4): Kansas, Kansas State, Baylor, Texas
Big East (4): Syracuse, Villanova, West Virginia, Pittsburgh
Big Ten (4): Ohio State, Purdue, Michigan State, Wisconsin
Mountain West (2): New Mexico, BYU
SEC (3): Kentucky, Vanderbilt, Tennessee

Now, we’ll argue that one of these teams from each conference is going to get their respective league’s automatic bid to the tourney. That makes 14 at-large bids that are certainly gone. If you’re team’s not on this list above and you think you’re going to the NCAA Tournament, you’d better pay really good attention to the rest of this article.

Everyone get out your Gonzaga shirt, your Murray State hat, your Northern Iowa socks, your Siena sweater, your Old Dominion shoes, and your Butler underwear.

In a perfect world, all six of these teams are just going to win their conference tournaments and take their automatic slots in the field. That would leave the other, oh, 40 or so of you out there the maximum possible 21 tickets to fight for.

However, this isn’t a perfect world, and this is what makes the madness of March so fantastic. In the event that the Zags, Racers, Panthers, Saints, Monarchs, and/or Bulldogs happens to lose a game in the next week or so in their conference tournaments, they’ll be thrust into the at-large pool with the rest of you suckers that are groveling to the Selection Committee to put you in the field of 65 in spite of the fact that you have obvious flaws on your resumes. In the cases of Gonzaga, Northern Iowa, and Butler, they’re not going to join the 40 of you that are praying to get in. They’re going to join the 14 that already know that they’re in the driver’s seat.

For Murray State, Siena, and Old Dominion, not winning their conference tournaments may leave them in the NIT. Or maybe it won’t. One thing is for certain, though. If you happened to lose to one of these three teams in the regular season (I’m looking at you Georgetown and Charlotte!), you’d better hope that that team gets into the field via the automatic bid, because if they don’t, you’re going to be subjected to having the Dikembe Mutombo finger waved at you for having lost the head-to-head series against a fellow bubble dweller.

The beauty about college basketball though, is that virtually everyone gets a chance. If you want to play in the NCAA Tournament, play your way into the field. Keep winning in your conference tournaments, and you’ll find your way onto the dance floor one way or the other.

If not and your bubble pops, don’t go blaming anyone but yourself.

Let the madness of March begin…