March Madness Just Around The Corner, Odds To Win NCAA Tournament Favor Kansas & Kentucky

February 7th, 2010 – By Bryan Cross

The college basketball season has been filled with excitement, upsets and congestion.  There have been several teams that have been ranked No. 1 over the last few weeks, and each has lost at some point.

First it was Kansas who was upended from their pre-season top ranking, following nine week stretch of undefeated play.  Then Texas assumed the top position on the college basketball landscape before surrendering it in a loss to Kansas State.  Since being ranked No. 1, Texas has gone 2-3. Following Texas, Kentucky was propelled to the top spot, before losing to South Carolina on the road less than 48 hours after the poll was released.

The most recent poll gives Kansas another shot as the top team in the land, with several teams just behind.  As the teams get into the heart of their conference schedules, more will be revealed with each passing week leading up to the NCAA tournament in March.  As it sits now, the top four seeds would be Kansas, Syracuse, Kentucky and Villanova, but this will likely change as the season progresses.

Sportsbooks have set odds for the teams to win the 2010 NCAA basketball championship, with Kansas and Kentucky headlining the field.

The Jayhawks of Kansas are led by a variety of stars on the court.  Leading scorer Sherron Collins is averaging 15 points per game to go along with 4.2 assists.  The point guard is very good at handling the ball and does not make turnovers.  The post play for the Jayhawks has also dominated other Big 12 teams this year.  Center Cole Aldrich is averaging a double-double with 12 point and 10 rebounds a game.  Kansas won the National championship two seasons ago, and are currently a 2/1 favorite to capture their second title in three years according to current College Basketball Betting Lines.  Head coach Bill Self has the Jayhawks primed to make a deep run in the tournament.

Closely behind Kansas are the Wildcats from the University of Kentucky.  They may have the best player in all of college basketball in point guard John Wall.  Wall and head coach John Calipari have been in the headlines recently for some comments that Wall had made about his coach.  Those issues have since been resolved and Kentucky has got back to their winning ways following their lone slip-up on the road against South Carolina.  Wall is averaging 17 points per contest to go along with seven assists.  The team also gets phenomenal forward play from the duo of DeMarcus Cousins and Patrick Patterson.  Both are averaging close to a double-double.  Calipari says that the team is learning as the season progresses and they should be ready to compete for an SEC and National championship.  The Wildcats are a 3/1 favorite to win the National title.

Syracuse has not dropped a game in over a month and are among the favorites to claim a championship.  The Orange’s only loss came back on January 2nd to Big East rival Pittsburgh, and since then they have played solid basketball.  They did however avoid a near disastrous loss to Depaul a couple weeks ago, but came back from 18 points down to win by two.  Forward Wesley Johnson captains and leads the team in scoring, with almost 17 point per game to go along with nine rebounds.  Four of the five starters for Syracuse is averaging over 10 points per contest.  The Big East conference is arguably the most difficult in all of college basketball, and could give Syracuse trouble down the stretch.  Head coach Jim Boeheim has won a championship before in 2003, and knows what it will take for the team to get back.

Odds To Win 2010 NCAA Basketball Championship

Alabama 200/1
Arizona150/1
Arizona State150/1
Baylor 65/1
Boston College 200/1
Butler 40/1
BYU 50/1
California 65/1
Cincinnati 100/1
Clemson 75/1
Connecticut 35/1
Dayton 100/1
Duke  15/1
Florida  75/1
Florida State  100/1
Georgetown   20/1
Georgia 250/1
Georgia Tech 50/1
Gonzaga  50/1
Illinois  65/1
Indiana  200/1
Iowa  250/1
Kansas  2/1
Kansas State  25/1
Kentucky  3/1
Louisville  45/1
LSU 150/1
Marquette 100/1
Maryland 100/1
Memphis  75/1
Miami (FL) 150/1
Michigan  75/1
Michigan State  10/1
Minnesota  75/1
Mississippi  75/1
Mississippi State  40/1
Missouri  100/1
North Carolina  28/1
North Carolina State  200/1
Notre Dame  65/1
Ohio State  28/1
Oklahoma  100/1
Oklahoma State  80/1
Oregon  200/1
Pittsburgh  30/1
Purdue  18/1
Seton Hall  100/1
Siena  100/1
Stanford  250/1
South Carolina  150/1
Syracuse  5/1
Tennessee  32/1
Texas  8/1
Texas A&M  100/1
Texas Tech  100/1
UCLA  150/1
Villanova  7/1
Virginia Tech  125/1
Wake Forest  70/1
Washington  65/1
Washington State  150/1
West Virginia  18/1
Wisconsin  50/1
Xavier  75/1
20/1  Field (Any Other Team)