Sports Betting By The Numbers: March 29th, 2011

March 29th, 2011- By Bryan Cross

+190- Oddsmakers are fielding wagers on the exact match up possibilities for the 2011 NCAA Basketball national championship game. The tournament has reached the Final Four, with the Kentucky Wildcats, UConn Huskies, Butler Bulldogs and Virginia Commonwealth Rams each winning their respective regions. In the national semifinals, Kentucky will match up with UConn, while on the other side VCU will take on Butler. Therefore, only four outcomes are possible in the national championship game. NCAA Tournament Betting Lines at Bodog Sportsbook have set the match ups between Kentucky and Butler as the betting favorite for the national championship game, going off at +190. UConn vs Butler and Kentucky vs VCU come in behind at +275, with the match up of UConn and VCU rounding out the odds of outcomes in the game at +400.

2- The number of days until the start of the 2011 Major League Baseball Season. Oddsmakers have fielded futures odds for several months, highlighting the usual suspects. The Boston Red Sox, Philadelphia Phillies and New York Yankees headline most of the betting odds and prop lines associated with the 2011 season. The Red Sox are the leading favorite on 2011 World Series Championship odds to capture the title, with Philadelphia just behind. The Yankees and the Detroit Tigers, as well as the Atlanta Braves and Washington Nationals kick off opening day on Mar. 31 with some afternoon baseball.

6/1- The PGA Tour season’s first Major Championship is just over a week away, as players will descend upon August National for the playing of the 2011 Masters. Despite not winning a Major since back in 2008, Tiger Woods has been slated as the betting favorite to win the 2011 Masters, going off at 6/1. Defending champion and three-time Masters champion Phil Mickelson coming in right behind Woods at 8/1. Woods and Mickelson have combined to win six of the last 10 Masters, as both have a history of performing well on a golf course that suits them. The Masters begins Thurs. April 7, and end on Sunday, April 10.

2/1: Heading into the Final Four two players have stood out above the rest in relation to odds to win the Most Outstanding Player in the 2011 NCAA Basketball tournament. They are both point guards, and will match up with each other in the national semifinal. Kemba Walker of UConn and Brandon Knight of Kentucky lead the way in the line of betting favorites to win the individual honor, both going off at 2/1 on NCAA Tournament Prop Lines At Bodog Sportsbook.