Posted on 1/21/2008 3:07:13 PM

Bet on NCAA Action - Get Ready for March Madness!

By D. S. Williamson

Are you kidding me? March Madness all ready? Heck, yeah! March Madness starts as soon as we turn the clock on last year. It’s 2008, baby! Believe it or not March Madness is right around the corner. It’s evident by the games this past weekend that a lot of teams are all ready in Big Dance form, taking it to arch-rivals, and figuring out exactly where they stand nationally.

The best way to do that is to keep your eyes on all of the NCAAB betting articles that are published each day of each week in the BetUS Locker Room. I, for one, pay attention to every NCAAB game each week. I know that some of my fellow writers for BetUS do the same. Before you even think about filling out those brackets, you’d be wise to take a look at the BetUS Locker Room for nuggets of information that only Johnny on the Spot gets. That’s us, baby! You don’t want to be Becky out in the cold come March, do you?

It’s time to throw-out some props for last week before getting into some serious March Madness talk!

Maryland did a job on the Tar Heels last Saturday, didn’t they? That was some game-plan that Maryland coach Gary Williams put together. They get the D.S. Super-Prop because they beat the number one team in the nation, the North Carolina Tar Heels.

I’m staying in the ACC with my second prop of the weekend. The Dookies are good. Forget about everything else you’ve read. This team is good. Props to you, Dookies! They took it to Clemson at home. Just so all of you know the Tigers from Clemson had gone 5 and 1 against spread versus Duke in their last 6 meetings. Not this time! Duke swallowed them by 13!

I can’t start serious March Madness talk without saying something about the USC Trojans. I wrote just last week about how my marriage with the Trojans was kaput. I didn’t think they had that killer instinct. Uh…I was wrong. Hell, I’m calling them up right now asking them out on another date. I want to patch things up, USC! I didn’t mean it when I said that my love for you was gone! What you did to UCLA was a thing of beauty. Another Super-Prop to USC.

Okay, let’s get down to some serious March Madness talk, shall we?

First, these lists are based on what I’ve seen. I’m ranking these teams based on both the price I expect them to be in the BetUS future book as well what I’ve seen on the court. I’ll let all of you into my long-shot pick, the darkest of the dark horses, a bit later in this article.

Let’s start with the contenders. Here they are based on what I expect their price in the BetUS future book to be.

1. Duke = The Dookies are good. They have the pedigree to go the distance, they have the coach, they have the - - well, the name Duke on their uniforms. I mean, isn’t time for the Dookies to get back into the Final Four? If that happens, they have a great chance of winning it. Because they play in the ACC, I think we could get fair odds on these dudes. Let’s make Duke a great wager to win the whole shabang at BetUS ncaab odds of 6 to 1 or higher.

2. Michigan State = Do you see a pattern here? Yes, I like teams with history. These guys are as well-coached as any team in college basketball. I love that guard, Drew Neitzel, and if Izzo can get a bad Michigan State team to the Final Four what can he do with a good Michigan State team? I’m thinking, like Duke, at 6 to 1 or higher these guys are an awesome bet.

3. Georgetown = The Hoyas could end up getting a high-seed. So, if you are going to get down on this team, then get down on them right now. These guys are going be absolutely impossible to deal with come March. They got into the Final Four last year. Why not again? I’m expecting to see odds of around 5 to 1 on these guys, but I’d probably think about wagering on them at 4 to 1. That’s how much I like them.

4. Louisville = Their absolute destruction of the Marquette Golden Eagles the other night means one thing - - the Cardinals are back, baby! I think this team has a solid chance to win it all because of Rick Pitino. Bottom line. But unless you’re getting 8 to 1 or higher on them, I don’t think I’d make a wager. Wait until they get blown-out by Georgetown or Villanova or Pitt and then put some money on them. They will make their presence felt in March.

5. USC Trojans = I’m in love again! USC has as much talent as any team in college basketball this year. O.J. Mayo should just better and better. Tim Floyd is as good as your going to find in NCAA basketball Odds of 12 to 1 or higher and I’m sold.

Where are North Carolina, Kansas, Memphis, and UCLA you ask? I like them too, but the odds are too low on all four of these teams for me to recommend a future wager. North Carolina proved this past weekend that they can get beat. I’m not sure how much I believe in Kansas and Memphis is going to play too soft of a schedule while UCLA is going to play too hard of a schedule the rest of the way. North Carolina, Kansas, Memphis and UCLA may get the number one seeds this year, but when it comes down to it, I’m just not comfortable putting money on a team at 2 to 1 to win the NCAAB Championship. I’d rather bet on O.J. Mayo to put on his best Mad-Hatter impersonation come March!

Other contenders at what I suspect should be good future odds are Tennessee, Indiana, Pittsburgh, and Texas. All four teams have experience and great coaching. That spells a good run in the Big Dance!

My dark horse this year is Arizona!

We’ve seen this before, haven’t we? The Wildcats go into the tournament with nine losses, a freshmen point-guard, and a suspect front-line. Then, they squeak by a good team and find themselves dominating all the way to the championship. That could happen this year as Jeryd Bayless looks a lot like Mike Bibby (they played in the same city as high schoolers!) and Jordan Hill looks a bit like A.J. Bramley. Chase Budinger could pull a Miles Simon in this year’s tournament and voila! The Wildcats add another upset trophy to their case. I know that Lute isn’t there this year, but that’s okay. Kevin O’Neil has the requisite experience to get this team to the championship!

This team played Kansas very tough on the road early in the season and has the perfect amount of immaturity that should allow them to grow up by the time March rolls around.

Beware these Wildcats!

Until next week, good luck!

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