posted February 27, 2007 at 18:36 EST in NCAA B Free Picks

The Ohio State Buckeyes are the new No. 1 team in the nation, the first time the Buckeyes have held the top ranking since 1962. Led by 7-foot freshmen Greg Oden and Mike Conley Jr., Ohio State also claimed the Big 10 championship, assuring them a spot in the Big Dance.

Ohio State is the fifth team to reach the top of the AP poll this season, joining Florida, UCLA, North Carolina and Wisconsin. It's the most teams to reach No. 1 since there were six in 2003-04. That's a great indicator there are several stellar teams out there ready to compete in the Madness of March, that's a haven for sports betting enthusiasts year after year.

UCLA locked up the Pac-10 title this weekend and moved from fourth to second in the rankings. Kansas jumped from sixth to third, and Wisconsin, which also lost to Michigan State last week, fell to fourth after reaching No. 1 for the first time in school history. Florida, which lost to LSU on Saturday, fell from third to fifth.

 

Memphis, which has the nation's longest current winning streak at 17 games, moved up one spot to sixth, its highest ranking of the season, and was followed by Texas A&M, North Carolina and Georgetown.

Nevada and Southern Illinois were No's. 10 and 11, respectively; both are the highest rankings in the schools' history. Pittsburgh was 12th and was followed by Washington State, Duke, Texas, Louisville, Oregon, Butler, Vanderbilt and Marquette.

Rounding out the Top-25 it's Virginia Tech, Notre Dame, Southern California, Maryland and Air Force.

There's four games this weekend that features two Top-25 teams, and they are ones you will not want to miss as NCAA Championship Week rolls on.

Saturday, the action gets started with the No. 3 Kansas Jayhawks hosting the No. 15 Texas Longhorns. Expect the Jayhawks to come out strong and to take the cash in this one.

The No. 23 USC Trojans head north to play No. 13 Washington State. The Cougars are great at home and get the cover in this tremendous Pac 10 game.

Evening action features a dandy in Big East play, as the No. 12 Panthers of Pittsburgh roar into Marquette to face the No. 20 Golden Eagles. The Panthers will prove to be just too much for Marquette as Pitt covers.

 

Sunday, the No. 8 North Carolina Tar Heels host the No. 14 Duke Blue Devils in an ACC classic. These two powerhouses of college basketball never disappoint. The Tar Heels inside game will give Duke and their investors problems as North Carolina gets the payday win.

Thirteen ranked teams lost a total of 16 games last week with Wisconsin, Air Force and Alabama each losing twice. Will Championship Week produce more cash for underdog players? Or will the favorites profit? Find out all weekend long , and do your online betting at BetUS.com.

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