Conference play is about halfway through, and that means that we are well on our way to the 2012 March Madness schedule! Check out some of the teams that are well on their way to success in the dance and how they shake out on the odds to win the NCAA Tournament!

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It is clear that the team with the most talent in the country is the Kentucky Wildcats (Odds To Win National Championship: 7 to 2 @ Bovada Sportsbook). Sure, Head Coach John Calipari has never found a way to win the big one, but he took a team last year that was largely considered to be a year away from being a real contender and made it a Final Four team. This year’s team is even more talented. Anthony Davis is one of the best big men in the game, and he is just one of the many future NBA stars that are donning the blue and white right now. The question is in the backcourt, where there are nothing but youngsters. Doron Lamb, the big time returner of the bunch is going to have to have a big time NCAA Tournament for the Cats to win it all. That being said though, UK is still well on its way to being the top overall seed in March Madness, and we would be shocked to see them be anything but the favorites to win it all when the brackets are released in a few short weeks.

We still tend to think that the Ohio State Buckeyes (2012 March Madness Odds: 9 to 2 @ Bovada Sportsbook) are as good as advertised as well. Jared Sullinger is just a man amongst boys for the most part, and William Buford is rounding into one of the best guards in the Big Ten. Teams are having a hard time challenging the Buckeyes, especially in Columbus, and there are already some huge wins that have been racked up against some of the best teams in the land this year both at home and on the road. Last year’s shocking exit in the Sweet 16 (to none other than this Kentucky team) is going to be burned into the minds of everyone at Ohio State, and the desire is going to be there to make it a heck of a lot further than that this time around in the dance.

List Of NCAA Tournament Basketball National Champions (Since 2000)
2011 NCAA Tournament Champions: Connecticut Huskies
2010 NCAA Tournament Champions: Duke Blue Devils
2009 NCAA Tournament Champions: North Carolina Tar Heels
2008 NCAA Tournament Champions: Kansas Jayhawks
2007 NCAA Tournament Champions: Florida Gators
2006 NCAA Tournament Champions: Florida Gators
2005 NCAA Tournament Champions: North Carolina Tar Heels
2004 NCAA Tournament Champions: Connecticut Huskies
2003 NCAA Tournament Champions: Syracuse Orange
2002 NCAA Tournament Champions: Maryland Terrapins
2001 NCAA Tournament Champions: Duke Blue Devils
2000 NCAA Tournament Champions: Michigan State Spartans

There is no doubt that in terms of sheer talent, the North Carolina Tar Heels (2012 NCAA Basketball Championship Odds: 11 to 2 @ Bovada Sportsbook) are about as good as it gets as well. This team has the best frontcourt in the country with John Henson, Tyler Zeller, and Harrison Barnes, but the truth of the matter is that the backcourt just isn’t there now that Dexter Strickland is out for the season. The Tar Heels have days where they look dominating, and days when they aren’t so hot. They only have four losses on the year, but that fourth one to the Duke Blue Devils might be the one that comes back and stings them when it comes time to see who will be a No. 1 seed on the brackets this year. North Carolina absolutely can still win the NCAA Tournament though, and there aren’t all that many teams in the land that we reasonably think can say that.

We go from a team that has a dominating frontcourt to one that has a dominating backcourt. At 30 to 1, we love taking the Florida Gators (Odds to win the NCAA Basketball Championship: 30 to 1 @ Bovada Sportsbook). Sure, Head Coach Billy Donovan and the gang were beaten and beaten soundly at Rupp Arena by Kentucky, but there was no shame in that loss. UF has a good history in the NCAA Tournament, and Kenny Boynton, Bradley Beal, and the rest of a tremendously deep backcourt picked up a lot of experience in last year’s dance. We all know that guard play is the key to the NCAA Tournament, and if that’s what it really comes down to, we like the chances that the blue and orange have of a deep run.

There are always those teams that you look at and wonder why they have odds that are just so ridiculous. Enter the Temple Owls (Odds to win the 2012 NCAA Basketball Championship: 200 to 1 @ Bovada Sportsbook). Sure, we know that the Owls have had a terrible history in the NCAA Tournament, and we know that they are nowhere near a lock to get into the dance quite yet. However, they have the best team in the Atlantic 10, likely will win the conference tournament, and might be in the Top 5 seeds when the brackets are released. Ramone Moore and Juan Fernandez are experienced guards that can put up some big time numbers, and the Owls have already proven that they can beat some of the best in the country when they took down Duke at the Liacouras Center not all that long ago. Temple has Sweet 16 potential, and as we have seen in the past from some of these smaller schools with experienced players, anything can happen from there.

Odds to Win the 2012 NCAA Tournament @ Bovada Sportsbook (as of 2/9/12):
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Kentucky Wildcats 7 to 2
Ohio State Buckeyes 9 to 2
North Carolina Tar Heels 11 to 2
Syracuse Orange 6 to 1
Duke Blue Devils 10 to 1
Kansas Jayhawks 12 to 1
Missouri Tigers 12 to 1
Baylor Bears 18 to 1
Michigan State Spartans 25 to 1
Florida Gators 30 to 1
Georgetown Hoyas 30 to 1
Louisville Cardinals 30 to 1
Connecticut Huskies 35 to 1
Indiana Hoosiers 40 to 1
Marquette Golden Eagles 40 to 1
UNLV Runnin’ Rebels 40 to 1
Vanderbilt Commodores 40 to 1
Wisconsin Badgers 40 to 1
Florida State Seminoles 50 to 1
Virginia Cavaliers 50 to 1
West Virginia Mountaineers 60 to 1
Gonzaga Bulldogs 65 to 1
Kansas State Wildcats 65 to 1
Memphis Tigers 65 to 1
Michigan Wolverines 65 to 1
Texas Longhorns 65 to 1
Creighton Blue Jays 75 to 1
Harvard Crimson 75 to 1
Illinois Fighting Illini 75 to 1
Mississippi State Bulldogs 75 to 1
Pittsburgh Panthers 75 to 1
Purdue Boilermakers 75 to 1
St. Louis Billikens 75 to 1
San Diego State Aztecs 75 to 1
St. Mary’s Gaels 75 to 1
Washington Huskies 75 to 1
Xavier Musketeers 75 to 1
Alabama Crimson Tide 100 to 1
California Golden Bears 100 to 1
Cincinnati Bearcats 100 to 1
Miami Hurricanes 100 to 1
New Mexico Lobos 100 to 1
UCLA Bruins 100 to 1
Wichita State Shockers 100 to 1
Arizona Wildcats 125 to 1
Notre Dame Fighting Irish 125 to 1
Seton Hall Pirates 125 to 1
BYU Cougars 150 to 1
Minnesota Golden Gophers 150 to 1
North Carolina State Wolfpack 150 to 1
Oklahoma Sooners 150 to 1
Stanford Cardinal 150 to 1
VCU Rams 150 to 1
Ole Miss Rebels 200 to 1
Oregon Ducks 200 to 1
Temple Owls 200 to 1
Virginia Tech Hokies 200 to 1
Colorado Buffaloes 250 to 1
Texas A&M Aggies 250 to 1
Arkansas Razorbacks 300 to 1
Butler Bulldogs 300 to 1
LSU Tigers 300 to 1
Maryland Terrapins 300 to 1
Oklahoma State Cowboys 300 to 1
Tennessee Volunteers 300 to 1
Washington State Cougars 300 to 1
Iowa Hawkeyes 500 to 1
South Florida Bulls 500 to 1
Villanova Wildcats 500 to 1
Wake Forest Demon Deacons 500 to 1

If we’re heading towards the end of the football season, that means that it is time to start talking about the 2012 brackets! Here at Bankroll Sports, we are discussing our current 2012 Bracketology picks and trying to figure out which teams are going to be on which lines for the 2012 NCAA Tournament if it were to start right now!

Note: Italic represent projected conference winner, automatic bid

1 Seeds – Kentucky Wildcats, Syracuse Orange, Duke Blue Devils, Ohio State Buckeyes

There is very little debate right now about Syracuse and Kentucky as top seeds. There are any combination of teams that could be on the No. 1 line right now as well. We still tend to think that even with three losses, the Selection Committee would see the Buckeyes in great shape thanks to having a tremendously talented team and one that could go a long way once again in the NCAA Tournament. Don’t be shocked if this is actually what ends up happening come Selection Sunday.

2 Seeds – Baylor Bears, Missouri Tigers, Kansas Jayhawks, North Carolina Tar Heels

Carolina is the team that is sliding after getting just absolutely trounced by Florida State last weekend. Baylor just suffered its first loss, which in our eyes, takes it off of the No. 1 line considering how weak the schedule really has been for the Bears. However, Kansas moves up onto the 2 line after winning that game against Baylor, though we think that it has to be careful this weekend against Texas. Missouri has a great record, but we still aren’t all that sure that the Tigers are going to be strong enough to hang in the Top 10 in the country for the rest of the Big XII campaign.

3 Seeds – Michigan State Spartans, Connecticut Huskies, Georgetown Hoyas, Florida Gators

The debate here would be whether the Gators would be worthy of being this high in the bracket or not. Right now, we tend to think that, in spite of the fact that their losses are a bit ugly, that they would get the nod. UConn and Georgetown, of course get higher bids because of the fact that they are from the Big East, while Michigan State has just been rolling every since suffering two losses early in the season to UNC and Duke. Even with the loss to Michigan this week, we still think that Sparty would be on the 3 line if the dance started today.

4 Seeds – UNLV Runnin’ Rebels, San Diego State Aztecs, Creighton Blue Jays, Indiana Hoosiers

Holy mid-majors, Batman! UNLV and San Diego State are definitely worthy of being called majors at this point though, as they have been stalwarts in the Mountain West for a number of years. These two programs are just fantastic, and with as strong as their RPIs and SOSs are, they are both deserving of good seeds in the dance. We think that Creighton will be rewarded for its rich history and the fact that the Valley is as strong as it has been in years. Indiana is sliding, and keeping it as a No. 4 seed might be a tad high, but we do think that wins over teams like Ohio State and Kentucky are worthy of keeping the Hoosiers right here on the 4 line.

5 Seeds – Murray State Racers, Michigan Wolverines, Seton Hall Pirates, Vanderbilt Commodores

Michigan’s win over Michigan State this week was huge, and it helps remove most of the doubts as to whether the Wolverines will be in good shape for the dance this year or not. Murray State is the team that no one wants to put on their bracket. We think that they are worthy of a Top 5 seed, but most don’t, and that will probably include the Selection Committee. Vandy gets the benefit of the doubt of playing in the rough SEC East, while the same could be said for a Seton Hall team that we are puzzled as to why it isn’t ranked in the Top 25 in the country.

6 Seeds – Gonzaga Bulldogs, St. Mary’s Gaels, Virginia Cavaliers, West Virginia Mountaineers

It’s not often that you can say that a loss helps out a team, but the way that UVA lost at Duke might go a long way towards proving that this team is legitimate. Gonzaga and St. Mary’s basically have the exact same resumes right now, and this year, with good victories out of conference for both and the addition of the normally highly ranked BYU Cougars to the WCC, both should have no problems dancing this year.

7 Seeds – Louisville Cardinals, Illinois Fighting Illini, Marquette Golden Eagles, Harvard Crimson

It is going to be very hard to justify putting Harvard in the top half of the bracket this year, knowing that any losses in the Ivy League are going to be damning, but this is a team that does have some big time ‘W’s this year to fall back on. Louisville and Marquette are both starting to fall victim to the Big East blues, and conference problems are starting to plague the Illini as well. All three teams really need to get back in shape in a hurry.

8 Seeds – Mississippi State Bulldogs, Xavier Musketeers, Wisconsin Badgers, Purdue Boilermakers

Do we have the X-Men rated too highly in this field at this point? Many would argue that they maybe shouldn’t even deserve to be in the dance right now. Still, we believe in the Musketeers when they are at full strength, something that they haven’t always been this year due to suspensions. Purdue and Wisconsin are basically the same team at this point, and Mississippi State is definitely reeling after losing to Ole Miss on Wednesday.

9 Seeds – Wichita State Shockers, Alabama Crimson Tide, Stanford Cardinal, Florida State Seminoles

The Pac-12 really might be a one-bid league this year, and if that’s the case, the Cardinal, in spite of their 15-3 record, had better make sure that they build upon this resume in a big time way before the Pac-12 Tournament. Alabama was a bubble team last year that probably got hosed, but this year, at least for the time being, it is okay. Florida State seems to be on the bubble every year, but the win over North Carolina in such convincing fashion might go a long way towards keeping the Noles safe. Wichita State should be fine as long as it doesn’t lose too many conference games this year as the second team out of the Valley.

10 Seeds – Kansas State Wildcats, Texas Longhorns, Dayton Flyers, California Golden Bears

Richard Solomon being ruled academically ineligible isn’t good for the Golden Bears, who could have a tough time justifying a spot on the dance floor without the Pac-12′s automatic bid. Texas can’t win a big time game, but it gets another chance this week at home against Kansas. Dayton might be one of the teams that ends up in bad shape because the A-10 beats itself up this year.

11 Seeds – Iona Gaels, Northwestern Wildcats, St. Louis Billikens, New Mexico Lobos

We’ve hit the mid-major line, and that means that there are a lot of teams from this point on down that are really hoping that these teams make the NCAA Tournament. Iona has a great resume to date and some solid wins, and Davidson has a rare upset at Kansas to its resume. St. Louis was once a Top 25 team in the nation. Northwestern hasn’t been dancing in ages, but a solid year in the Big 10 will change all of that. New Mexico’s loss to San Diego State on Wednesday didn’t help matters, and now, it is back firmly on the bubble once again in our eyes.

12 Seeds – BYU Cougars, Temple Owls, Cincinnati Bearcats, Iowa State Cyclones, Memphis Tigers, Minnesota Golden Gophers

Any of these six teams could be play-in game material right now, as we really don’t think any of them have that great of a resume. Cincinnati’s win against UConn probably makes it the best of the bunch, while Memphis’ loss to UCF probably puts it in the worst shape. Minnesota’s ugly 2-4 record in the Big Ten had better improve, as it won’t be dancing if it finishes up with a losing record in conference play and an early exit in the conference tournament. Temple is riding right now on the back of its one major win over the Dookies.

Southern Miss might have the best resume right now in Conference USA, which is saying something with four teams that hope to go dancing. At just 12-6, there isn’t much margin for error for the Tigers, who badly need to win some more games. They would be lucky to be in one of the play-in games right now.

14 Seeds: Middle Tennessee State Blue Raiders, Cleveland State Vikings, George Mason Patriots, Long Beach State 49ers

At some point, all four of these teams either have thought or will think that they have a shot at going dancing. Long Beach State played an absolute horror of a schedule to start off the season, and it gets a major pass for some of its defeats. George Mason was the first of these Cinderella sweethearts to make it in the dance, and Head Coach Paul Hewitt has experience in the Final Four as well with Georgia Tech from back in the day. This is a formidable set of foes foe certain.

15 Seeds: LIU Brooklyn Blackbirds, Nevada Wolf Pack, Bucknell Bison, Weber State Wildcats

Some nice records here, but aside from that, there isn’t a heck of a lot to look forward to in terms of upset picks. LIU Brooklyn at least tried to run like the dickens against North Carolina last year, but it just didn’t work out all that well. Perhaps that tourney experience can help the Blackbirds this year against the right matchup.

16 Seeds: Stony Brook Seawolves, UNC Asheville Bulldogs, Akron Zips, Norfolk State Spartans, Texas-Arlington Mavericks, Mississippi Valley State Delta Devils

Mississippi Valley State is almost sure to finish with a below-.500 record, but so is everyone else in the MEAC… Texas-Arlington would be dancing for the first time, while other teams like Stony Brook and UNC Asheville would just be happy to stay out of the play-in games. None of these teams are serious contenders to beat the top seeds, as the bottom of the dance right now looks to be as weak as ever.

First Four Out – NC State Wolfpack, Notre Dame Fighting, Marshall Thundering Herd, Colorado State Rams

The truth of the matter is with as many mid-majors as there are that could steal bids, all of these teams are in some trouble right now. Marshall and Colorado State will have their chances in their conference tournaments, while both NC State and Notre Dame both could become those teams that play their way into the field of 68 due to their conference opponents, or they can just continue to lose the important games and drift into oblivion and fall straight into the NIT.

Handicapping the teams that are going to get into the NCAA Tournament is tough as it is, but here at Bankroll Sports, we are taking aim at some NIT Bracketology as well. Check out the teams that could be in the NIT and get a 2012 NIT Tournament preview with our March Madness picks!

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Before we begin, here’s how the NIT works. There are 32 teams that make it into the field, and before there are any other teams that are put into place, any team that won its conference regular season crown but didn’t make it into the NCAA Tournament gets an automatic spot. That’s what makes NIT Bracketology so tricky, is that we never know who is really going to be in the field of 65 in terms of the bubble, and we don’t know how many spots are going to be available for the tournament. Top seeds in conference tournaments didn’t fare all that well last year, and as a result, there were only about half the spots in the NIT to fill with other teams.

In order to do NIT Bracketology, we have to assume that we are going to see the top seeds in each of the conference tournaments earn bids to the NCAA Tournament, leaving all 36 slots open, though we know in actuality, that won’t be the case.

Last Six Teams In NCAA Tournament
BYU Cougars
Temple Owls
Cincinnati Bearcats
Iowa State Cyclones
Memphis Tigers
Minnesota Golden Gophers

Note: These are the last eight teams that we have in the NCAA Tournament, and we figure if they are bounced out of the dance that they will automatically drop into the NIT

And now, we will go by conference to show who is on the bubble and who is in good shape right now in each of the conferences. We are also skipping leagues that won’t have a team make it to the NIT unless there is a regular season conference winner that fails to make the NCAA Tournament.

Atlantic 10
Likely NIT Bound Right Now: Massachusetts Minutemen, La Salle Explorers
NIT Bubble: Duquesne Dukes, Richmond Spiders, St. Joseph’s Hawks
La Salle has an NCAA Tournament type of resume this year, which should at least put the Explorers in the postseason. We’re not all that sure about the rest of this conference beyond UMass though, and even the Minutemen could find themselves on the wrong side of the NIT bubble if things don’t improve and if the bubble shrinks. That 11-0 home record speaks volumes, though. Richmond and St. Joe’s really need to get a move on to get back into the NIT discussion.

ACC
Likely NIT Bound Right Now: NC State Wolfpack, Maryland Terrapins, Miami Hurricanes, Virginia Tech Hokies
NIT Bubble: Wake Forest Demon Deacons
We’re still trying to figure out how Maryland got left home from the NIT last season… This year, the Terps will be just fine. Virginia Tech and NC State are going to bounce back and forth all season long between the NCAAs and the NIT, but they’ll both be in one of these two tournments. Wake Forest needs to finish above .500 and needs probably a total of seven conference wins to be in NIT consideration.

Big 12
Likely NIT Bound Right Now: Oklahoma Sooners, Texas A&M Aggies
NIT Bubble: Oklahoma State Cowboys
Oklahoma and A&M would almost certainly be in the NIT right now if the tournament was selected today. Okie State would need to get above the .500 barrier to avoid the drop into either the CBI or the CIT. Iowa State could drop into the NIT with some more bad form as well, as could Texas, but aside from that, the Big XII looks pretty darn cut and dry.

Big East
Likely NIT Bound Right Now: South Florida Bulls, Notre Dame Fighting Irish, Rutgers Scarlet Knights, Pittsburgh Panthers
NIT Bubble: Providence Friars
The argument could be made that every team that finishes at least .500 in the Big East should be in the NIT, but save for South Florida and Notre Dame, there really aren’t any teams that are in good shape right now. Even Pitt might fall clear out of the NIT if it doesn’t get its act in gear, though we still think that this team will get its act together at some point and move on from this 0-6 start to the season. Rutgers has played some darn good basketball of late, and it has the potential to win this tournament from a middling seed if given the chance.

Big 10
Likely NIT Bound Right Now: None
NIT Bubble: Nebraska Cornhuskers, Iowa Hawkeyes
We think that the Big 10 is in good shape right now in terms of dancing, as we hink that the biggest bubble teams, Northwestern and Minnesota are both getting into the field. That really isn’t going to leave much in terms of teams for the pickings for the NIT, because we really don’t think that Iowa or Nebraska, in spite of the fact that both beat Top 25 teams in the last week, are really NIT material yet.

Colonial
Likely NIT Bound Right Now: Drexel Dragons, VCU Rams
NIT Bubble: Georgia State Panthers, Old Dominion Monarchs
Though VCU’s resume isn’t nearly as good as it was a season ago, we do think that the Rams are going to comfortably be in the postseason of some sort. Drexel is a team that is seemingly in this tournament as a middling seed every year. Of course, ODU feels like a team that should be in the NIT with a 6-1 start to the conference slate as well. George Mason which is currently the top seed in the league, would drop into the NIT as a lock as well if it didn’t win the regular season conference title.

Conference USA
Likely NIT Bound Right Now: Marshall Thundering Herd, UCF Knights
NIT Bubble: None
UCF probably moved itself off of the bubble and put itself into the NIT by beating Memphis on Wednesday night. Marshall, though leads Conference USA right now, we are assuming will not end up that way, which would leave either Southern Miss or Memphis, both of which we have in the dance if it started today, winning the regular season conference crown.

Horizon League
Likely NIT Bound Right Now: None
NIT Bubble: UW-Milwaukee Panthers OR Cleveland State Vikings
We really don’t like the chances for the Horizon League this year in the NIT if whichever one of these teams ends up as the No. 1 seed in the conference tournament wins the auto bid to the NCAAs. Cleveland State has the better resume right now than Milwaukee does, but neither one is really all that great. The winner of this conference will go dancing, and it seems as though no one else will be here in the NIT unless it is the No. 1 seed and doesn’t mak the tourney.

Missouri Valley Conference
Likely NIT Bound Right Now: Northern Iowa Panthers
NIT Bubble: Drake Bulldogs, Illinois State Redbirds, Missouri State Bears
We see all of this talk that Lunardi has about Missouri State being a potential tourney team in spite of an 11-9 record, and we just don’t buy it. Teams like that don’t often even get into the NITs, as they get overlooked for teams that just have more wins. NIU is in fine shape for the NIT, and it should be a lock for the postseason in some respect. We think that at least one of Drake, ISU, or SMS will come to the field of 32 when it is said and done as long as the field doesn’t shrink that much.

Mountain West
Likely NIT Bound Right Now: Wyoming Cowboys
NIT Bubble: None
If you’re going under the assumption that four teams are going dancing from the MWC (and right now, we are), there might not be a lot more for the NIT to decide upon. Wyoming will win 22 or 23 games this year, and that will be good enough to get it into the NIT in all likelihood, and though everyone in this conference might finish above .500 when it is said and done, without a team like Air Force really going on a run, this is, at best, a one bid league to the NIT.

Pac-12
Likely NIT Bound Right Now: Washington Huskies, Oregon Ducks, Arizona Wildcats
NIT Bubble: UCLA Bruins, Colorado Buffaloes, Oregon State Beavers
With the Pac-12 likely only guaranteeing itself one bid to the dance and probably getting no more than two, the question is raised whether there could be six or seven teams in the NIT. We tend to think that the prospects of UCLA if available are good, and after they played so well in this tournament last year, the Buffaloes have to be considered as an NIT candidate as well even though both resumes are lacking. Oregon and U-Dub have good histories, as does Arizona, which is why we think that all three teams are in right now.

SEC
Likely NIT Bound Right Now: Arkansas Razorbacks, LSU Tigers
NIT Bubble: Ole Miss Rebels, Auburn Tigers, Georgia Bulldogs
Unless the SEC really beats itself up this year, LSU and Arkansas seem like the two best candidates for the NIT. Georgia and the two other teams from the SEC West just don’t strike us as postseason contenders this year, but again, after watching Alabama do so well in this tournament last year, perhaps the NIT voters will be more inclined to welcome more teams to the SEC this year to the NIT than ever before.

Southern Conference
Likely NIT Bound Right Now: None
NIT Bubble: Davidson Wildcats OR Charleston Cougars
Davidson looks like a postseason team regardless of what goes down over the course of the next few weeks. It has a two game lead in the SoCon right now, and that would be good enough to give it the automatic bid here. If Charleston and Davidson both play well enough this year to finish with 20+ wins, both could head to the NIT, though any chances of an at-large bid from this conference really only seem to rest with Davidson.

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The time is here for Final Four predictions, and here at Bankroll Sports, we’ve got our choices all ready and raring to go for the MVP of the Final Four. Check out our Final Four MVP picks for this weekend!

The man that is obviously the favorite to beat the odds to win the Final Four MVP is Connecticut Huskies superstar Kemba Walker (2 to 1 @ BetUS Sportsbook). Is Walker the best player on the best team in this dance? Possibly. He’s certainly the best player in the tourney, but he might not be on the best team. This is the right end of the draw for Walker to be on to win this honor, though. At some point, he was probably going to have to go through the Kentucky Wildcats anyway, and he is going to need to come up with one of these games like he had against the San Diego State Aztecs in the Sweet 16 when he rolled off a 14-1 personal run all by himself. You know that Walker is scoring the most points on the Huskies in virtually any game that they play. The question is whether UConn is winning it all or not.

There are doubts about every other player in this tournament though, as there isn’t a bona fide superstar that we know is going to be the most likely candidate to win the honors from his team assuming that that squad wins it all. We hate the odds to win Final 4 MVP on Brandon Knight (2.50 to 1 @ BetUS Sportsbook), just due to the nature that we could get Kentucky at 1.40 to 1 to win it all with or without Knight winning MVP. However, getting great odds on Terrence Jones (8 to 1 @ BetUS Sportsbook) is where it’s at if you’re loving Kentucky. Jones has really been tempered in this tournament due to the fact that he has gone up against some of the best big men in the nation, and he knows that these next two challenges should be significantly easier. Teams have been cueing in on Jones instead of Josh Harrellson, but there is no way that Harrellson is taking down the MVP honors for this tournament.

If there is a man like Harrellson that will be winning this award, it is Matt Howard (10 to 1 @ BetUS Sportsbook) from the Butler Bulldogs. Howard is one of these scrappy characters that just puts up some great numbers game after game without you even realizing it. He’s a great rebounder on the inside, and you know that he can shoot the ball on the outside just as easily as he can take it to the hole from the low block. Howard is the most dynamic player on the court for the Dogs, and he is the most likely candidate to get the job done in our opinion, even more so than Shelvin Mack.

Another type of player in the same sort of mold that could have great Final Four MVP odds is Bradford Burgess (20 to 1 @ BetUS Sportsbook) of the VCU Rams. First off, VCU is only 6 to 1 or so to win it all, meaning we’re getting better than 3 to 1 odds that Burgess is going to win the MVP of the game should the Rams win it. Those are some tremendous odds. Sure, Jamie Skeen could trump us, and we wouldn’t be overly, overly surprised if that were to happen, but the odds differential here is just insane. Burgess can get a double-double against an undersized Butler team relatively easily, and he is the type of man that can turn around that next game and hit all of those huge shots against either the Huskies or Wildcats from the outside that turns the tide of the game.

2011 Final Four MVP Odds @ BetUS Sportsbook (as of 4/1/11):
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Alex Oriakhi 15 to 1
Bradford Burgess 20 to 1
Brandon Knight 2.50 to 1
Brandon Rozzell 20 to 1
Darius Miller 15 to 1
Doron Lamb 15 to 1
Jamie Skeen 12 to 1
Jeremy Lamb 8 to 1
Joey Rodriguez 18 to 1
Josh Harrellson 10 to 1
Kemba Walker 2 to 1
Matt Howard 10 to 1
Shelvin Mack 6.50 to 1
Terrence Jones 8 to 1
Field 8 to 1

The four games in the NCAA Tournament on Friday night give we, the March Madness betting public a great chance to make some great coin on some fantastic props. Check out our Sweet 16 prop picks for the biggest games of the season to date!

Marquette/North Carolina Over/Under 10.5 Three Point Field Goals
It just seems like every single NCAA Tournament game is featuring at least 20 threes right now, and North Carolina has been engaged in two battles thus far that have been indicative of that. Sure, the Golden Eagles will be able to slow the Tar Heels down just a bit, but when push comes to shove, Marquette probably has to hit this many three pointers by itself just to be able to stay in this one. Harrison Barnes definitely isn’t shy about uncorking the three balls, and neither is a man like Kendrick Marshall. Carolina doesn’t take all that many threes over the course of a game, but it does knock down a good chunk of what it takes. Just like seemingly every other tourney game, this one will go Over 10.5 Three Point Field Goals (-140 at Hollywood Sportsbook).

John Henson Over/Under 25.5 Points + Rebounds + Blocked Shots
Henson isn’t normally a fantastic offensive weapon for the Tar Heels, but he has really come alive over the course of these two games in the dance. We tend to believe that he is going to end up with somewhere around 15 blocks and boards combined, which really should leave this prop coming down to whether or not he is going to score 11 points or not. We just don’t see how he won’t do that, especially in a game that should be featuring UNC overpowering Marquette on the inside. The Golden Eagles just don’t have enough bigs to be able to duke it out with Henson, Harrison Barnes, and Tyler Zeller, and this could be another one of these 20 point nights for Henson. Go with him to end up going Over 25.5 Points + Rebounds + Blocks (-115 at Hollywood Sportsbook) against a relatively weak set of Marquette post players.

Jared Sullinger Over/Under 26.5 Points + Rebounds
Interesting prop here. Sullinger is clearly one of the most dominating big men in the entire country, and when he is on the court, he is a real nightmare to try to defend. Many think that he is better than Greg Oden was when the Buckeyes ran all the way to the finale against the Florida Gators a few years back. Sullinger hasn’t really had the benefit of playing a full game in this dance, and we haven’t seen his fullest potential. We know that Kentucky can go big for big with the Buckeyes, but can it really keep up on the inside? We’re just not all that sure that Josh Harrellson is holding his own against the big fella in the post. As long as he stays out of foul trouble (and he usually does), there’s no reason to think that this is anything but a double-double performance for Sullinger. He’ll fly Over 26.5 Points + Rebounds (-115 at Hollywood Sportsbook) in this battle against the Wildcats.

Joey Rodriguez Over/Under 15.5 Points + Assists
Everyone is getting caught up in the types of games that Rodriguez has had in the first week of this tournament. Sure, he averaged over 12 points and right around eight helpers per game in these first three games, but this is a significantly longer and more athletic Florida State team that he is going against now. The men that has to pass through are significantly bigger and tend to get their hands on the basketball more often than not. The Noles not only hold teams down to the worst field goal percentage in the game, but they also allow the fewest assists as well. Rodriguez has his work cut out for him to get to this number. Expect him to stay Under 15.5 Points + Assists (-115 at Hollywood Sportsbook) versus the Seminoles.

The four games in the NCAA Tournament on Thursday night give we, the March Madness betting public a great chance to make some great coin on some fantastic props. Check out our Sweet 16 prop picks for the biggest games of the season to date!

Jimmer Fredette Over/Under 31.5 Points
There is the point of ridiculousness, and we think that we have hit it. The Florida Gators play some absolutely fantastic defense, and they certainly learned their lessons from last year’s game against these BYU Cougars. Not just one, but all five bodies on the court need to be aware of where Jimmer Fredette is at all times. Sure, Fredette went off for 37 in this fixture last year in the first round of the dance, and yes, he has gone beyond this total in both of the first two games in this tournament, but this is a significantly different challenge. Will Fredette inch up near here scoring average of around 28 points per game? Quite possibly. But are the odds on his side to get to 32? Certainly not. Go with Fredette to score Under 31.5 Points (-115 at Hollywood Sportsbook) in the Sweet 16.

Derrick Williams Over/Under 18.5 Points
The thing about Williams is that he is so much more than just a big body on the inside that can throw down some thunderous dunks. We know that Williams is good for that as well, but he can stroke it from the outside and is a great foul shooter as well. The Duke Blue Devils are going to have a hard time containing this big man on the inside, as this is the first time since having to deal with the bigs of the North Carolina Tar Heels that they have had to defend a man like this. If the Arizona Wildcats are pulling off this upset and getting into the Elite 8, this is the man that really needs to be at his best. The big time players shine in the big time games, and Williams will end up going Over 18.5 Points (-115 at Hollywood Sportsbook) against a relatively weak set of Duke post players.

Matt Howard Over/Under 23.5 Points + Rebounds
Howard has a couple of things going for him right now. The first is that he really is coming off of one of the best games of his career against the Pitt Panthers. The second is that he is really the icon on a team that has found a way to amazingly overachieve quite a bit over the course of these last two seasons on a consistent basis. Howard doesn’t have the talent for the Butler Bulldogs to be able to outclass other teams, but just like his teammates, he just works really hard and often gets the stats to show stardom. However, foul trouble is a problem on a regular basis, and Head Coach Bo Ryan and the Wisconsin Badgers know all about it. Howard has the tendency of picking up some ticky tack fouls in the paint, and the Badgers are just going to be relentless about it. Once he’s out of the lineup, we have nothing left to worry about. Howard’s not going for a double-double in this one, and as a result, against one of the best defenses in the country, he’s staying Under 23.5 Points + Rebounds (-115 at Hollywood Sportsbook) in this battle against the Badgers.

Keaton Nankivil Over/Under 12 Points + Rebounds
Nankivil has sort of become the forgotten man for the Badgers, and we’re really not all that sure as to why. He has only scored a grand total of 13 points in his last three games, but this could be a totally different case. At 6’8″ and 240 pounds, Nankivil can really dominate the paint against an undersized Butler team that was dominated on the glass against the Pittsburgh Panthers just a few days ago. He’s got the mojo to be able to both score and rebound, and he is averaging 9.7 points and 4.3 rebounds per game to show for it. If nothing else, Ryan will want him on the court to give another man to frustrate Howard, and that means plenty of driving to the hoop and getting down and dirty on the boards. This is the specialty of Nankivil. He’ll come out of nowhere and post a huge game to go Over 12 Points + Rebounds (-115 at Hollywood Sportsbook) versus the Bulldogs.

The NCAA Tournament starts in less than 24 hours, and here at Bankroll Sports, we’re trying our best to figure out how many games each conference will be able to win with our March Madness picks. Check out these props and tons more over at Hollywood Sportsbook!

Pac-10 Over 3.5 Tournament Wins Over 3.5: We tend to believe that this is a conference to watch in this tournament, just like it was last year when the Washington Huskies made it through to the Sweet 16. Washington might be another Sweet 16 type of team this season due to the fact that it has a relatively favorable draw against other teams that are willing to run up and down the court. Arizona, if it can get into the second weekend, will basically be getting to play games in its own backyard in Anaheim, while UCLA not only will get Michigan State in the first round, but could get a rematch against the Florida Gators as well from the NCAA Tournament title game from a few years ago. This conference should be able to eke out four wins, at bare minimum in the dance.

Atlantic 10 Tournament Wins Under 2: The A-10 has a great history in this tournament, but this might not be the year for the conference to get the job done. All of these teams have reasonably difficult first round games, and all three might be finished before we even get into the weekend. Both the Xavier Musketeers and Temple Owls will be favorites in their opening round games, while the Richmond Spiders, the league champs are going to be trendy as well, but we just aren’t so sure that any of them are going to get into the Sweet 16 on this campaign. Don’t be shocked if the number that this conference ends up hitting in the dance is just one win.

Mountain West Tournament Wins Over 5: The problem that we have with this bet is that we aren’t so sure that either the UNLV Runnin’ Rebels or the BYU Cougars are going to be able to get us that much. However, in spite of the fact that the San Diego State Aztecs haven’t won a tourney game in their history, they should have no problems escaping the first weekend in two de facto home games in Tucson, and from there, they only have to travel to the Honda Center in Anaheim. The defense has been great for this team, and there is a great chance that this could be a club getting three or four of these wins on their own. If BYU gets into the Sweet 16, this should be a slam dunk.

Big XII Tournament Wins Over 7.5: If you’re a believer that the Kansas Jayhawks are at least Final Four material like we are, this really should be a slam dunk. After all, just in the first round of the tourney, the Jayhawks, Texas Longhorns, Texas A&M Aggies, and Kansas State Wildcats are all favorites, and the Missouri Tigers are one of the trendy upset picks. Could this actually be in the bank by the end of the weekend? You betcha. Kansas, Texas, and even K-State have great chances to get into the Sweet 16, and if that happens, there won’t be a heck of a lot more than really has to be done to get the job done at this number.

March Madness picks kick off on Tuesday with the first round of games in Dayton, OH. Today, we analyze the odds to win the Southwest Region and all of the March Madness betting lines for the big event!

The team that maybe should have been the No. 1 overall seed in this tournament was the Kansas Jayhawks (2 to 1 Odds to Win Southwest Region at BetUS Sportsbook). This is an NCAA Tournament about redemption for Rock Chalk after last year’s debacle and embarrassment of getting knocked out in the second round of the dance. Marcus Morris and Markieff Morris are arguably the best duo of inside players in the entire nation, and in a bracket that could be very shallow and narrow, this is a dangerous, dangerous team.

There really aren’t many teams outside of the box of the top seeds that can probably win this bracket. Before this season started, the Purdue Boilermakers (5 to 1 NCAA Tournament Odds at BetUS Sportsbook) would have been one of the favorites for the Final Four. We know that Robbie Hummel isn’t here anymore after tearing his ACL, but JaJuan Johnson and E’Twaun Moore are still two of the best players in this entire bracket. Don’t be surprised if one of the preseason favorites turns out to ultimately be one of the last teams standing in the Elite 8, or maybe even the Final Four.

If there’s a team that can go on a roll, it is the Georgetown Hoyas (30 to 1 March Madness odds at BetUS Sportsbook). The Hoyas would be in great shape this season if they had Chris Wright, but he has been out of the lineup for the last few weeks. Georgetown’s issue here though, is that it limps into the NCAA Tournament off of four straight losses. Still, Julian Wright, Austin Freeman, and company have the complete package of players, and this crew really can catch fire in a hurry and do a ton of damage.

2011 Southwest Region Odds @ BetUS Sportsbook (as of 3/13/11):
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Kansas Jayhawks 2 to 1
Notre Dame Fighting Irish 4 to 1
Purdue Boilermakers 5 to 1
Louisville Cardinals 5 to 1
Vanderbilt Commodores 35 to 1
Georgetown Hoyas 30 to 1
Texas A&M Aggies 80 to 1
UNLV Runnin’ Rebels 30 to 1
Illinois Fighting Illini 30 to 1
Florida State Seminoles 80 to 1
USC Trojans 100 to 1
VCU Rams 150 to 1
Richmond Spiders 100 to 1
Morehead State Eagles 150 to 1
St. Peter’s Peacocks 150 to 1
Akron Zips 200 to 1
Boston U Terriers 200 to 1