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

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

Haven’t we seen this story somewhere before? The Pittsburgh Panthers (2.50 to 1 Odds to Win Southeast Region at BetUS Sportsbook) end up as a really high seed in the NCAA Tournament, they rough it through a few early games, and then get beaten in a squeaker by another fantastic team. Get used to that story. That’s probably how this one will end up playing out again this season.

If you’re looking for the team with all of the experience in the Southeast Region, you go with the Florida Gators (4 to 1 NCAA Tournament Odds at BetUS Sportsbook). The blue and orange have all five of their starters back from last year’s team. There are a lot of past demons for this team to conquer in this bracket, including the team that beat it last year (BYU), the one that it beat for the National Championship a few years back (UCLA), and the one that once beat it for a title (Michigan State) though, so this is going to be a harsh road to Houston.

Ah, those tricky BYU Cougars (8 to 1 March Madness odds at BetUS Sportsbook)… Almost for certain, in the exact same season without getting Brandon Davies kicked off the team, the Cougs would have been a No. 2 seed (and Florida probably would’ve been the 3). However, the Selection Committee just didn’t buy into how good this team is. Well excuse us! All the Cougars have done this year is getting beaten by another No. 2 seed (San Diego State) and twice by the New Mexico Lobos, a solid team in their own right. Jimmer Fredette is the nation’s leading scorer, and he could easily end up dropping 40, or heck, even 50 on a team if the opponents aren’t careful.

The Kansas State Wildcats (12 to 1 Southeast Region Odds at BetUS Sportsbook) could be sneaky if Jacob Pullen gets going, though. Sure, the Cats are in that dreaded No. 5 hole, but this is a team that has already proven it can play with the best teams in the land, and Pullen can shoot the rock from just about anywhere on the court.

2011 Southeast Region Odds @ BetUS Sportsbook (as of 3/13/11):
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Pittsburgh Panthers 2.50 to 1
Florida Gators 4 to 1
BYU Cougars 8 to 1
Wisconsin Badgers 9 to 1
Kansas State Wildcats 12 to 1
St. John’s Red Storm 14 to 1
UCLA Bruins 40 to 1
Butler Bulldogs 70 to 1
Old Dominion Monarchs 45 to 1
Michigan State Spartans 28 to 1
Gonzaga Bulldogs 20 to 1
Utah State Aggies 20 to 1
Belmont Bruins 60 to 1
Wofford Terriers 150 to 1
UC Santa Barbara Gauchos 150 to 1
UNC Asheville Bulldogs 300 to 1
Arkansas Little Rock Trojans 300 to 1

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

The obvious team to try to come out of the East Region is the Ohio State Buckeyes (2.50 to 1 Odds to Win East Region at JustBet Sportsbook). The Buckeyes should have a relatively easy draw getting all the way into the Sweet 16, where they might run into some problems dealing with some of the bigger boys in the bracket. We tend to believe that these are great odds of a fantastic team, even though it is going to have to play in Newark, Big East country, potentially against a Big East team.

That Big East team to watch is the West Virginia Mountaineers (20 to 1 NCAA Tournament Odds at JustBet Sportsbook). The ‘Neers play fantastic defense, and they have some imminent stars. Even though Casey Mitchell was benched and stuck on the bench after getting suspended by Head Coach Bob Huggins, he still has the ability to really shine. These are great odds on a great team in this bracket.

On the other side of this bracket, the North Carolina Tar Heels (5.75 to 1 March Madness odds at JustBet Sportsbook) are the team to really look out for. There is no doubt that this team has all of the talent in the world, especially since Harrison Barnes has really come alive in his first (and only?) year on campus.

However, the dark horse in that half is the Xavier Musketeers (60 to 1 East Region Odds at JustBet Sportsbook). The X-Men have a great history in this tournament, and you know if you knock this team out of the dance, you did your job. Tu Holloway is one of the most underappreciated scorers in the nation.

2011 East Region Odds @ JustBet Sportsbook (as of 3/13/11):
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Ohio State Buckeyes 2.50 to 1
North Carolina Tar Heels 5.75 to 1
Syracuse Orange 5 to 1
Kentucky Wildcats 4 to 1
West Virginia Mountaineers 20 to 1
Xavier Musketeers 60 to 1
Washington Huskies 15 to 1
George Mason Patriots 80 to 1
Villanova Wildcats 45 to 1
Georgia Bulldogs 100 to 1
Marquette Golden Eagles 45 to 1
UAB Blazers 200 to 1
Clemson Tigers 80 to 1
Princeton Tigers 200 to 1
Indiana State Sycamores 200 to 1
Long Island Blackbirds 300 to 1
Texas San Antonio Roadrunners 300 to 1
Alabama State Hornets 300 to 1

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

We really aren’t so sure that the Duke Blue Devils (2.30 to 1 Odds to Win West Region at SportBet Sportsbook) really deserve to be the favorites in the West Bracket. Sure, we know that the Dookies are the defending National Champions right now, and they earned the top seed in this bracket by winning the ACC Tournament, but something just doesn’t feel quite right about this team this season. There just isn’t that third man that can step up and help Kyle Singler and Nolan Smith, and unless someone else is going to really step up, inevitably, Duke will probably get picked off.

Ironically, the team to really watch out for is going to be one that has never won a game in school history, the San Diego State Aztecs (4 to 1 NCAA Tournament Odds at SportBet Sportsbook). The Aztecs certainly have their best team in their history, and they have a huge front line with a great defense. The only team that has beaten this squad this season is the BYU Cougars, and since these guys aren’t in this bracket, there shouldn’t be all that much to worry about… right? The good news is that SDSU never really has to leave home. It has its first two games in Tucson, and the regional finals in Anaheim. Don’t be shocked if Kawhi Leonard and company can make a big, big impact and potentially win this bracket.

The forgotten team in this bunch is the Arizona Wildcats (25 to 1 March Madness odds at SportBet Sportsbook). This is a team that is just chock full of offensive firepower, and there is a great big man on the inside in Derrick Williams. This could be a wide, wide open bracket, and just like San Diego State, there is going to be a huge home court advantage for the U of A in this dance.

Looking for a team to come out of nowhere to make the Final Four? It seems like a tremendous stretch, but what about the Oakland Golden Grizzlies (100 to 1 West Region Odds at SportBet Sportsbook)? Keith Benson and company can really, really run, as the Grizz have averaged 95.3 points per game over the course of their last six. Sure, they’re going to have to pull off upset after upset to get the job done, but they have already beaten the Tennessee Volunteers this season and might be able to do a lot of work here in the West Region as well.

2011 West Region Odds @ SportBet Sportsbook (as of 3/13/11):
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Duke Blue Devils 2.30 to 1
San Diego State Aztecs 4 to 1
Connecticut Huskies 6 to 1
Texas Longhorns 5 to 1
Arizona Wildcats 25 to 1
Cincinnati Bearcats 25 to 1
Temple Owls 40 to 1
Michigan Wolverines 85 to 1
Tennessee Volunteers 85 to 1
Penn State Nittany Lions 85 to 1
Missouri Tigers 33 to 1
Memphis Tigers 100 to 1
Oakland Golden Grizzlies 100 to 1
Bucknell Bison 200 to 1
Northern Colorado Bears 200 to 1
Hampton Pirates 200 to 1

5Dimes Sportsbook has a full list of propositions for each of the Final Four betting affairs for this Saturday’s games. Here at Bankroll Sports, we have all of the action covered with your best picks that can boost your bankrolls!

Prop Bet #1: Gordon Hayward -1 point vs. Raymar Morgan (-120): Let’s just start with the basics on this one. Morgan averages 11.5 points per game against teams that typically play significantly worse defense than Butler. Hayward averages 15.5 points per game and has proven that he can put up big numbers against the likes of Kansas State and Syracuse already. Now, if we dig a bit deeper, we’ll see that Morgan is probably going to be the guy that the Bulldogs try to shut down. Not only are both Hayward and fellow big man Matt Howard stellar post defenders, but Morgan’s history in the tournament so far isn’t exactly stellar. MSU’s second leading scorer has only put up a total of 20 points in two games without G Kalin Lucas in the lineup, mostly because G Durrell Summers has really taken over the scoring load. That being said, we know that Hayward will get his points, especially considering the fact that he scored 49 of them against the Orange and Wildcats combined. This one seems to easy to miss.

Selection: Gordon Hayward -1 point at 5Dimes. (50% Deposit Bonus by clicking This Link.)

Prop Bet #2: Devin Ebanks over/under 20 Points + Rebounds: We like this particular matchup for West Virginia because Ebanks just doesn’t have an equal on the court in terms of athleticism. If the Blue Devils throw Brian Zoubek at him, he’ll just run around him. If it’s Singler, he’ll eat up the glass. The only legitimate matchup chance may be Lance Thomas, who would be undersized. Compare Ebanks a bit to F Ekpe Udoh for Baylor, who went for 18 points and ten boards against these Dookies last Sunday. The West Virginia forward averaged 12.0 points and 8.2 rebounds per game this year against Big East foes, so this is probably a decent indicator of what we can expect against the Blue Devils. However, when push comes to shove, he’s averaged over 37 minutes per game in the L/3 rounds of this tournament, which should set the stage for some extra stats from his season averages. Expect to see Ebanks squeak by this number by a few.

Selection: Devin Ebanks Over 20 Points + Rebounds at 5Dimes. (50% Deposit Bonus by clicking This Link.)

Prop Bet #3: Nolan Smith over/under 16.5 Points : This is a bit of a surprising line to see to say the least. Smith may only be the third best scorer on this team at 17.4 points per game, but he has been the only major of the three Dookies that really hasn’t hit a big scoring drought at any point during recent weeks. G Jon Scheyer had his streak of a half dozen games in which he scored below his average, while F Kyle Singler is coming off of a game in which he failed to hit a single shot from the field. Meanwhile, Smith seems to have the hot hand, scoring 29 points against Baylor. He also has a 20 point effort against Cal to his credit in the dance as well. Look for him to take over against a West Virginia team which really only has a weak spot in its defense on the perimeter. Smith could have a fantastic game.

Selection: Nolan Smith Over 16.5 Points at 5Dimes. (50% Deposit Bonus by clicking This Link.)

BetUS Sportsbook is all set for the biggest college basketball betting game of the year when the Duke Blue Devils and the Butler Bulldogs tip it off on Monday night! Here at Bankroll Sports, we’re taking a look at the final odds for the Final Four MVP award, which will be handed out at the conclusion of tonight’s game.

Nolan Smith, Duke Blue Devils

Why He Could Win: He has been the most consistent players for the Blue Devils in this tournament. Smith has averaged 18.6 points per game in the dance, making him one of the top scorers in this entire field of 65. You also know that unless he gets injured or into some serious foul trouble that he isn’t leaving the court for more than a minute or two at a time, so Smith will certainly have the chance to take all of the shots he needs.

Why He Might Not Win: Because he’s sort of the forgotten Blue Devil. Smith probably isn’t the best pure scorer on this team, nor is he the best rebounder or assists man. Even when he is leading the team in scoring for a game, the spotlight still often shines on either G Jon Scheyer or F Kyle Singler if either one of those two is having a solid night.

The Final Word: You can find Smith at +250 at BetUS Sportsbook to win MVP honors, which makes him the favorite to take down the award. However, unlike for Scheyer or Singler, it’s going to take a truly amazing effort for Smith to steal those votes that will go to one of the other two Dookies in the event that either one has a comparable game. Look elsewhere.

Jon Scheyer, Duke Blue Devils

Why He Could Win: He’s the leader of a senior-laden team, and he’s also the squad’s top scorer. Scheyer went off for 23 on West Virginia on Saturday night, making him the leader at this point in terms of scoring in the Final Four. If there’s a man that can take over any game single handedly from the outside, Scheyer is your guy, and if he can catch fire, Butler needs to look out. The senior can go on a 12-0 run all by himself very, very quickly.

Why He Might Not Win: Scheyer’s biggest problem is that he is notoriously inconsistent. Ultimately in most games, he gets his points and his assists, but sometimes, it takes awhile to get on the stat sheet. That can’t happen if he hopes to lead his team to victory and take down the MVP title.

The Final Word: Scheyer has been lined at +300 at BetUS Sportsbook to win the MVP award. In our eyes, this is the best bang for your buck. With another 20+ point effort, Scheyer will most likely be the highest scorer in the Final Four, and normally speaking, if you’re the Final Four’s leading point man and your team wins it all, you’re going to be the winner. Considering backing Scheyer at decent odds.

Gordon Hayward, Butler Bulldogs

Why He Could Win: It seems like a foregone conclusion that Hayward is winning the MVP award for the Bulldogs in the event that they win this game. He’s also the only player on the court that has any hope of winning the honors should his team lose. Hayward has averaged 16.6 points and 6.2 rebounds per game in the dance to this point, and his best three games have come against his hardest three opponents in Syracuse, Kansas State, and Michigan State. If there’s any hope of beating the Dookies, Hayward is going to have to play like an MVP.

Why He Might Not Win: Simply put, Butler probably isn’t winning this game. That would almost certainly shut any chances out of Hayward grabbing this award.

The Final Word: Hayward is the top Bulldog on the board at +300 at BetUS Sportsbook to win MVP honors. However, think about this one carefully before placing this bet. You can also get Butler at +290 on the moneyline in this game. If we reasonably assess that Howard isn’t winning this award without the Bulldogs winning the contest, you’re a lot better off passing on Hayward on this prop and taking the Horizon League champs to win the title instead just in case he gets hurt or someone else goes absolutely crazy.

Kyle Singler, Duke Blue Devils

Why He Could Win: The media loves a good story. After having the worst game of his career against Baylor in the Elite 8 by going 0/10 from the field and 0/5 from downtown and only scoring five points, Singler bounced back in the Final Four by scoring 21 points and bringing down nine boards in one of the statistically best games of his season. Just like Smith and Scheyer, Singler has the ability to score and score in bunches, as demonstrated by his nearly 18 points per game average in ’09-’10.

Why He Might Not Win: It’s hard to overlook that goose egg that he put up against Baylor. Even though that shouldn’t factor in to whether or not Singler wins this award, as a voter, it’s hard to look at Singler’s body of work in the dance and really say that he deserves any sort of MVP Award, especially when Smith has been so great over this whole tournament and Scheyer has caught fire in the L/3 rounds.

The Final Word: There’s a reason that Singler is +400 at BetUS Sportsbook to be named Final Four MVP. We don’t necessarily like Singler’s chances any better than Smith’s to capture the award, but we do like his odds a lot better. It seems a lot more likely that the forward can go off for 25+ points and steal the hearts of the voters in the process than that Smith can do the same thing. It’s going to take a huge effort, but if Singler can get it done, he may win this award as the fourth choice on the board.

The first week of April brings the rare crossover between four major sports, as the MLB, NHL, NBA, and NCAA hoops all collide. But before we look ahead at the week that will be, here at Bankroll Sports, we’re analyzing the week that was and giving all sorts of heck to those that have drawn our ire as sports betting fanatics.

Rap Sheet Picture of the Week
Philadelphia Eagles HC Andy Reid, who looks angrier than ever about the fact that his franchise quarterback, Donovan McNabb was traded for peanuts in his own division.

There’s no better place to start than in the NBA this week, and boy, would we love to give a piece of our mind to the New Orleans Hornets. You get G Chris Paul, your pride and joy, back in the lineup after he missed what felt like an eternity to this franchise, and you promptly come out and beat the Lakers on your home court. Great, right? After all, it’s not often that you can give up 31 points to G Kobe Bryant and 26 points and 22 rebounds to F Pau Gasol and live to tell about it. However… What gives after that, Hornets? As 9.5 point favorites, the Wizards came into New Orleans Arena and spanked the Hornets 96-91. That was followed up by a nine point loss in Memphis, which we deem to be excusable. But losing to the Nets? By four touchdowns? The 115-87 win for Jersey was clearly its biggest ‘W’ of the season, and it came at the expense of a team that just looks like it has given up. Don’t worry, the laughs aren’t over quite yet if you missed this embarrassing one in Jersey. Minnesota is still on the schedule!

This may not have a heck of a lot to do with gambling at this point, but is there any doubt that the Philadelphia Eagles are getting smacked by the Washington Redskins twice this season? Apparently, making it to five NFC Championship Games and a Super Bowl wasn’t enough for QB Donovan McNabb, so the Iggles shipped him out of town. Ok, no problem, right? After all, guys get traded at the end of their careers all the time. But to send him to Washington??? You’re just asking to get whooped up on, Philly. And this blogger, who notoriously hates the Redskins, is going to love watching McNabb come back into the City of Brotherly Love and beat the snot out of your team this season.

The bullpen for the New York Yankees is already off to a flying start this year. You’d figure in and amongst all of the money that this team spends that they’d learn that eventually, a bullpen is going to help you out, right? But no, apparently having leads of 5-1 and 7-5 aren’t good enough. It’s not bad enough that David Robertson allowed his only inherited runner to cross home plate, but then Chan Ho Park proved once again why the Yanks have no clue how to spend their bucks by giving up three runs (two earned) in a three-run seventh. Don’t worry Joba Chamberlain, we’re not forgetting the three hits and a run you gave up in your 1.1 innings worked either. The final stat line for the New York pen? 2.2 IPs, 4 runs (3 earned), 6 hits, 2 walks, 1 K, 1 HR allowed. That’s a WHIP of 3.00 and an ERA of 13.50. Stellar job, boys. Stellar.

When arguably four of the best teams in your sport are playing in a playoff format on a neutral court, how on earth can you ever lay 24 points in a game?

If there’s money to be made as they play it, we’re going to have it covered here at Bankroll Sports. I know that women’s college basketball probably isn’t the sexiest thing in the world to bet on (no pun intended), but how can we really ignore what the Connecticut women’s basketball team has done on its road to the Women’s Final Four? Just take a look at these final scores…

Round 1: UConn 95 – Southern 39
Round 2: UConn 90 -Temple 36
Round 3: UConn 74 – Iowa State 36
Round 4: UConn 90 – Florida State 50

That’s right. Four games. 87.3 points per game scored. 40.3 points per game allowed.

There’s a five letter word that comes to mind that describes those numbers, but since we’re keeping it G-Rated, we’ll just say that that’s awfully dominant.

“I challenge anyone to say that we’re arrogant and we’re cocky and we disrespect the game” -UConn Women’s Basketball Coach Geno Auriemma on the question of whether his team is guilty of running up the score on its opponents.

One analyst on ESPN came up with the perfect line about UConn’s HC Geno Auriemma. He’s the only man or woman in the country that can convince his team in any sport at any level that they’re down by two points with a minute to play when in actuality, they’re up by 40. How else can you describe the fact that the Huskies were still using the full court press against Florida State in the Elite 8 with less than five minutes to play in the game?

Some of the statistics from this UConn team in this tournament have just been brutal. F Maya Moore, who is leading the team is scoring at 18.4 points per game this year, has outscored the entire other team in the first half of three of the Huskies’ tourney tussles. The Huskies have taken their first double digit lead within eight minutes of four of their games.

I thought that this 64 team tournament was supposed to be a celebration of the best teams in women’s college basketball, not a total destruction of them.

Has to make you wonder, right… UConn’s women -3 against the New Jersey Nets?

It’s not that the Huskies really haven’t played anyone this year. After all, they took on 15 ranked teams on the season, including games at (rankings at the time of playing them listed) #10 Texas, #12 Oklahoma, #7 Notre Dame, #7 Duke, and #12 Florida State. Their closest margin of victory this year? Twelve points at home against #13 Georgetown on February 27th. The biggest margin? Seventy against Northeastern. That’s right. Seven-Zero. Seventy.

The average final score of a Connecticut women’s basketball game this season was 82-46. The Huskies posted 25 games of at least 80 points and held ten foes in the 30s. Eleven others scored in the 40s. Heck, the poor Seton Hall Pirates only scored 24 against these chicks back on January 2nd. Happy New Year to you too, Seton Hall.

Now, Auriemma and his crew will take on their biggest challenge yet, quite literally, when Brittney Griner and her dunking ability come calling. Griner is largely considered the biggest (again, literally) star in women’s college basketball, as she is averaging 18.6 points per game, has dunked in several legitimate game situations (as opposed to just fast breaks with no challenge from the defense), and is blocking a whopping 6.4 shots per game.

However, none of that is going to matter. The average margin of victory for the Lady Huskies against ranked teams this year is 25.7 points. Many of those teams were, at least on the basis of rankings, significantly better than the Bears are. This is also a significantly bigger stage than what most of the regular season battles are worth, and Auriemma has already proven in this tournament that he isn’t calling off the dogs in any situation.

So let’s ask the question once again. How do you lay 24 points in the Final Four?

You do it with the Connecticut Huskies.