As college basketball’s regular season winds down and the various conference tournaments get rolling, conversations will really get going over who is going to win it all. With how this season has played out, it is hard to call anyone a true front runner.
Since the No.1 ranked team heading into the tournament rarely goes on to win, taking Kansas doesn’t mean you are going to win. But what if you didn’t have to choose just one team? What if you could pick multiple in a single wager?
Bettors can at 888sport.com by choosing a conference:
March Madness – NCAA Tournament Conference Winner Odds:
- Big 12 Conference +325
- Big Ten Conference +350
- Atlantic Coast Conference +400
- Southeastern Conference +550
- Big East Conference +650
- West Coast Conference +700
- Atlantic 10 Conference +900
- Pac-12 Conference +1500
- Mountain West Conference +2000
- American Athletic Conference +4000
- Atlantic Sun Conference +8000
- Missouri Valley Conference +10000
- American East Conference +15000
Your payout for picking the Big 12 is not going to be as good as if you just put everything down on Kansas (+600 at DraftKings). But what if Baylor, Texas Tech, or West Virginia goes on a run and wins? Putting some down on one team and a conference isn’t a bad idea.
But which conference?
Until Selection Sunday rolls around, we don’t know who is going to be in. What we can do is check out the top 25, individual team championship odds, and some bracketology projections.
According to ESPN’s latest projections, it looks like the Big Ten is going to have the highest number of teams in the Tournament: Big Ten– 10, Pac-12– 7, Big East—7, Big 12—5, SEC—4, ACC—4, American—3, West Coast—3, Mountain West—2.
By sheer numbers alone, the Big Ten looks like the conference to go with—but their highest seed is a No.2 Maryland. They have some four, five, and six seeds in there. As far as individual team odds go, Maryland at +1600 and Michigan State at +1500 are the conference’s best shots.
The Big 12 may only have five teams in the running, but the conference is expected to have two 1-seeds (Kansas and Baylor) and the overall Tournament No. 1 and No. 1 team in the polls, Kansas. Both also have good odds to win it all (+600 for Kansas and +1100 for Baylor).
However, it is also worth noting that a team ranked No. 1 in the polls rarely wins (only eight of the last 35).
The Pac-12 is an intriguing option with seven teams projected to make it in. However, Oregon is their highest seeded team at four and has the best odds (+3000). Most of their teams are going to get knocked out in the first round (10-seeds or higher).
A team on the West Coast hasn’t won it all since 1997—so be wary of banking on Gonzaga (WCC) and San Diego State (Mountain West).
What about the ACC, SEC, Big East, and A-10?
The A-10 has Dayton (who’s individual odds are +1150 at DraftKings), and that’s it. The SEC has some good teams like Kentucky, Auburn, Florida, and LSU. But it is hard to get behind any of them going all the way.
The Big East has some good teams, but the best overall collection of talent may be the ACC—Florida State, Louisville, Duke, and Virginia.
So—who should you bet on?
Split your money between the ACC and Big 12. Yes, you will have fewer teams (nine) than the Big Ten (ten). But you will likely have more seeded five or higher. A team seeded higher than five has only won three times since 1985.