College Basketball Picks

Many expect Duke to win this game, but if West Virginia is able to implement the 1 3 1 zone on defense, it will force Duke to settle for jump shots. If the Blue Devils come out cold, the Mountaineers should capitalize, as they have better athletes

Though this game is a virtual coin flip, the winner who advances to the National Championship will almost certainly be an underdog in the final game of the season. Butler is an ideal match for Michigan State, as Butler plays something similar to Big 10 style basketball

The darkhorse of the remaining field, Baylor faces off against Cinderella St. Mary’s in the Sweet 16 in the South region

With Kansas losing in the second round, the Midwest region just became up for grabs. As the 2 seed, Ohio State will do everything in its power to make sure that it reaches the Final Four. A win over Tennessee is necessary in that quest. The Buckeyes are 4 point favorites over the 7 seed Volunteers

A team that everybody expected to be here (Duke) faces off against a team that many had losing in the first round (Purdue) to 13 seed Siena

Michigan State advanced to the Sweet 16 behind a buzzer beater over 4 seed Maryland, while Northern Iowa stunned the nation and busted everybody’s brackets with a win over 1 seed Kansas. Now, Michigan State is a 1.5 point favorite

The Big East champions face off against the Pac 10 champions in the Sweet 16. Amazingly, that is the difference between a 2 seed and an 11 seed, which happens when two teams have distinctly different paths to the NCAA Tournament

After winning by the skin of its teeth in the second round, Xavier is alive to play Kansas State, who just won its first two games by an average of 16 points per game

Without Kansas in the field, Kentucky becomes the team to beat. Meanwhile, the Wildcats face off against a team that nobody seems to be able to figure out: Cornell, who beat a 5 seed and a 4 seed to get here

Despite being without the services of senior big man Arinze Onuaku for the first two games of the tournament, Syracuse has cruised to wins of 23 and 22 points over Vermont and Gonzaga. Now, the Orange get a third crack at a mid major team when they face off against 5 seed Butler in the Sweet 16

Both teams finished in the middle of their conference but both advanced to their conference tournament finals. Georgetown, the eight seed, beat Syracuse, the No. 3 team in the country

Under seeded, Tennessee imploded in its conference semifinals, losing by 29 points to Kentucky. The Volunteers still remain a three point favorite over Mountain West Tournament

Sam Houston State won the Southland Conference and has a gaudy record to show for it, while Baylor is one of the best teams nobody has been paying attention to all season. Baylor is an 11 point favorite

The Big East’s fifth best team faces off against the Pac 10’s second best team, further demonstrating how down the Pac 10 was this year. Marquette is just a two point favorite despite being seeded five lines higher than its opponent.

A Big East power faces off against the Summit League champion. Bonus points if you can name any other team from the Summit League

This game has the potential to be ugly. Both teams are struggling mightily to end the season, and both were looking far better than an eight and nine seed a few short months ago. Texas is favored by 4.5 points

Montana surprised the rest of the Big Sky mildly, entering as the three seed and beating the rest of the field to capture the automatic bid. New Mexico got in as an at large after recording the most wins in school history.

After starting off the season 14-0, Purdue inexplicably lost three games in a row, before picking itself up, dusting itself off and winning 10 more in a row. The injury of Robbie Hummel is Purdue’s biggest question mark, and Siena won the MAAC Tournament last week

The Pac 10 runner up faces off against a bubble team in Louisville, which finished seventh in the Big East but has two huge wins under its belt.

A surprise two seed, Villanova had a strong season, including an impressive third place in the toughest conference in the country. Robert Morris earned an automatic bid with a Northeastern Conference Tournament win

The nation’s third overall seed, Duke takes the play-in game winner Arkansas Pine Bluff and the line is set at -22.

One of the last teams to get in the field, Florida will have to prove to those on the wrong side of the bubble why it was included in the field of 65. Meanwhile, BYU, favored by 4.5 points, will want to show the country why it was snubbed with a seven seed despite finishing the season 29-5.

Wisconsin bounced from the Big Ten Tournament early, while Wofford won its tournament. The Badgers are 10 point favorites, and for the most part, are a fundamentally sound, mistake free team

The nation’s second overall seed is rewarded with a game against a cupcake Atlantic Sun team. Kentucky is a 19.5 point favorite, and features multiple first round draft picks on its roster

One of the most intriguing first round match ups, Old Dominion won a tough CAA Tournament, while Notre Dame was left for dead in the Big East before surprisingly beating Pittsburgh. The injury to Luke Harangody was expected to crush Notre Dame

The Big 12 runner up, Kansas State will take on North Texas, the automatic qualifier out of the Sun Belt Conference. The Wildcats are favored by 16 points in the first round showdown

A consistent big fish in a small pond, Xavier could easily succeed in a big conference. Minnesota finished the year strong to make it into the tournament field, and is surprisingly a 1.5 point favorite over the Musketeers.

The smallest point spread out of all of the 4 vs. 13 games, Vanderbilt is just a 3.5 point favorite over tiny mid major Murray State. The Racers are a pesky team

Two mid major teams face off in the first round. Both were favorites coming out of their respective conferences, and will be counted on to represent the Horizon League and Conference USA favorably

Two teams that are criminally under seeded, Temple and Cornell could have easily gone far in the tournament if they hadn’t been matched up against each other in the first round. As it stands, Temple is a four point favorite.

Always some of the more fun games to watch, the eight nine match up between a major conference team and a mid major gives Gonzaga the opportunity to prove it can hang with the big boys. Florida State is favored by 1.5 points.

Two of the most consistent mid major teams this year, Richmond is favored by 1.5 points in the battle of the east and west coasts.

Syracuse, one of the country’s four strongest teams, faces off as a 17.5 point favorite over a Vermont team that is offensively oriented. The Catamounts rank seventh in the country in scoring, and hold their opponents to a low field goal percentage

Coming off a Big Ten championship, Ohio State is one of the hottest teams in the country. Yet, their shallow bench has people wondering if their starters are playing too many minutes, and when they will break down. The Buckeyes are favored by 17 points against a 20-9 UC Santa Barbara

The breakdown: Seven ten games are always something of a coin flip, and that won’t change with this match up. Las Vegas has the Cowboys as a 1.5 point favorite. Don’t expend too much time worrying about this match up, as neither team has a terribly good chance

Houston and Maryland have had a distinctly different last seven days. The Terps got squashed in their ACC Tournament opener, while Houston surprised the nation by winning four games in a row

Michigan State is a pesky team, and head coach Tom Izzo always has the Spartans ready for the post season

UNLV squares off against Northern Iowa, as two mid majors try to become the 2010 Cinderella of the tournament. No matter who wins this game – as UNLV is favored by 1.5 points – it seems that both teams will have a tough road ahead of them

Kansas, the number one team in the country, is the favorite to win the entire tournament. The Jayhawks have lost just two games all season and just won the Big 12 Tournament days ago. Lehigh has the unenviable task of trying to match up with one of the most athletic and versatile teams

Conference tournaments are a great time to make some money by betting on the outcome of March Madness. It can be a profitable week and a half as some teams are fighting for their lives on the bubble, other teams are trying to stay atop a one bid conference, and others are vying for an opportunity to cut down the nets before Selection Sunday.

As I have written numerous times in the past, line shopping is one of the most important parts of sports betting, and one of the biggest advantages to betting sports online in general. It is critical in the long term to have money in several different books, simply because all books offer different lines regularly. Even if the line is the same at two books, one may offer a reduced line because money is coming in differently at both sites.