My favorite thing to do when the tournament match up's are released is go straight to the offshore sites and wait to see how many underdogs relative to seeding end up favorites to win. It's a cheap trick that I picked up a long time ago, a way to score some points in your tourney pool without being a slave to seed lines. It's picking upsets without actually picking upsets.
I bolded all the seeded underdogs who are favorited to win in the first round. The biggest seed differential vs. expected outcome is that 11 seed Texas is a one point favorite over six seed Butler. Ten seed Ohio State is also favored over seven seed VCU.
I plan on betting on all of these first and second round games again this season, and if some of you guys and girls are out in Las Vegas this week for the tourney, come see us broadcast live from the Westgate Sports Book, it's the old Las Vegas Hilton. I'll be there with Todd Fuhrman and Andy Roddick Wednesday thru Sunday night.
It should be pretty fun and I look forward to meeting some of you.
Without further ado, here are the odds.
Get rich, or die trying.
Play-in Games
Manhattan -7.5 vs Hampton
BYU -2.5 vs. Ole Miss
North Florida -2 vs. Robert Morris
Dayton -3.5 vs. Boise State
NCAA Tourney Games
Arkansas -6.5 vs. Wofford
UNC -9 vs. Harvard
Baylor -7.5 vs. Georgia State
Xavier -1.5 vs. BYU or Ole Miss
Notre Dame -12 vs. Northeastern
Texas -1 vs. Butler
Villanova -22.5 vs. Lafayette
NC State -1.5 vs. LSU
Purdue -1 vs. Cincinnati
Iowa State -12.5 vs. UAB
SMU -3 vs. UCLA
Utah -6 vs Stephen Austin
Georgetown -7.5 vs. Eastern Washington
Arizona -22.5 vs. Texas Southern
Ohio State -2.5 vs. VCU
Virginia -16.5 vs. Belmont
Michigan State -4.5 vs. Georgia
San Diego State -2.5 vs. Saint John's
West Virginia -4 vs. Buffalo
Maryland -4.5 vs. Valparaiso
Oklahoma -12.5 vs. Albany
Kansas -11.5 vs. New Mexico State
Wichita State -5.5 vs. Indiana
Wisconsin -19.5 vs. Coastal Carolina
Oklahoma State vs. Oregon pick'em
Northern Iowa -7 vs. Wyoming
Louisville -8.5 vs. UC-Irvine
Gonzaga -17 vs. North Dakota State
Iowa -2 vs. Davidson
