The regular season in college basketball is all complete and the NCAA tournament field is close to being set. But first every school has to complete its conference tournament. You know, the part of the year where we invalidate the entirety of the regular season by awarding automatic bids to the teams that happen to get hot at the right time instead of the teams that have dominated all season long.
It can be downright infuriating.
Just ask Murray State.
5dimes.eu just posted its odds for every team to win its conference tournament. Since I'll be out in Las Vegas broadcasting from a casino for the second straight year, I decided it was time to step up my gambling on college basketball. I've done three or four games a week for the entire season, but betting on teams to win the conference tournament is when it gets really fun.
I'll be at the SEC basketball tournament here in Nashville this week, where Kentucky is the most prohibitive favorite to win its conference in the country.
How prohibitive?
Holy hell.
SEC tourney
I actually took Vandy at 33-1 here with the idea that the 'Dores are hot and if they made it to the final against Kentucky I could hedge and lock in a pretty good profit. Vandy blew a game against Tennessee and lost by three at Florida. Otherwise the 'Dores would have run off 10 straight conference wins to end the season. If Vandy beats Tennessee then the 'Dores will play Arkansas. That's a tough game, but not one that the 'Dores would be a substantial underdog in. Win that one and Vandy would get Georgia or Ole Miss, two teams I think the 'Dores would be favored against. Then, barring a tremendous upset, would come Kentucky in the final.
Anyway, I think 33-1 is a steal.
You can call me an idiot if Vandy loses to Tennessee on Thursday night.
Big Ten tourney
ACC tourney
That Duke-Virginia finale would be pretty fantastic. But how about the drop off outside the top five here?
Pac-12 tourney
Good lord, only two teams are under 13-1 to win the title? Arizona is the second biggest favorite in major conference tourneys.
Big 12 tourney
If you had to pick one conference tourney to watch because of the overall competitiveness of the conference, the Big 12 would be it. Six of the 10 teams are at 8-1 or under to win this thing.
Big East tourney
Villanova is the third most likely team to win its conference, and the second biggest major conference favorite after Kentucky.
A-10 tourney
If you're looking for a conference that's going to steal an at-large bid, the A-10 might be your most likely option. I took GW at 6-1 here — and I was really hoping the odds would have been more like 15-1 because I would have really loaded up on the Colonials then. But it wouldn't shock me if Rhode Island, Richmond or GW found a way to make a title run here.
Mountain West tourney
Conference USA tourney
MAC tourney
West Coast tourney
