While most bettors are focusing their full attention on the current NBA Playoffs, it is important to still keep touch with what is going on in the world of college basketball. Some of these offseason developments could end up having a direct impact on a team’s chances to not only win its conference next season but a national title as well.

The Duke Blue Devils continue to reload after making it all the way to the Elite 8 last season before coming up short against eventual champion Louisville. This past week they landed the No.2-ranked senior in the ESPN’s Top 100 when Jabari Parker signed his letter of intent to play his college basketball at the school. Some of the other schools that were on his short list include Michigan State, Florida, Stanford and BYU.

This is a major addition to a team that BetOnline had already opened as one of its top-five favorites to win next season’s title at +800. Duke head coach Mike Krzyzewski has to be chomping at the bit to get back to work with the addition of the 6-foot-8 forward who has become one of the most sought after recruits in years. Parker led Simeon Career Academy in Chicago to four-straight state titles to earn a top-five ranking from four separate major recruiting services. This player alone could move the Blue Devils to the top of the futures odds list depending on how the betting public reacts to this news.

The Atlantic 10 Conference is not considered one of the Majors when it comes to college basketball, but it continues to move up the ranks in statue with the announcement that Davidson will join the fold starting in 2014 after opting out of the Southern Conference. The Wildcats will join George Mason, which will play in the A-10 this upcoming season after leaving the CAA.

Before the start of last season, both VCU and Butler were added to the lineup and both programs made it to the third round of this year’s NCAA Tournament. La Salle made some serious noise in the tournament by knocking off Kansas State and Ole Miss to make it to the Sweet 16 and all-told there were a total of five teams from the A-10 in this year’s field of 68. Since then, Butler and Xavier have decided to join the new-look Big East, which opened the door for the new additions.

The current odds to win a national title next season for a few of these teams have St. Louis, which won the A-10 title last year and VCU at +5000 along with La Salle and Temple at +10000.

In some player movements this offseason, Kansas State point guard Angel Rodriguez has decided to transfer to Miami (FLA) to be closer to his family in Puerto Rico. As a sophomore with the Wildcats last season he averaged 11.4 points and 5.2 assists a game. He is hoping to be able to play next season after petitioning the NCAA for a hardship waiver to avoid sitting out a year. Kansas State is currently listed at +3000 to win a national championship next season, while the Hurricanes are listed at +10000.

Tennessee guard Trae Golden has decided to leave the Volunteers after the spring semester to play his senior year elsewhere. He was the team’s third-leading scorer last season with 12.1 points a game while adding another 3.9 assists. The departure is reportedly tied to academic issues that would have most likely made him ineligible to play for the school next season anyway. Tennessee’s current odds to win it all are listed at +5000.

Looking back at this year’s NCAA Tournament, while it had its fair share of shocking upsets, in the end the No.1 overall seed went chalk all the way to a national title. The following is a re-cap of Bovada’s original futures to win the entire tournament as well as each individual region to try and uncover the true value in the odds.

East Region

Indiana opened as a 5/1 co-favorite with Louisville to win the national title but as the No.1 seed in the East Region, it was a prohibitive 5/4 favorite to make it to the Final Four. We all know how that worked out when the Hoosiers ran into a red-hot Syracuse team in the Elite 8. The Orange opened the tournament at 22/1 to win it all and as 5/1 third-favorites (after No.2 seed Miami at 7/2) to win the East Region. The Hurricanes proved to be the worst value in this bracket after getting ousted by Marquette in just their second game.

South Region

The top dog in the South according to the seeds was Kansas at No.1, but not according to the odds. The Jayhawks opened as 10/1 fourth-favorites to win the national title with No.3 Florida actually having lower odds to win the title at 7/1. Kansas was listed at 3/1 to win the Region with the Gators favored at 8/5. The matchup between the two for the South Region title never materialized with Kansas falling to Michigan in the Sweet 16 and Florida losing to the Wolverines in the Elite 8. The real value in this region belonged to No.4 Michigan at 7/1 after making a run all the way to the championship game. The biggest disappointment had to be No.2 seed Georgetown at 20/1 to win the national title and 5/1 to win the South Region after becoming No.15 Florida Gulf Coast’s first victim in this tournament.

West Region

Many bettors were skeptical of Gonzaga earning the No.1 seed in the West despite a stellar regular-season run that had the Bulldogs ranked No.1 in the country heading into the NCAA’s. The odds echoed these concerns by opening them at 10/1 to win it all and at 12/5 to win the region. No.2 Ohio State was a close second at 11/4 to win the West and listed at 16/1 to win the entire tournament. Nobody saw what was actually coming in the West when No.9 Wichita State was opened at 300/1 to win the tournament and 66/1 to win the region. The Shockers lived up to their name by taking-out Pittsburgh, Gonzaga, upstart LaSalle, and Ohio State on its way to the Final Four. Congratulations to anyone out there that had the guts to bet on this outcome.

Midwest Region

While each of the first three regions all returned a better payout for fading the favorite, the Midwest went according to form with Louisville providing an 11/10 return on winning the region and a 5/1 return on winning the National Championship. The only real shocker in the Midwest was No.12 Oregon making a run all the way to the Sweet 16 before running into the Cardinals. The Ducks opened at 66/1 to win the region and at 300/1 to win it all. No.2 Duke and No.3 Michigan State went chalk in the bottom half of the bracket with the Blue Devils earning the right to take a shot at Louisville as 15/4 second-favorites to win the Midwest.

Date/Time: April 8th, 9:23 ET

Television: CBS

College Basketball Odds from WagerWeb

Point Spread: Louisville -3.5

Total: 138

Sixty-six of the 68 teams in the NCAA Tournament are now sitting at home on the sidelines, and the only two teams that are left to fight it out for all of the marbles are the Michigan Wolverines and the Louisville Cardinals.

Michigan really has looked like a touched team here in this tournament ever since the very opening round. The Wolverines got here by facing a Murderer’s Row of teams. Knocking off the Kansas Jayhawks was clearly the toughest task of the bunch, and winning that game by getting such huge three-point shots at the tail end of the effort from G Trey Burke was tremendous. Big Blue has proven that it can win games by shooting the daylights out of the basketball when it matters most, and it proved that it could do the job with its defense as well. Four of the five foes that the Big Ten reps have run into here in the NCAA Tournament were held to 59 points or fewer. The lone exception were those Jayhawks, who seemed to literally have everything going for them in the first half of that game before Michigan snuck its way back into it.

The Cardinals really looked the part of the most dominating team in America in the first two weeks of this tournament, but all of a sudden, a Final Four victory over the Wichita State Shockers really doesn’t sit all that well when you think about it. The Shockers were only a No. 9 seed, and though they did win the West Region, they clearly weren’t the most difficult team in the world that anyone has ever beaten here in the Final Four. The Cardinals in fact, needed a 20-point effort from F Luke Hancock off of the bench just to beat the Shockers, who once led in the second half by eight points. The Cardinals didn’t really play stellar defense in that game, and they only hit 22 shots. That being said, they did get the job done, they did score at least 72 points for the sixth straight game, and they did hold a sixth straight foe to 69 points or fewer. It’s tough to argue that Head Coach Rick Pitino doesn’t have the best team in the nation this season.

Prediction:

And that’s why we want Louisville on our side in this one. The Cardinals had won nine straight games by at least eight points before only beating the Shockers by four, and each of their wins on this 15-game winning streak came by at least four points. It’s going to be tough to see how Michigan, even for as well as Big Blue has been playing, can really keep up as long as the Cards are playing their game. Don’t look for Pitino and the gang to take this game lightly. This is the type of game that Louisville wins by 15-20 points. Louisville 76 – Michigan 60

NCAA Semi-Final

Louisville Cardinals (33-5 SU, 23-15 ATS) vs. Wichita State Shockers (30-8 SU, 20-13 ATS)

Saturday, April 6 – 6:05 PM ET

Georgia Dome – Atlanta

Both of these teams have gotten to this point with defense. Wichita State and Louisville have each held opponents to just 39% shooting on the season.

In the Final Four betting odds that have been established at BetAnySports, the Cardinals are big favorites:

Louisville Cardinals  -10.5

Wichita State Shockers  +10.5

Over 133 Points  -110

Under 133 Points  -110

Louisville wins game -650

Wichita State wins game +475

Wichita State has not lucked into anything by any means. The Shockers have beaten three favored sides out of four thus far. Starting out with a win over Pittsburgh, where they manhandled a physical team, they have gone on to defeat the #1 seed in their region (Gonzaga) and an Ohio State team that had won eleven games in a row. In none of these games has an opponent reached 36% shooting against them, and that is a tremendous feather in their cap. Is that enough to allow them to slide within the number here, or better yet, pull off the upset as a +475 underdog on the BetAnySports moneyline?

There is little chance that Wichita State is going to get beaten up physically, not with the likes of Carl Hall and Cleanthony Early up front. Of course, if they cannot get in the lane and score against Gorgui Dieng, Louisville’s sublime shot-blocker, they will have to rely a lot more on shots from the outside. And Marcus Armstead, who has been the offensive force at guard for WSU, went just 6-for-21 against Ohio State. It might even take quite an effort to get the ball up the court against the Louisville pressure. The Cardinals, who are the -137 favorite to win the championship in the Final Four betting odds at BetAnySports, are second in the nation in steals (with 10.9 per game) and will force Wichita State to pick up the pace, causing some turnovers.

Kevin Ware is okay, although it is not known whether he is going to be able to play basketball again. His gruesome leg injury, suffered against Duke in the Elite Eight, leaves Louisville somewhat short-handed in the backcourt, but realistically, he averaged only 16 minutes and game, with 4.5 points. He’ll add some moral support, unquestionably, with this Final Four taking place in his hometown of Atlanta. Rick Pitino, who has this week celebrated his son’s hiring as coach at Minnesota, has brought three different teams to this point, and he knows how to turn up the volume in the post-season, with his club going 11-1-1 against the number after the end of the regular season the last two seasons. That includes two Big East championships and two trips to the Final Four.

That’s a big edge in experience for this squad, but Wichita State seems to reflect the arrogance and confidence of its coach. Gregg Marshall, who had built the program at mini-major Winthrop, is absolutely convinced that his team is where it should be, and he is perfectly willing to place his immovable object against Louisville’s irresistible force, which has produced shooting at 52% or better in EACH of the four tournament games. And don’t forget a string technical trend, which has seen the Cardinals play eight straight games over the total.

Rock ‘n roll with Final Four betting with your friends at BetAnySports!

Here is the setup:

NCAA Semi-Final
Michigan Wolverines (30-7 SU, 19-16 ATS) vs. Syracuse Orange (30-9 SU, 20-15 ATS)
Saturday, April 6 – 9 PM ET
Georgia Dome – Atlanta, GA

Both of these teams were utterly dominant on advancing to the Final Four. Michigan defeated a bewildered Florida team by twenty points, while Syracuse held Marquette to just 39 points in the Elite Eight.

In the March Madness betting odds that have been posted at BetAnySports on this game, Michigan is the slight favorite:

Michigan Wolverines  -2
Syracuse Orange +2

Over 131 Points -110
Under 131 Points  -110

Michigan wins game  -140
Syracuse wins game +120

On the technical side, Michigan has gone 8-1 ATS on neutral courts this season, and they have covered all four of their games in the NCAA Tournament. Syracuse has covered five of its last seven games, and has suffered only one loss – to Louisville – in its last eight contests.

Michigan (priced at +325 to go all the way at BetAnySports) has had high drama already, getting a three-pointer at the buzzer to send their game with Kansas into overtime, which led to the eventual win over a #1 seed. But there were also overwhelming efforts that came as something of a surprise; the Wolverines completely decimated VCU with a 25-point win, and also never let Florida get untracked in the Elite Eight, holding the Gators to 41% shooting (and 20% treys).

Syracuse has not always shot well; in fact, this team has hit only 39%, 44% and 38% in the last three games. But that hasn’t mattered because they have smothered foes on the defensive end. In Syracuse’s last 14 games, only one team has reached 43% shooting. And in the tournament the Orange have been devastating, holding foes to 29% overall, with everyone hitting 20% or less from the three-point arc. Marquette was absolutely flummoxed last weekend, making just three out of 25 from beyond the arc and less than a third of their shots from TWO-point range. The opponents of Jim Boeheim’s team have converted on just 14 of their 92 three-point shots. That’s amazing.

In terms of the actual matchup, Michigan does have qualities that may afford it a chance here. For one thing, they are a team that can get down the floor in a hurry, and perhaps get off a good shot before Syracuse (+400 to win the title at BetAnySports) has a chance to set up on defense. But if the Wolverines are not able to do that on a consistent basis, they are most likely going to have to hit a lot of three-pointers, and that could be problematic against Syracuse, because the Orange have so much in the way of “length” to hassle smaller guards. However, if they get hot, it could work for them.

And if anyone could penetrate Syracuse’s guard to make that kind of thing happen, it’s Trey Burke, who was recently named the Associated Press player of the year and has 31 assists in the Big Dance. Again, a key could be the center position, where Mitch McGary has proven himself to be more than serviceable, averaging 17.5 points and 11.5 rebounds in this tourney, shooting 73%. Can he get into the lane for some short-range shots? That might be a very critical factor if his team is to win and advance.

Get moving with the rest of March Madness at BetAnySports!

Date/Time: Saturday, April 6, 2013 8:49 p.m. (ET)

Television: CBS

Basketball Odds from Vietbet Sportsbook

Point Spread: Michigan -2

Total: 131

Syracuse went all the way to the Big East Tournament Championship before losing to Louisville, so its current run all the way to the Final Four in this tournament is not that big of a surprise. Along the way, the Orange beat Montana and California as heavy favorites in their first two games before posting a stunning 61-50 upset over No.1 Indiana as five-point underdogs. From there they made short work of Marquette in a 55-39 rout as 4.5-point favorites to earn a place in this game. Syracuse went 3-1 against the spread during this run and the total stayed UNDER in three of the four games.

The one concern in this matchup is the health of Michael Carter-Williams’ ankle, but he is listed as probable on the most recent injury report. He has been a key part of the team’s success this season with 12.1 points and a team-high 7.4 assists a game. Syracuse’s biggest scoring threats this year have been CJ Fair and Brandon Triche, who are each averaging around 14 points a game. They combined for 25 points in the win over the Hoosiers to go along with Carter-Williams game-high 24 points. Overall, the team is averaging 71.3 points a game while holding its opponents to just 58.6 points a game.

It is also no big surprise that Michigan regained its form at just the right time after climbing all the way to No.2 in the country earlier this season on the strength of a 16-0 straight-up start. After recording double-digit victories over South Dakota State and VCU in their first two outings, the Wolverines staged a dramatic rally in the final few minutes of the game to get by No.1 Kansas 87-85 in overtime as one-point underdogs. They put the finishing touches on the Final Four run with an impressive 79-59 romp over Florida as four-point underdogs. Michigan ended-up a perfect 4-0 ATS with the total going OVER in its final two tournament games.

The star power on this team is starting to shine bright with Trey Burke, Tim Hardaway Jr. and Glen Robinson III playing their best basketball of the season. The Wolverines are also deep in talent with Mitch McGary scoring a game-high 25 points against the Jayhawks and Nik Staukas leading the way with 22 points in the win over the Gators. Overall, Michigan is averaging 75.2 points a game while shooting 48.4 percent from the floor.

Prediction

Both teams come into this showdown playing at a high level after taking out the No.1 seed in their respective region and posting lopsided routs their last time out to advance to Atlanta. This should remain a one or two possession game deep into the second half, but Michigan’s slight edge in both talent and depth is just enough to pull-out a victory that covers the two points.

Michigan 73 Syracuse 69

Date/Time: Saturday, April 6, 2013 6:09 p.m. (ET)

Television: CBS

Basketball Odds from Vietbet Sportsbook

Point Spread: Louisville -10.5

Total: 130

Through the first five rounds of this year’s NCAA Tournament one of the biggest story lines has been Wichita State. It started things off with an impressive 73-55 romp over Pittsburgh as a four-point underdog but this team was just getting started. Next, the Shockers took out No.1 seed Gonzaga 76-70 as 6.5-point underdogs before advancing to the Elite 8 with a 72-58 rout of La Salle as 4.5-point favorites. They made their way to the Final Four by beating Ohio State 70-66 as 4.5-point underdogs this past Saturday. The total went OVER in three of the four games.

The Shockers averaged 69.4 points a game this season but have been able to ramp this up a bit during the four-game run behind players such as Cleanthony Early, Ron Baker and Malcolm Armstead. Early remains the team’s leading scorer with 67 points over the course of the last four games after averaging 13.6 points a game this season. Carl Hall leads the team in rebounds with 7.2 while averaging 12.8 points a game.

Louisville came into this tournament as the No.1 seed overall and has lived up to its billing every step of the way. The Cardinals posted lopsided wins over North Carolina A&T and Colorado State before upending Oregon 77-69 as 11-point favorites. They earned their trip to Atlanta with a thorough 85-63 beatdown of Duke this past Sunday as 3.5-point favorites. Louisville went 3-1 against the spread during this tear with the total going OVER in all four games.

The only real concern for Rick Pitino’s team headed into this matchup is its overall emotional health after a horrific knee injury to Kevin Ware cast a major cloud over Sunday’s big win. Ware is out of the hospital and doing well, but the impact could still linger. Nonetheless, the Cardinals are still firing on all cylinders with an average of 73.6 points a game while holding their opponents to 58.1 points on the other end of the court.

Prediction

The Shockers come into this game as heavy underdogs and for good reason. They also come in as a team that is playing fearless and playing with house money, which is a very dangerous combination to bet against. In the end, the Cardinals should prevail, but take Wichita State and the 10.5 points to make them earn it.

Louisville 77 Wichita State 74

Date/Time: April 4th, 9:00 ET

Television: ESPN

College Basketball Odds from WagerWeb

Point Spread: Pick ‘Em

Total: 141.5

After whittling through 30 teams, there are only two that are left standing in the NIT, and the college basketball betting lines will be contested in the final game of the year for the Iowa Hawkeyes and the Baylor Bears.

Iowa very well could have been the most talented team in America that didn’t get into the NCAA Tournament. It wasn’t an accident that this team covered 23 of its final 29 games of the season, and it certainly isn’t an accident that it is going to be playing here at Madison Square Garden for the NIT Final either. This is a team that has grown and grown in a huge way here in the second season, and though it would be nice to win this game, even losing it isn’t the end of the world, as the future is bright in Iowa City. The Hawkeyes are led by G Roy-Devyn Marble, who is going to be expected to be one of the top scorers in the conference next season. The junior has logged at least 20 points in each of the game sin the NIT this season, and he is averaging 15.2 points per game on the campaign. Keep a close eye on C Adam Woodbury as well. He has 19 points and 11 boards in his last two games after averaging just 4.7 points per game during the regular season.

Baylor loves to run it and gun it, and it has really done a great job here in the second season of playing its game. The Bears averaged 80.0 points per game in non-conference play in the regular season, and it was held to an average of just 69.0 points per game in its final 17 games played in the conference slate. Not surprisingly, if you just looked at this team in a bubble and took what it did out of conference, the Bears would have been probably a No. 5 seed in the NCAA Tournament. Alas, failing in the Big XII and going 4-9 in its last 13 games is what kept Baylor at home from the dance. Now that we are back to playing non-conference basketball here in the NIT though, the Bears are doing their thing, averaging 89.0 points per game and flying up and down the court. Things are only going to get better if G Brady Heslip can knock down some threes though, knowing that he has been a very quiet player in the NIT Semifinals and Quarterfinals.

Prediction:

The Bears might be the more fun team to watch, but they haven’t played against a team this strong here in the NIT as of yet. Iowa isn’t going to be able to run with Baylor, but what it will be able to do is slow its foe down just a bit. We just don’t think that the Bears are going to be able to score all that much on the Hawkeyes, and the end result should be an NIT triumph at MSG for the Big Ten reps. Iowa 73 – Baylor 68

Date/Time: April 2nd, 9:00 ET

Television: ESPN

College Basketball Odds from Bookmaker

Point Spread: Iowa -3

Total: 135.5

A pair of teams that were disappointed not to get into the NCAA Tournament have managed to dance their way all the way to Madison Square Garden, where college basketball betting fanatics will love to dive right into the duel between the Maryland Terrapins and the Iowa Hawkeyes.

The Hawkeyes have most certainly proven here in the NIT that they had the talent to really do some damage this season. They did manage to go 10-10 including the Big Ten Tournament in the toughest conference in America, and it really has shown in the second season. Head Coach Fran McCaffery has himself a great team that is only getting better in the future. The big win came on the road against the Virginia Cavaliers back on March 27th, and that was a game that was truly a bit of a surprise. Virginia has been one of the best home teams in the land from an ATS standpoint all year long, while Iowa typically struggled on the road. This tournament continues to be a coming out party for G Roy-Devyn Marble. The junior guard was a great scorer this year, averaging right around 14 points per game in the regular season, but in the NIT, he has really shined. Marble has put up at least 24 points in all three games in this tournament, and he has averaged 25.3 points per game in that stretch.

The Terps are no joke either, though. There was never a point in this season that anyone really doubted whether this team had talent on it or not. The question is whether it was all going to come together quick enough to get this team into the dance. You don’t beat the Duke Blue Devils twice without having a real level of talent on your team. The answer to whether this team was ready to dance turned out to be no, but this tournament has been a perfect way to get this team ready for next year. We continue to see G Dez Wells and C Alex Len grow as collegiate players. Wells, in just his second season playing college hoops, has averaged 13.2 points per game this season, and since the first game of the ACC Tournament, he has averaged 18.3 points per game. Len, also just a sophomore, struggled a bit early in this tourney, but he also put up 15 points and 13 boards when it mattered most against the Alabama Crimson Tide on the road in the NIT Quarterfinals.

Prediction:

This is going to be a tough one to try to handicap, but they all are this time of year. We think that the Terrapins might have just the very slight edge in terms of talent, and that’s going to be what will carry them into the NIT Final. Even if they don’t, we know that we have a bit of a cushion there as well in the event of a close Iowa win. The points are the right play. Maryland 67 – Iowa 65

Date/Time: April 2nd, 2013 7:00 ET

Television: ESPN

College Basketball Odds from WagerWeb

Point Spread: Baylor -3

Total: 152.5

The first game of the NIT Final Four tips off on Tuesday night for college basketball betting fans, as the Baylor Bears and the BYU Cougars do battle on the hallowed grounds of Madison Square Garden.

BYU has been one of the most proficient offensive teams here in the NIT this season. The club has dropped at least 90 points on two of its three foes to date, and all of its games have been decided by double digits as a result. The most recent game was the most impressive, a 79-62 victory on the road in Hattiesburg against the top seeded Southern Miss Golden Eagles, who were tremendously stumped trying to figure out how to slow down the BYU attack. This offense only goes as far as G Tyler Haws takes it. Haws has been amazing this season in Provo. He has averaged 21.6 points per game, and his numbers here in the postseason have been even better. Thus far in three games in the NIT, the 6’5″ sharpshooter has put up an average of 28.7 points per game. He is getting a heck of a lot of help from the rest of his starting five as well. The combination of Haws, G Matt Carlino, F Nate Austin, F Brock Zylstra, and F Brandon Davies scored all 79 points against the Golden Eagles, and at least one of these other men along with Haws have scored at least 20 in each of the NIT games this year.

Baylor meanwhile, is the one team that has done more scoring than BYU has here in the NIT. The Bears have averaged 93.3 points per game. Obviously, dropping 112 on the Long Beach State 49ers helped out a ton, and shooting 40-of-63 in that game was absolutely insane. However, we have consistently seen this team put up huge numbers over the course of the last few games against the Providence Friars and the Arizona State Sun Devils as well. The man of the hour has clearly been the smallest man on the court. G Pierre Jackson averages almost 20 points and nearly seven assists per game this season, and he has obliterated those numbers in the second season. Standing at just 5’10″, it’s amazing that this point guard can do it all. Not only has he averaged 23.2 points, 9.6 assists, and 1.8 steals per game in his last five, but he also has accounted for just a total of 10 turnovers in those games and has averaged 4.6 boards per game as well.

Prediction:

What we have seen for the most part this year with the teams from the WCC is that they just don’t have the goods to compete with the really big boys. We saw Gonzaga and St. Mary’s both bow out of the NCAA Tournament early, and though we have seen BYU and Santa Clara reach the finales of their respective tournaments, we know that this is a “big boy” type of challenge. Baylor’s athleticism will rule the day over the Cougars on Tuesday night to move onto the NIT Final. Baylor 82 – BYU 76