March Madness Prop Bets: Exotic Wagers For The NCAA Tournament

 

Let the Madness begin! That is right the Big Dance is finally here and it is time to make some money. Let’s face it – just about everyone has at least something riding on the tournament from an office pool or the thousands that merge into Vegas each year.

If you’re looking at hitting a ‘sweet’ score, the future board is the place for you. Come on, it’s simple just pick the winner of the Big Dance. Yes, you’re right it’s much tougher than it looks when trying to find that one college team to win six-straight games and cut the nets down in Atlanta.

Realistically, there are only 15-20 teams with a reasonable chance to win the tournament and by using the word ‘realistic’, 20 could be too high in any given year. The number fluctuates each year with teams that feature a ‘realistic’ chance to win; this year’s edition looks especially deep and 20 may actually be a short number.

With that said, you don’t want to take a real short price. If you like Kansas to win this thing at 4-1, you’re better off playing them on the money-line in rounds 2-6. Shop around with value in mind. A couple of mid-priced teams that are worthy of consideration are Georgetown and UCLA. Georgetown can be found around 8-1, while UCLA a little over 10-1. Quite simply, you arguably have the best offensive team and defensive team in college basketball, while both schools are trumped with brilliant coaches.

UCLA has last year’s experience to draw on, but a ‘monster’ bracket to get through is concerning. The Bruins do stay in their home state however, giving them a legitimate edge without much travel for them or their fans.

Meanwhile, the Hoyas’ program and team continues to excel. Again, their offense is ‘flat-out’ tough to stop in the half-court, but their defensive prowess is rapidly on the improve as well.

There are also ‘odds’ on teams to advance to the Final Four. The San Jose bracket is rock-solid at the top with Kansas, UCLA and Pitt. This is the toughest bracket to conceivably figure a ‘live’ longshot. The Midwest is wide-open, as the two and three seeds of Oregon and Wisconsin look especially vulnerable. A talented Maryland team that peaked down the stretch at an 8-1 or higher price is worth a look. I feel strongly that North Carolina is vulnerable as a one-seed in the East Rutherford bracket and there is plenty of ‘value’ to consider there. Again, Georgetown’s the team to beat, but an Arkansas, George Washington or New Mexico State is worth a look at major odds, let’s not forget the wonderful run of George Mason a year ago. Finally, the South features a legitimate favorite with a still improving Ohio State club. However, Memphis and Virginia are weak in the top-four, and a senior laden team like Xavier at 50-1 is at least worth consideration.

Just like the Super Bowl, the ‘prop’ action for the NCAA tournament is ever growing. There are susceptible numbers posted all-around for the savvy consumer. Examples of the props available include, ‘Teams to win more games Ohio State or North Carolina’ (I would recommend the Buckeyes in that proposition), ‘Which conference will the winning team come from,’ ‘Which conference will post more wins’ and ‘How many wins will come from the #12 seeds.’

Remember to have fun, play within your limits and shop around. Let the Madness begin!

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