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In the West Region we find that the top four seeds are all listed among the favorites to win the West, beginning with Louisville at +150 or near even odds, Michigan State at +350 for a payout of $350 on every $100 bet, Wake Forest at +550 odds and Kansas. It is, however, interesting to point out that number four-seeded Wake Forest had shorter odds of winning than number three-seeded Kansas at Sportsinteraction.com.
There is also West Virginia as the number 6 seed with shorter odds to win the West Region than number five-seeded Utah, which incidentally had the 9th longest odds to win in the West.
"This says a lot," commented Don Shapiro of Gambling911.com. "It tells us that the oddsmakers feel very strongly that Arizona will upset Utah."
The Wildcats had the 6th shortest odds of this group, paying $2000 for every $100 bet compared to Utah paying out $2500 for every $100 bet. Both USC and Ohio State had better odds of winning the Western Region than did Utah, however.
USC, in fact, was a number 10 seed playing Boston College, a number 7 seed. Boston College was listed with +3000 odds to win this region.
"Essentially, the oddsmakers believe there will be two upsets in the first round in the Western Region," says Shapiro. "They believe strongly that Arizona will beat Utah and USC will beat Boston College. There is also an inclination to think that Wake Forrest will go deeper than Kansas."
$12 billion was expected to be wagered throughout March Madness this year.
NCAA Tournament odds for Louisville, Michigan State, Wake Forest and all other teams could be found at Sportsinteraction.com.
Christopher Costigan, Gambling911.com Publisher
