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As of Wednesday with only a little more time for those NCAA Tournament brackets to be turned in, Gambling911.com is beginning to get a little insight into which teams the so-called "sharps" or "wise guys" are pounding.
Looking at Bookmaker.com, by far one of the "sharpest" betting shops online, we're finding that the three most bet on teams early on are Western Kentucky, Virginia Commonwealth and Washington University. The later two stand out in that many pundits have suggested their respective opponents will go deeper into the Tournament than their seedings would otherwise suggest. Past trends also favor Mississippi State to beat out Washington University significantly.
"Recreational betting shops have UCLA with more favorable odds to win their region than a few of the teams with better seeding," said Don Shapiro of Gambling911.com.
Western Kentucky was getting the most action at Bookmaker.com with a rather small spread of just +4 ½.
"Not sure if the office pool folks want to jump all over VCU when filling out their brackets," Shapiro warned. "I'm not saying VCU can't win outright but these ‘sharps' are jumping all over the number more than they are the team winning outright."
Virginia Commonwealth University was a big +9 ½ underdog against UCLA Tuesday night and that number has since been pushed down to +7, a result of the heavy one-sided betting action.
"VCU should certainly be given strong consideration by bettors looking to take advantage of the rather hefty spread," Shapiro says.
Christopher Costigan, Gambling911.com Publisher
