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Tuesday, March 10, 2015 | 4:30 p.m.
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Like the bluegrass meadows surrounding its university, the buzz around the Kentucky basketball team sprawls well beyond sight.
The undefeated Wildcats are drawing rarefied acclaim from hundreds of miles in every direction. Las Vegas sports books bestowed the latest distinction on coach John Calipari’s bluest-chip roster.
Kentucky’s dominance stretches so far that the Westgate Las Vegas Superbook didn’t even bother posting odds on the other 13 teams in the SEC tournament, which begins this evening in Nashville, Tenn. The only SEC wager on the board is a glorified yes/no proposition bet asking if Kentucky wins its conference tournament.
The Wildcats are a minus-360 (risking $3.60 to win $1) with the rest of the overmatched teams collectively offered at plus-320 (risking $1 to win $3.20). The prices, after adjusting for hold percentage, denote better than a 77 percent chance that Kentucky goes into the NCAA Tournament next week looking to become the first team since Indiana in 1976 to finish the year unbeaten.
The Superbook also currently lists Kentucky as a minus-120 favorite to win the national championship.
The SEC is the only conference tournament, within the last several years for that matter, without odds for more than one team listed.
Las Vegas hosts the second most likely conference tournament champion. Arizona is the second chalkiest choice on the board at minus-175, translating to a 52 percent chance to prevail in the Pac-12 tournament, which began at noon today inside the MGM Grand Garden Arena.
Most braceketology forecasts project Arizona as below a No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament, but oddsmakers would have it entrenched on the top line. The Don Best Advantage power ratings, employed by the majority of local shops, has Arizona at No. 2 in the country behind only Kentucky.
Locals or tourists keener for tournaments perceived as more competitive can head down Tropicana away from the Pac-12 and toward the Mountain West. The Thomas & Mack Center-hosted event is one of the two most parity-stricken major tournaments, according to the lines.
The top three seeds — Boise State, San Diego State and Colorado State — are all virtual co-favorites in the Mountain West tournaments with winning probabilities ranging from 23.5 to 26 percent by the odds. Even UNLV is given a decent chance to salvage its season at a 6-to-1 price, implying just below a 12 percent likelihood of winning the tournament.
Find all of the remaining tournament odds below with picks on the nine major conferences bolded.
Note: It’s typically not profitable to play the futures market, and instead bet on one team’s moneyline while rolling over the winnings all through the tournament. But Talking Points has bucked the odds the last two years, labeling three wins apiece in 2013 and 2014. If you had bet $100 on every selection, you’d be up $1,850.
American Athletic Tournament
No. 1 seed SMU — plus-140
No. 3 seed Cincinnati — plus-350
No. 6 seed UConn — plus-350
No. 2 seed Tulsa — plus-700
No. 4 seed Temple — plus-700
No. 5 seed Memphis — plus-1000
Field — 60-to-1
ACC Tournament
No. 1 seed Virginia — plus-175
No. 2 seed Duke — plus-175
No. 3 seed Notre Dame — plus-600
No. 4 seed Louisville — plus-800
Field — plus-300
Atlantic 10 Tournament
No. 1 seed Davidson — plus-200
No. 2 seed Dayton — plus-300
No. 5 seed VCU — plus-300
No. 3 seed Rhode Island — plus-700
No. 4 seed Richmond — plus-1000
No. 6 seed George Washington — plus-1200
Field — plus-1000
Big East Tournament
No. 1 seed Villanova — minus-120
No. 2 seed Georgetown — plus-400
No. 3 seed Butler — plus-700
No. 4 seed Providence — plus-700
No. 6 seed Xavier — plus-700
No. 5 seed Saint John’s — plus-1200
Field — 100-to-1
Big Ten Tournament
No. 1 seed Wisconsin — minus-120
No. 6 seed Ohio State — plus-450
No. 2 seed Maryland — plus-600
No. 3 seed Michigan State — plus-600
No. 4 seed Purdue — plus-1500
No. 5 seed Iowa — plus-1500
No. 7 seed Indiana — 60-to-1
Field — plus-1500
Big 12 Tournament
No. 1 seed Kansas — plus-300
No. 2 seed Iowa State — plus-350
No. 3 seed Oklahoma — plus-350
No. 4 seed Baylor — plus-450
No. 5 seed West Virginia — plus-800
No. 6 seed Oklahoma State — plus-1500
Field — plus-450
Mountain West Tournament
No. 1 seed Boise State — plus-225
No. 2 seed San Diego State — plus-225
No. 3 seed Colorado State — plus-250
No. 7 seed UNLV — plus-600
No. 4 seed Wyoming — plus-1200
No. 5 seed Utah State — plus-2500
No. 8 seed New Mexico — plus-2500
No. 6 seed Fresno State — 60-to-1
No. 9 seed Air Force — 200-to-1
No. 10 seed UNR — 300-to-1
Pac-12 Tournament
No. 1 seed Arizona — minus-175
No. 3 seed Utah — plus-300
No. 2 seed Oregon — plus-800
No. 4 seed UCLA — plus-1000
Field — plus-700
SEC Tournament
No. 1 seed Kentucky — minus-360
Field — plus-320
Big Sky Tournament
No. 1 seed Montana — plus-120
No. 2 seed Eastern Washington — plus-180
No. 4 seed Northern Arizona — plus-600
No. 3 seed Sacramento State — plus-800
No. 5 seed Northern Colorado — plus-1500
No. 6 seed Portland State — plus-2500
No. 7 seed Idaho — 30-to-1
No. 8 seed Portland State — 30-to-1
Big West Tournament
No. 2 seed UC Santa Barbara — plus-250
No. 3 seed UC Irvine — plus-250
No. 1 seed UC Davis — plus-300
No. 4 seed Long Beach State — plus-450
No. 5 seed Hawaii — plus-800
No. 7 seed Cal Poly — plus-1200
No. 6 seed UC Riverside — 40-to-1
No. 8 seed Northridge State — 200-to-1
Conference USA Tournament
No. 1 seed Louisiana Tech — plus-200
No. 3 seed Old Dominion — plus-200
No. 2 seed UTEP — plus-400
No. 4 seed UAB — plus-500
No. 5 seed Western Kentucky — plus-1000
No. 6 seed Middle Tennessee — plus-2500
No. 11 seed Charlotte — plus-2500
Field — 50-to-1
MAC Tournament
No. 2 seed Buffalo — plus-240
No. 1 seed Central Michigan — plus-300
No. 4 seed Toledo — plus-300
No. 3 seed Kent State — plus-1500
Field — plus-300
Southland Tournament
No. 1 seed Stephen F. Austin — minus-200
No. 2 seed Sam Houston State — plus-250
Field — plus-500
Sun Belt Tournament
No. 1 seed Georgia State — minus-140
No. 2 seed Georgia Southern — plus-300
No. 4 seed Louisiana Lafayette — plus-400
No. 3 seed Louisiana Monroe — plus-1200
Field — plus-800
Case Keefer can be reached at 948-2790 or [email protected]. Follow Case on Twitter at twitter.com/casekeefer.
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