The NCAA men's basketball regular season is winding down as teams look to add a few more wins to improve their position for their individual conference tournaments as well as the NCAA Men?s Basketball Tournament which starts on March 15. The primary goal for a number of teams between now and then is to first and foremost secure an invitation to the dance, but the ultimate goal for the elite programs in the country is to earn as low a seed as possible to begin their quest for a national title.
The field for this year's tournament has been expanded from 65 teams to 68 teams with the first round consisting of the last four at-large bids and the final four automatic qualifiers. The winners of these four games will advance to the second round which consists of the traditional 64 team field. While this may add some excitement tothe tournament as a whole, the reality is there are still only a handful of teams that have a legitimate chance to be named this year's National Champions.
The following is a look at a few of the teams that have the best chance to win it all along with their current odds as provided by
VietBet.com.
Big Ten power Ohio State is the current odds-on-favorite to win the 2011 men's championship at +450. The Buckeyes were soundly beaten by Purdue 76-63 a week ago, but they still have a one-game lead over the Boilermakers in the conference at 13-2 and are 26-2 overall. Led by freshman phenom Jared Sullinger, Ohio State is as deep a team as any other in the country and a solid pick to go all the way.
The Duke Blue Devils are the second-favorite at +475to successfully defend their 2010 title with another national championship this season. It would be hard to bet against Duke as it is currently 26-2 on the year heading into Saturday's game against Virginia Tech. The Blue Devils are 12-1 in the ACC, but being doggedly pursued by a revitalized North Carolina team that is just one game back at 11-2. If the Blue Devils go on to lock-up one of the four No.1 seeds in the tournament, they should have a clear path to the
Final Four.
The third-favorite at +600 are the Kansas Jayhawks. They are 24-4 overall this season, but actually one game in back of Texas in the Big 12 with an 11-2 record in conference play including a 74-63 loss to the Longhorns early this year. This loss could end up being the difference between a one or two seed in the tournament and a tougher path to the finals if Kansas ends up second in the conference.
Speaking of Texas, it is currently +600 as well. The Longhorns (24-4, 12-1) lost a bit of steam with a 70-67 loss to Nebraska, but remain a real threat to be the team cutting down the net in Houston the first week in April especially if they nail down a No.1 seed.
Pittsburgh is a team to watch at +1000and there are a couple of Cinderella's like San Diego State and Notre Dame at +3000that are more than capable of keeping things interesting as the madness of March wears on.
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