We're still a few weeks away from the start of the 2009/10 NCAA men's hoop season but college basketball betting fans need not wait until then to start dipping into their wallets for some much-needed hardcourt action. Future book wagering is open for which team will cut down the nets in Indianapolis, April 5, 2010. What's more, some books also are offering odds on which teams will win their respective conference crowns.
Savvy basketball betting practitioners understand that while each future book wager should have merit on its own, the bets also can provide the gambler with additional options later in the season. For example, suppose you have a future book wager on Kansas to win it all and the Jayhawks do make it to the final game. In that case, you can hedge by betting Kansas' opponent, plus the points, protecting your future book wager while making it possible to cash both bets. The same scenarios exist in conference championship futures.
This season, there are about a half-dozen teams with authentic aspirations for the 2009/10 NCAA Championship, none more legitimate than Kansas. With everyone returning to the Sweet 16 team that went 27-8 last season, the Jayhawks opened as the 4/1 favorite to emerge with their second title in three years. Sherron Collins (18.9 PPG, 5.0 APG) is among the country's best point guards and Cole Aldrich (14.9 PPG, 11.1 RPG) may be the nation's top big man. Talent and depth make Kansas the team to beat.
If Kansas somehow stumbles, look for Kentucky or North Carolina to make the jump to the top. Coach John Calipari brings plenty of baggage to Lexington but the embattled coach also brings plenty of talent with him from Memphis. Calipari could surround forward Patrick Patterson (17.9 PPG, 9.3 RPG) with four heralded freshmen, an aggressive move that might take a year to reap dividends. Bettors who think the Wildcats are ready now get future book odds of 5/1 for their confidence.
UNC is given odds of 13/2 to match last season's hoop crown even after losing four starters to the NBA. There are plenty of big bodies up front and if Coach Roy Williams can find a point guard—sophomore Larry Drew is the best bet there—the team could again be potent, even in what is a rebuilding year.
Interestingly, while Kansas is the overall favorite, the Jayhawks are no sure thing to even win the Big-12 Conference. That's because Texas, a 10/1 shot ranked as high as No. 2 in the nation by one national magazine, stands in the way. The Longhorns boast rugged Damion James (15.4 PPG, 9.2 RPG) and have one of the nation's top recruits in guard Avery Bradley. But Texas needs to play better defense.
Duke also is rated at odds of 10/1. The Blue Devils have plenty of beef up front but only three guards on the roster, none of them a true point. Handling the rock is a priority, especially in tournament play so Duke will be a work in progress until Coach Mike Krzyzewski solves that dilemma.
There are a handful of other teams, most in the 15/1 to 20/1 future book odds range, that could challenge for the NCAA title this season. The list, in no particular order, includes Villanova, Louisville, Michigan State, Purdue and West Virginia.
Three returning starters and a top five recruiting class has us thinking that Villanova is slightly better than Big East rival Louisville, which has a potential star center in Samardo Samuels and a backcourt with talent that can shoot the trey.
MichiganState returns five off its six top scorers from last season's team that made it to the Big Dance finale against North Carolina but Big Ten rival Purdue, a Sweet 16 team a season ago, also is loaded. One book listed MichiganState as a 15/8 favorite to win the conference with Purdue barely a tick behind at odds of 2/1.
Like its Big East rivals Villanova and Louisville, West Virginia has a chance at national prominence as well. The Mountaineers have a pair of talented forwards in Da'Sean Butler (17.1 PPG, 5.9 RPG) and Devin Ebanks (10.5 PPG, 7.8 RPG) but needs to develop a point guard.
Other teams that could threaten for a national title—often at a hefty price—include Tennessee, 28/1; Oklahoma, 40/1; Georgia Tech, 50/1; Butler, 50/1; and Michigan and California, each at 100/1.
