NCAA Tournament Kentucky HUGE Favorite in the Midwest

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By Charles Jay

Is the Midwest region the place for the eventual national champion will have to come from? Well, because of the fact that Kentucky rolls into this tournament with a record of 34-0, the chances are very strong that we are going to see exactly that. Or, at least that’s what it says in the college basketball betting futures at BetAnySports.

In what started out as a 68-team field and was whittled down with four play-in games, Kentucky is priced at +138 to win the championship.The next closest team on the list is Arizona at +825. So you see how big the gap is between the Wildcats and the rest.

This is literally a chance to make history for Kentucky, which can become the first team since Indiana in 1976 to go through an entire season undefeated AND win the national championship. They got close last season, and they did a rare thing in this campaign, which was to actually bring back players.

Here is the breakdown of the Midwest Region, with odds provided by BetAnySports:

• Kentucky -273
• Kansas +975
• Notre Dame +1225
• Wichita State +1600
• Maryland +3500
• West Virginia +3500
• Texas +4000
• Butler +7200
• Indiana +10000
• Cincinnati +12500
• Purdue +12500
• Buffalo +27500
• Valparaiso +100000
• New Mexico State +200000
• Northeastern +250000
• Hampton +300000

Kentucky is obviously the prohibitive favorite to win it all, and there is no good reason not to give them all the consideration the world. Usually coach John Calipari brings in a bunch of blue-chip freshmen and molds them into a unit rather quickly after which time they disperse to the NBA. Well, the Wildcats had some “one-and-done” people last season, but this year they brought back a number of “veterans” including Aaron and Andrew Harrison in the backcourt, and some frontcourt muscle, including Willie Cauley-Stein, Marcus Lee and Dakari Johnson.

BetAnySports customers know that the Wildcats are the hardest to shoot on in the country, as they have yielded only 35% from the field. So they should not have a whole lot of trouble getting through to the Sweet 16 at the very least, although if you talk to many college basketball bettors, they don’t anticipate any trouble cutting down the nets in the end. For Kentucky’s sake, let’s hope they don’t get overconfident.

Kansas (+975 in this region at BetAnySports) had a 26-8 record for coach Bill Self, but this is not a terribly deep team. And when they face off against an opponent like New Mexico State, they’re not going to have much of a size advantage. Notre Dame shoots 51% from the field, and 58% from two-point range. They are one of the most efficient teams in the nation offensively, and they do not turn the ball over. This is a very disciplined team that earned its #3 seed with an ACC tournament victory. Because of their ability to hit from anywhere in the half court, they are going to be a threat for anyone they play. That becomes especially interesting when they face a team like Texas, which has great shot-blocking capabilities but perhaps won’t be putting them to a lot of use against the squad like the Irish, since the have to get out to the perimeter and stretch out their stop unit.

A quick note about one of the long shots. The University of Buffalo, which is nicknamed the “Bulls,” are coached by Bobby Hurley, the former point guard for Duke’s championship teams who later had his NBA career cut short an accident, and is also the son of one of the legendary high school coaches in New Jersey. Hurley’s squad won the Mid-American Conference title, which means a guaranteed spot in the 68-team field. Enjoy it while it lasts!

BetAnySports is your ticket to all the action in the NCAA Tournament, with reduced juice wagering and Dynamic Lines, so you never have to miss a number!

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