Xavier Musketeers

Can Florida, Xavier make history? A No. 7 or No. 10 seed has never reached the Final Four

March 23, 2012

Kenny Boynton and Florida kept rolling on Thursday night to advance to the Elite Eight and now have a great chance to become the first No. 7 seed ever to advance to the Final Four.

Could the Gators’ opponent in the Final Four be Tu Holloway and 10th-seeded Xavier? The odds are certainly against the Musketeers, who must navigate through an imposing schedule the next two games to become the first No. 10 seed ever to make it.

March Madness Betting

Sweet 16 Betting Primer: Line moves, tidbits, public betting percentages for Friday action

March 23, 2012

It’s not much of a surprise that bettors are loving Lorenzo Brown, C.J. Leslie and the NC State Wolfpack as 8-point underdogs against Kansas in the late game Friday night.

The Wolfpack have had tremendous success when catching points lately, and they’re the only underdog in tonight’s games that is receiving the majority of the public action.

Mailbag

Historically, which conferences have performed best in Sweet 16? Lately, it’s been the Big 12

March 19, 2012

The Big East and Big Ten have accounted for eight of the 16 teams in the NCAA Tournament’s Regional Semifinals.

In the latest edition of the Mailbag, a reader wonders how conferences have fared straight up and ATS in the Sweet 16.

Odds Compare

Syracuse has worst odds to win title of any No. 1 seed; Is there value on 10th-seeded Xavier?

March 13, 2012

If you plan on making an NCAA Tournament futures bet, you’ll want to get the best price. As usual, here’s an “odds compare” table, which shows you which teams have value at particular sportsbooks.

Bubble Watch

Must-win games: How have teams fared SU and ATS with NCAA Tournament life at stake?

March 9, 2012

Selection Sunday is just two days away, which means many teams will be fighting for their NCAA tournament lives over the next few days.

What follows is a breakdown of how “bubble teams” have fared straight up and ATS in their respective conference tournaments, as well as a few games to watch on tonight’s card.

Conference Tournament Previews

A-10 Conference Tournament Odds: Billikens favored; Temple looks for 4th title in five years

March 6, 2012

The Atlantic 10 has a chance at getting three to four teams into the NCAA Tournament. But in order for that to happen, teams like Dayton, Saint Joseph’s and Xavier will need to have strong showings in the conference tournament.

Temple won the regular season title and enters as the No. 1 seed, but Saint Louis is the favorite to win its first-ever conference tournament, listed at +145.

College Hoops Stock Watch

Inconsistent Florida needs to find leadership, long-range shooting; Xavier destined for NIT?

February 29, 2012

In this week’s college hoops Stock Watch, we take a look at the Florida Gators, who have been battling inconsistency over their last seven games.

Other teams featured include Pennsylvania (stock up) and Xavier (stock down), which has once again played its way out of the 68-team field.

Caesars Win Total Watch: Arizona, Memphis, Harvard will all be up in the air in final 2 weeks

February 16, 2012

A few weeks ago, it seemed like a long shot at best that Arizona would go over its posted total of 13 conference wins.

But a recent hot stretch has changed that, and now Caesars Palace is looking like it was spot on in setting the number back in November. This is the final check-up on BTB’s friendly wager with Caesars on 10 conference win total ‘best bets.’