Of course, I'm inclined to give a little more weight to the opinion of casinos and online bookmakers than that of sportswriters or basketball coaches, for one simple reason: this is how they earn a living.
Need more evidence? Try this on for size... the top four betting line favorites going into the 2007-08 season were UCLA, Memphis, North Carolina and Kansas.
You may remember those teams as the 2008 Final Four.
Here's a look at how one online sports book sees the 2009 NCAA Basketball title contenders:
BetOnline.com 2009 College Hoops Title Odds
- North Carolina 9/4
- UConn 20/1
- Louisville 20/1
- UCLA 12/1
- Pittsburgh 25/1
- Michigan State 20/1
- Texas 30/1
- Duke 10/1
- Notre Dame 50/1
- Gonzaga 30/1
- Purdue 50/1
- Oklahoma 60/1
- Memphis 25/1
- Tennessee 40/1
- Arizona State 50/1
- Marquette 40/1
- Miami 100/1
- USC 30/1
- Florida 30/1
- Davidson 50/1
- Wake Forest 50/1
- Georgetown 25/1
- Villanova 75/1
- Kansas 25/1
- Wisconsin 75/1
Oddsmakers' Final Four
If the oddsmakers are right, that would give us a 2009 Final Four including:- North Carolina
- Duke
- UCLA
- And one of three 20/1 teams -- Connecticut, Louisville, or Michigan State.
A note about online gambling...
The legality of online gambling is a particularly sticky issue. For a recap and examination of the history and legislation on the topic, Allen Moody's article, Is Online Sports Betting Legal? is a must-read.Allen is About.com's guide to Sports Gambling.
