NCAA Basketball Conference Tournament Betting Preview: Wichita State, Oregon, and Georgia Tech Present Excellent Value

The NCAA Tournament is almost here, but you don’t have to wait until after Selection Sunday to find profit opportunities in the sports betting market. Several sportsbooks offer “boosted odds” on select games or futures while others simply have inefficiencies to pounce all over. Either way, this article will serve as a guide to find the best value while heading into the major NCAA Basketball Conference Tournaments.

VALUE BETS

PICK: Wichita State +700 To Win AAC Tournament

Where: William Hill - Offer: Deposit $250, Bonus $250

This is probably one of the best value plays you’ll find heading into the NCAA Conference Tournaments. Houston is the team to beat in this tournament, checking in as a -165 favorite to take the crown. However, the Cougars are already in the tournament - likely as a strong #2 or #3 seed. In other words, they don’t have as much motivation as the other contenders in this conference. Wichita State, Memphis, and SMU are all on the bubble, so they’ll need to win the AAC to seal their NCAA tournament fate.

Wichita State has won seven in a row, including a sweet 68-63 victory over Houston. Wichita’s odds are +200 and +300 at SugarHouse and FanDuel Sportsbook respectively, so getting them at +700 over on William Hill is quite the upgrade. You can’t ignore the Shockers at that value!

PICK: Alabama +170 To Get a #1 Seed in the NCAA Tournament  

Where: FanDuel Sportsbook - Offer: Deposit $500, Bonus $500

Gonzaga, Michigan, and Baylor are all-but locked into #1 seeds for the NCAA Tournament. It seems that Illinois and Alabama are battling for the final spot, while some may argue that Houston and Iowa aren’t completely out of the picture either. Illinois is listed at -310 to get a #1 seed, while Alabama currently rests at +170. That seems like a misprice. 

According to TeamRankings.com, Alabama has a 40% chance of getting a #1 seed, while Illinois sits around 37%. Granted, we aren’t really sure what the selection committee will be thinking on that fateful Sunday, but Bama seems like a strong value in this situation. The Rolling Tide have a good chance to win the SEC Tournament, and the selection committee loves rewarding teams who won the regular season and tourney championships. 

PICK: Oregon +310 To Win Pac-12 Tournament

Where: FanDuel Sportsbook - Offer: Deposit $500, Bonus $500

There’s a lot to like about the Ducks here, and it’s not simply the fact they have 3/1 odds. Well, that helps too. Oregon appears to be rounding into form after winning 10 of their last 11 games. Veteran coach Dana Altman has his pieces in place to make a legitimate run at the Pac-12 Championship.

Colorado, USC, and UCLA are the other teams who could get in Oregon’s way. The Ducks will represent the top seed, meaning they would play UCLA instead of Colorado/USC. While the Bruins are a formidable opponent, Oregon handled them 82-74 last week. The value on FanDuel Sportsbook is incredible, as Oregon is listed as +175 and +225 on SugarHouse and William Hill respectively. 

LONGSHOT BETS

PICK: Georgia Tech +1000 To Win ACC Tournament

Where: SugarHouse - Offer: Deposit $250, Bonus $250

The ACC is wide-open this year with Duke and North Carolina taking a step back. Florida State and Virginia are the top dogs, North Carolina and Virginia Tech represent the second tier, then Louisville and Georgia Tech round out the odds.

Georgia Tech probably belongs somewhere closer to that second tier with North Carolina and Virginia Tech. GT has a double-bye in this tournament, and their first game will come against either Pitt/Miami/Clemson. That’s good news. If the Yellow Jackets win that game, they’ll face Virginia, who they only lost to by a bucket in January. Georgia Tech is a scrappy team that can hang with the best this tournament has to offer. Remember, they beat Florida State by 11 earlier this season as well. They are a legitimate contender at a whopping +1000 price. 

PICK: Texas Tech +1500 To Win Big 12 Tournament

Where: SugarHouse - Offer: Deposit $250, Bonus $250

The Red Raiders got whooped by Baylor 88-73 on Sunday, but we can’t forget their previous accomplishments just because of that one disappointment. Texas Tech is a strong team that ranks second in the Big 12 according to KenPom’s rankings. They are also neck-and-neck with Kansas for the second-best odds to win the Big 12 Tournament when looking at TeamRankings. 

In fact, it seems that SugarHouse has Texas Tech mispriced compared to the other sportsbooks. FanDuel has them at +850 and William Hill at +650. This is a similar situation as outlined with Wichita State earlier. Baylor has plenty of talent, but they also have a #1 NCAA Tournament seed locked up. Maybe that opens the door for someone else to take the conference crown? If that’s the case, then why not Texas Tech?