OffshoreInsiders Handicapping Blog

The selection committee agrees with the 2008 Men’s NCAA Basketball betting odds in the West Regional. Top seeded UCLA is the heavy favorite to go to the Final 4 as sportsbooks have them at 2/3.

Agreeing with the seedings, the betting odds say Duke is next at 11/4. Where the oddsmakers disagree is that No. 4 seed Connecticut is 9/1, while the higher seeded Xavier is 11/1. “We concur with the bias in favor of major conferences,” says Stevie Vincent, Senior Handicapper at OffshoreInsiders.com. Xavier seems to be a popular Final 4 pick among media members.

The Cinderella team of the regular season is given minimal chance to repeat that role in the Big Dance. Drake is 14/1 to make it to the April climax to March Madness. Purdue is next 20/1.

Cy McCormick tells us of his favorite Calcutta betting value team Baylor. McCormick, head of the online betting syndicate MasterLockLine.com, says that Baylor has been as streaky as any team in the country and is the classic example of a team that “can get hot at the right time.”

Who will cover each individual game? The sports betting experts at OffshoreInsiders.com are the best source for March Madness pointspread winners.