Free March Madness Props Picks with Betting Odds and Expert Predictions
by Dave Schwab - 3/16/2015
Each Monday, I normally put together a few player prop bet picks as an excellent way to supplement the action for that night's games, but once and awhile a few special props bet odds get released for a unique occasion in the world of sports.
Starting this Thursday, the Kentucky Wildcats will pick up where left off in a 34-0 run to this season's NCAA Tournament. And in conjunction with this epic quest, BetOnline has released some team prop bet odds to go along with their games. The following is a look at a few of my top picks for these special team prop bets surrounding Kentucky and its continued pursuit for perfection in this season's NCAA Tournament.
Kentucky Completes the Perfect Season
BetOnline has set the betting odds for "yes" that Kentucky will go on and win the national title by staying perfect on the year at +120, and the odds that the Wildcats will get tripped up somewhere along the way have been set at -150 that "no" they will not remain perfect.
I can understand why the odds favor no when you consider that the last time a college basketball team went wire-to-wire without a loss was all the way back in 1976 when Indiana Hoosiers went 32-0 on their way to a national title. Things have only gotten harder over the years with a number of quality teams vying for a title each and every season.
Despite the sheer magnitude of accomplishing a feat such as this, I am not about to go against a team that has only gotten better over its past several games. The Wildcats have won nine of their last 10 games by double-digits while going 8-1-1 against the spread during this same stretch of games. I am taking the extra value in the moneyline odds with a play on "yes" in this prop.
Kentucky Dominates NCAA Tournament with Double-Digit Wins
The moneyline odds that the Wildcats go on to claim a national title by winning each of their next six games by double-digits has been set at +600 for yes and at -1000 for no. The moneylines for this prop carry some serious risk/reward given just how big the numbers actually are, so a play in this prop is not for the faint of heart.
I first I was going to go all in on Kentucky in a series of big wins to the national title, but there are too many tough obstacles standing in its way. I would take this bet if it was just to the Final Four as I can't see any other team in the Midwest Region keeping things close against the Wildcats, but from there things could get tricky.
The second-favorites to win this year's title are Arizona and Wisconsin at +800 following Kentucky's +120 odds to win it all. Both of these teams are already on a collision course with one another coming out of the West Region, and either one could pose a serious threat to the Wildcats in a Final Four matchup. I still like Kentucky's chances to get past either team, but it's not going to be by a double-digit spread, so I am going with the high-risk "no" in this prop.
Total Time Spent Trailing in a Game
This is a very interesting team prop that has a moneyline of -125 that Kentucky will spend over 25 minutes trailing in this tournament. The moneyline odds on the "under" 25 minutes is set at -105. It's very easy for quite a few minutes to pile up early in any game, especially if Kentucky gets off to a slow start or if the team it is facing gets an extra fast start out of the gate. Looking at the path the Wildcats have to take to get through the Midwest Region, time trailing could easily add up to a combined 15 minutes or more against teams such as No. 4 Maryland or No. 5 West Virginia in the Sweet 16 round and against possibly Notre Dame in the Elite Eight Round.
The Wildcats could easily find themselves in a tight battle in any of their next three games (Final Four, Semifinal Round and the NCAA Championship Game ) where the time could pile up quickly. I said I like Kentucky's chances to pull off the perfect season, but I never said it would be a piece of cake, so I am going with the "over" 25 minutes in this prop bet pick.
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