Sports Betting Futures Odds: And Then There Were Four

by Ricky Dimon - 3/28/2017

Sindarius Thornwell South Carolina Gamecocks

The field of 64 -or really 68 since we're still living in the era of those disastrous play-in games-has dwindled down to four, with the National Championship all coming down to North Carolina, Gonzaga, Oregon, and South Carolina. And what a time of the year it is, with the NBA heating up down the stretch of the regular season, baseball soon to begin, and the biggest and best tournament in all of golf on the horizon.

All odds provided by BetOnline Sportsbook .

National Championship

North Carolina (Even) -The Tar Heels became proven title contenders, albeit in a loss, when they dropped a 103-100 thriller against Kentucky during the regular season. They kept alive their title chances by winning the rematch, which was obviously a much more important game, 75-73 in the South Region final last Sunday.

Gonzaga (+150) - Two No. 1 seeds remain, and the other-Gonzaga-also survived exactly two difficult contests en route to the Final Four. Whereas North Carolina barely scraped past Arkansas and Kentucky, the Bulldogs had close ones against Northwestern (79-73) and West Virginia (61-58) in rounds two and three.

Oregon (+380) -UNC is through to its 20^th Final Four. The other three teams had combined for a grand total of one in their entire histories. That one belonged to Oregon, which was part of the first-ever Final Four in 1939. The Ducks, who won it all in '39, beat Rhode Island and Michigan by a combined four points before clobbering Kansas.

South Carolina (+650) -A Carolina vs. Carolina national title game is possible, as the northerners are facing Oregon on Saturday while the south side is going up against the Zags. Head coach Frank Martin's team, which upset Duke in the second round, is coming off big wins in Madison Square Garden over Baylor and Florida.

NBA title

Golden State Warriors (-130) -Even without Kevin Durant, the Warriors have won seven games in a row and look good to hold off San Antonio for the No. 1 seed in the Western Conference playoffs. Durant appears ready to return sooner rather than later, at which point he will be on a minutes restriction for some period of time.

Cleveland Cavaliers (+250) - The Cavaliers have never cared much about the regular season during the second LeBron James era, but this is alarming even by their standards. Cleveland has lost two in a row, is 7-9 in its last 16 outings, and suddenly trails Boston by a half-game in the Eastern Conference.

San Antonio Spurs (+650) -Tim Duncan has retired, but the more things change the more they stay the same. Kawhi Leonard and LaMarcus Aldridge are now running the show, with Tony Parker and Manu Ginobii still capable contributors. The Spurs have won five consecutive games and are within striking distance (two) of Golden State.

Boston Celtics (+1200) - The Cavaliers' slide has coincided with a Boston hot streak that has the Celtics atop the East standings. They have won seven of eight and four straight. Point guard Isaiah Thomas is third in the NBA in scoring behind Russell Westbrook and James Harden, and five Celtics average in double-figures.

World Series

Chicago Cubs (+450) -Does it not seem like just yesterday when the lovable losers came back from a 3-1 deficit against Cleveland to win their first World Series in 108 years? Whatever the case, baseball season is already back. Chicago is without Dexter Fowler and Aroldis Chapman this time, but Kris Bryant and many others return.

Boston Red Sox (+550) -Boston won the AL East last season, but-despite the fact that winning such a tough division is no small feat-that is not enough when you are the Boston Red Sox. They hope to go a few steps farther in 2017 after getting booted out of the playoffs in just three games by Cleveland. Chris Sale should help that effort.

Cleveland Indians (+700) -Cleveland's basketball team recovered from a 3-1 deficit and won the last two games on the road to win the 2016 NBA Finals. Cleveland's baseball team squandered a 3-1 lead and lost the last two games at home to lose the 2016 World Series. The Indians added slugger Edwin Encarnacion in the offseason.

Los Angeles Dodgers (+800) -A drought of Cubs-esque proportions this is not, but this esteemed L.A. franchise has not won the World Series since Kirk Gibson's legendary blast helped the Dodgers triumph in 1988. Although Los Angeles lost a 2-1 NLCS lead over the Cubs, Clayton Kershaw erased some of his playoff demons.

Shell Houston Open

Jordan Spieth (+650) -All roads currently lead to Augusta National, where the Masters will take place next week. Some players are resting now, while others have chosen to fine-tune their games in Houston. Spieth often goes the latter route and in 2015 he placed T2 in Houston before winning the Masters.

Jon Rahm (+1000) -There are not many players hotter than Rahm at the moment. One is Dustin Johnson, who happened to defeat Rahm in the final of the match-play championship this past Sunday. No one could beat the 22-year-old Spaniard at Torrey Pines two months ago, and he has three top-five finishes in his last four starts.

Henrik Stenson (+1200) - The reigning British Open champion has never triumphed at the Shell Houston Open, but he is twice a runner-up (2013, one stroke behind D.A. Points; 2016, one stroke behind Jim Herman). Stenson was T7 at the Valspar Championship earlier this month but recently missed the cut at Bay Hill.

Rickie Fowler (+1400) -Fowler finished in last place among players who made the cut at this Houston event in 2015, but he finished T10 last year. The American has been top 16 in four consecutive tournaments, including a victory at the Honda Classic in February. Justin Rose is a +1800 fifth choice and Phil Mickelson is sixth at +2000.

Start:	November 23, 2024 @ 2:30 PM
Expert:	Tony George
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