Posted by rtmsf on October 28th, 2010
Last week we took a look at the Vegas odds for the 60 or so teams that sportsbooks offer futures wagers on to win the 2011 national championship. In a complete surprise to nobody, Duke was at the very top of the list, but there were several mild eyebrow-raisers in the slots after the Blue Devils — Kentucky at #2, Memphis at #5, UNC at #7. This week we thought it might be interesting to take a look at another futures bet that is offered: the odds for each team to win its conference regular season title. Again, these odds aren’t necessarily an indication of what Vegas “thinks” will happen; it’s more a combination of market forces and line shading toward the more popular teams. But these gambling establishments are not in the business of losing money, so there are some nuggets of information that we can draw from their established odds (e.g., if you think anyone but Duke will win the ACC this season, you’re a steaming hunk of moron). Let’s break it down. Each conference will have a few thoughts after its table.
Ed. note: keep in mind that Vegas doesn’t set its odds to add up to 100%; if they did that, they’d never be able to sucker people and make any money on long-term futures bets. So these percentages do not represent the “true” chances of winning the conference; rather, they represent what Vegas is willing to risk on those teams.
Quick ACC Thoughts.
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Are there any surprises here? Not really. Duke is a prohibitive favorite for a reason — even if they have injuries, there’s not a lot of depth to this league right now. UNC, an NIT team last year who lost its top three scorers, getting love as a strong second tells you a lot about the uncertainty of this conference beyond the Blue Devils.
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Vegas doesn’t like Virginia Tech nearly as much as the pundits — that clearly has something to do with its recent history as an underachiever.
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Look at Maryland pretty far down the list — that’s not a typical position for the Terps to be in under Gary Williams. Given their “brand name” value-add, Vegas must really not be fond of Jordan Williams and company this coming season.
Quick Big 12 Thoughts.
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This is a crazy grouping at the top, with four schools basically acting as co-favorites — Baylor, Kansas State, Kansas and Texas. Again we see another school (the Longhorns) living off its recruiting prowess and not its actual performance with such a high placement.
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In our opinion, Missouri is a darkhorse candidate to not only win the Big 12 this season but also go to the Final Four. Yet there the Tigers sit at +800 and 11.1%. We’re not sure there’s a better value in this entire post if you’re so inclined.
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There may not be a better duo in the Big 12 than Alec Burks and Cory Higgins at Colorado, but the Buffs aren’t getting any love from Vegas. The CU situation is an interesting comparison with Georgia in the SEC — both teams bring back two all-conference caliber players from a mediocre squad last year. Yet, while the experts seem to like the ‘Dawgs this year, Colorado hasn’t gotten the same traction. Is it a Big 12 vs. SEC thing; is it the coaching (Mark Fox vs. Tad Boyle)?
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| 2010-11 Season Preview, vegas odds
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