Duke and Pitt Favorites in Odds to win the 2011 NCAA Tournament
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Duke and Pitt Favorites in Odds to win the 2011 NCAA Tournament
In our first Vegas odds NCAA tournament preview, we featured the Ohio State Buckeyes and Kansas Wildcats who are the top seeds in the East and Southwest regions. 2011 basketball bracket odds at online sportsbooks also favor the Buckeyes and Wildcats +450 to win the men's national championship but in this preview, we will discuss the top seeds in the West and Southeast regions and overall betting favorite. The Pitt Panthers are somewhat of a longshot at +800 but the Duke Blue Devils are definitely deserving of their #1 seed, are +400 favorites to win the NCAA tournament and are expected to be one of the final teams on many bracket contests.
Duke enters 2011 basketball bracket odds at 4/1 having gone 30-4 on the season with 13-3 mark against teams in the ACC conference. The Blue Devils are also riding a wave of momentum having won three straight games including a 75-58 victory vs North Carolina on Sunday to win the ACC title. Nolan Smith (21.3-ppg) and Kyrie Irving (17.4-ppg) have led Duke in scoring this season while sophomore Mason Plumlee has been a beast on the boards with 7.1-rebounds per game. The Blue Devils will see their first round action vs #16 Hampton on Friday, March 18th at 3:00pm EST on TruTV. Vegas odds for the NCAA tournament at sportsbooks are expecting a blow-out with Duke already listed as -22.5 favorites.
Ask any handicapper and they will all tell you that Pitt is lucky to be a #1 seed in 2011 basketball bracket odds having gone a mediocre 27-5 on the season. The Panthers however did own the Big East conference with a 15-3 mark but have only gone 2-2 in their last four games. Pitt pulled off a 60-50 college basketball betting upset vs Villanova early in March to end the season but then lost to UConn 74-76 in the Big East quarterfinals game to start March Madness. Junior guard Ashton Gibbs has led Pitt this season with 16.7-ppg and also netted 27-points in the loss to the Huskies. If Pittsburgh is to make it to any final as +800 longshot in basketball bracket odds, it will depend on the arm of Gibbs who has average almost 50% from behind the arc. Pitt will see their first action of the tournament in the third round facing the winner of Butler vs Old Dominion. Share: