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The NCAA Tournament opens with play-in games Tuesday. The contest sending a team forth into the West Region bracket will be on Wednesday. Below, we look at Tipico Sportsbook’s NCAA Tournament West Region futures odds and and make our expert college basketball picks and predictions.
Arizona State and Nevada will tussle in the Wednesday game in Dayton. Then its on to Albany, Denver, Des Moines, and Sacrament to play 1st- and 2nd-round games Thursday-Sunday. From a betting standpoint, the West offers the strongest No 2, 3, and 4 seeds in UCLA, UConn, and Gonzaga, respectively. Consequently, some of the longer prices on middle and high seeds are in this region.
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West Region futures odds
Provided by Tipico Sportsbook; access USA TODAY Sports Scores and Sports Betting Odds hub for a full list. Lines last updated Monday at 12:14 p.m. ET.
1 seed: Kansas +300 (bet $100 to win $300)
2 seed: UCLA +320 (bet $100 to win $320)
3 seed: Gonzaga +450 (bet $100 to win $450)
4 seed: UConn +450 (bet $100 to win $450)
5 seed: Saint Mary’s +1000 (bet $100 to win $1,000)
6 seed: TCU +1000 (bet $100 to win $1,000)
7 seed: Northwestern +3000 (bet $100 to win $3,000)
8 seed: Arkansas +2000 (bet $100 to win $2,000)
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9 seed: Illinois +3000 (bet $100 to win $3,000)
10 seed: Boise State +6000 (bet $100 to win $6,000)
11 seed: Arizona State +6000 (bet $100 to win $6,000)
11 seed: Nevada +10000 (bet $100 to win $10,000)
12 seed: VCU +6000 (bet $100 to win $6,000)
13 seed: Iona +10000 (bet $100 to win $10,000)
14 seed: Grand Canyon +10000 (bet $100 to win $10,000)
15 seed: UNC Asheville +10000 (bet $100 to win $10,000)
16 seed: Howard +20000 (bet $100 to win $20,000)
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West Region expert pick and prediction
UConn Huskies (+450)
Connecticut was a solid contender in a strong-across-the-top Big East, and the Huskies enter these brackets with a 9-2 mark since Jan. 31. UConn is efficient at both ends of the floor and is a standout offensive rebounding squad.
The West is the best spot for a team of this caliber. Bart Torvik comps these Huskies alongside several Elite 8 teams and 1 Final Four entry. That’s good value for a No. 4 seed.
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West Region contenders
Saint Mary’s Gaels (+1000)
Gonzaga’s running mate in the West Coast Conference gets split from the Bulldogs in this West bracket. That’s good, because the Gaels’ last 2 losses have been against the Zags.
With a big-time defense (60.1 points per game), SMC beat Gonzaga earlier this season and played Houston shoulder-to-shoulder as part of a 26-7 campaign. Saint Mary’s style of play (slow) is mostly a zig to the much of this region’s zag, and that could play in the Gaels’ favor.
Arkansas Razorbacks (+2000)
With the way the West lays out, a couple of strong contenders are already at pretty long prices. But another hat to throw in the ring would have a Razorbacks logo on it.
Arkansas coach Eric Musselman has taken the Razorbacks to the Elite 8 each of the last 2 years. They are the SEC version of Illinois and Northwestern (see below), insofar as recent setbacks are concerned. UA opens with Illinois, and that game figures to be a tremendous 1st-round matchup.
The Razorbacks’ defense and ability to frequently get to the free-throw line make them a live wire at this price.
West Region long shots
Northwestern Wildcats (+3000)
NU has lost 4 of its last 5 games but the Wildcats still went a respectable 12-8 in the meatgrinder Big Ten. Northwestern’s big-time defense (62.5 PPG) and ballhandling make it dangerous if it can get on a roll from beyond the arc.
Illinois Fighting Illini (+3000)
Another contender coming out of a broadly talented Big Ten. And another well under-.500 of late, which will scare off many onlookers.
But the Illini have non-conference wins over UCLA and Texas to their credit. When games are decided in the paint, Illinois has the offensive rebounding, defense and shot-blocking down low to be a real factor.
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