Conference tournaments have been underway for several days now, but this is the week where online sports betting experts start to key into what's happening.
While conferences like the Missouri Valley and Sun Belt started determining their automatic bids last week, major names like the ACC, Big 12 and SEC will begin their conference tournaments this week.
Bet on March Madness
March Madness doesn't just start with the First Four in Dayton.' With virtually every Division I team participating in a conference tournament, hoping to win an NCAA Tournament berth, the time to start betting on March Madness is right now.
With that in mind, I'm highlighting about a dozen teams to pay attention to this week for one reason or another.
In some cases, these programs are playing well right now but might be flying below the radar.
In other cases, they might be teams whose market value may have outpaced their worth, which could make them a valuable fade target.
South Alabama is listed at the top because the Jaguars will play in the Sun Belt championship game Monday night, so there's a pretty fast turnaround on this information.
South Alabama is a No. 8 seed in the Sun Belt tournament, but it's playing like a No. 8 seed in the NCAA tournament. The Jaguars are playing with confidence and shooting the lights out of the ball.'
In the quarterfinal, the No. 8 seed Jags closed as a pick 'em against regular-season champion Southern Miss. They won going away, 78-61.
In the semifinals, they opened as nominal favorites over No. 4 seed JMU before the market started to bet the Dukes.'
And in betting news: South Al/JMU yet another reminder that funky lines in conference tourney season are great signals to pay attention to.
No. 8 seed South Alabama opened at -1 against No. 4 JMU before the market started hitting the Dukes hard.
— Chase Kiddy (@chaseakiddy) March 6, 2023
Now, against the No. 2 seed, USA opened as a pick 'em against No. 2 Louisiana. The market is once against fading South Alabama, but I'm not sure that's wise at this point.
I'd consider South Alabama on Monday night. If they win, mark them down as a very dangerous team next week.'
UConn has been on a real roller coaster ride this season. One of the last undefeated teams left in college basketball at Christmas, UConn suddenly went 3-6 in a bad four-week stretch from New Year's Eve through the end of January.
The Huskies rose to the top of the college basketball national championship odds board, then abruptly fell out of the AP Top 25 altogether.
But UConn has quietly put the pieces back together through the late season, winning eight of its last 10 games. Their 7-3 ATS mark over that same span with double-digit wins over Villanova, Providence and Marquette.
The top of the Big East is dangerous, but few teams are showing better form right now than UConn.
From a betting market perspective, Texas A&M is a very interesting team right now. The Aggies flew under the radar all year – they only just got AP Top 25 recognition a couple of weeks ago – but likely reached their value peak right at the end of the regular season.
Over the weekend, A&M clinched the No. 2 spot in the SEC Tournament with an emphatic, statement-making win over Alabama.
I could be wrong, but a win over Alabama just before the SEC conference tournament begins could be inflationary when it comes to how A&M is priced in the single-game betting market.'
The Aggies have been available for great value all season, but if the numbers are too high this week, don't be afraid to bet against them. This could be an excellent sell-high spot.
Pour some out for the Panthers. Pittsburgh is 6-3 straight up (and 6-3 ATS) since the start of February, and it could have clinched a share of the ACC regular season championship with a win at Miami over the weekend.
Instead of a victory, Pitt lost 78-76. And because the top of the ACC is so tight, the one-possession loss for in-contention Pitt drops them all the way to the No. 5 seed for this week's ACC Tournament.