With conference tournaments right around the corner, the Big Dance isn’t far behind.
Setting yourself up on the futures odds with some teams that could catch fire come March could set up some excellent hedging opportunities down the road. We’re going to take a look at a handful of “Bubble Teams” that if they qualify, could make some noise and make you a boatload of profit should they go on a Cinderella run.
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Syracuse Orange: 100-1
We’ve seen this story unfold countless times. A team that limps to the finish line snags an at-large bid over a team the college basketball universe believed deserved an invite instead. That team is then faded in the first round only to bust countless brackets en route to making a deep run. Heck, that team last year was Syracuse who made it to the Final Four before its slipper was smashed by the North Carolina Tar Heels. Jim Boeheim is one of the best tournament coaches in the business, and he’s got a team that’s already shown it can do some damage with it beating the likes of Virginia and Florida State in recent weeks. This is a tried and true program that normally shows well in the dance. Should it qualify, the return on investment is through the roof!
Michigan State Spartans: 100-1
Sparty has been on an incredible roller coaster ride ever since it lost a gutwrencher to Arizona in its season opener. Since then, it took on Kentucky, Baylor, Wichita State, Duke, and Oakland in non-conference play. Though it managed just a pair of wins, it covered three of those games. More importantly this young team gained a ton of much-needed experience that set them up well for Big Ten play. Miles Bridges has proven to be the real deal, and though the Spartans only sit two-games over .500 in conference heading into their Valentine’s Day tilt with Ohio State, there are still a number of huge games on the docket that can drastically improve their stock over the next couple weeks. Should that occur, this 100-1 offering on the NCAA Tournament futures odds will be a steal.
Marquette Golden Eagles: 250-1
Steve Wojciechowski’s got a scary bunch of athletes at his disposal. While the team plays absolutely no semblance of defense, it can shoot the lights out with it ranked No. 23 in field goal percentage and No. 3 from beyond the arc. It ranks No. 11 in adjusted offensive efficiency per KenPom.com and can no doubt win any type of shoot out if need be. Firmly on the bubble with Marquette owners of a sub .500 Big East record, it gets three of its final five games at home and already has big wins over Villanova and Creighton to throw its hat on. The team’s odds to win it all have actually gotten shorter since first opening at 300-1. If it can qualify for the dance and get a lucky draw, this team has the makeup to make a surprising run.
Oklahoma State Cowboys: 200-1
The Cowpokes have seen their odds to win the NCAA Men’s Basketball Championship shrink from 300-1 to its current offering. That’s no doubt had a ton to do with Jawun Evans and his mates rattling off six wins in its last seven tries with the lone defeat coming in the form of a tough 72-69 loss to Baylor who went on to sweep the season series. It can still make some hay in the regular season with games lined up against bubble teams TCU, Texas Tech and Iowa State. If it can win all three or at the very least take two, their regular season finale at home against Kansas might just give their resume the jolt it needs to get over the hump should it come out victorious. Brad Underwood has done a tremendous job in his first year at the helm since coming over from Stephen F Austin. He overlooked the Lumberjacks team that took down No. 3 West Virginia and had No. 6 Notre Dame dead to rights in last year’s dance!
Middle Tennessee State Blue Raiders: 200-1
Last but certainly not least are the Blue Raiders out of Murfreesboro, TN. You remember these guys, right? No. Come on. You must be in denial. Don’t lie. You had Michigan State going to the Final Four out of the Midwest Region last year, right? Just about everybody did. Unfortunately for you, MTSU pulled a wire-to-wire job and secured one of the biggest upsets in the history of the NCAA Tournament. Well, Reggie Upshaw and other key contributors from last year’s team are back, only this time, they’re kicking butt and taking names atop Conference USA. They look to be primed for a deeper run this time around with an efficient offense and unforgiving defense that allows under 63.0 points per game that also rebounds the basketball. This club is a higher seeds worst nightmare!
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