March Madness Betting Trends: Handicapping the No. 1 Seeds
by Chris Vasile - 3/14/2016

Conference tournaments have come and gone, and to say the top-ranked seeds got their asses kicked would be an understatement. Twenty-one top-ranked seeds heading into their conference tournaments were upended and left scratching their heads. For the teams that did win the regular-season and conference tournament, it can be both a blessing and curse.

Help Filling Out NCAA Tournament Brackets: Sweet 16 Surprises
by Trevor Whenham - 3/14/2016

If everything went according to expectations in the NCAA Tournament then the Sweet 16 would be made of four No.1 seeds, four No.2s and four each of three and four seeds. That's the plan, but of course it never works out that way. Some years it's close. Other years the Sweet 16 is total chaos. Most years we see at least one team from the bottom quarter of the bracket make it through to the second weekend - and often more than that.

2016 March Madness Bracket Picks: Vulnerable High Seeds
by Trevor Whenham - 3/14/2016

As we stare at the newly minted NCAA Tournament bracket, there are some things that stand out immediately. We know that teams seeded in the top four in their region should, all things being equal, survive at least until the Sweet 16. The top two seeds should go further. There are a few high seeds, though, that don't seem quite good enough to make it that far - or at least not good enough to assume that they will. They are vulnerable teams that wouldn't be surprising early exits. Here are my March Madness bracket picks for five vulnerable higher seeds:

March Madness Bracket Help: 5 vs. 12 Seed Upsets
by Trevor Whenham - 3/14/2016

If you have paid any attention to the NCAA Tournament at all over the years then you know that the 5 vs. 12 line on the brackets is a fruitful one - both in terms of potential upsets and nice underdog payouts. Since the team expanded to the 64-team format in 1985 there have been 124 of these matchups. The underdog No. 12 seeds have a pretty solid 44-80 record in those games - upsets come at a 35.5 percent rate.

2016 NCAA Tournament Bracket Picks: Dangerous Lower Seeds
by Trevor Whenham - 3/14/2016

There are so many things that are great about the NCAA Tournament. Chief among them, perhaps, is the inevitable upsets that make the first round both so haywire and so exciting. Those upsets are so much fun to watch, and they can also be very profitable for bettors who correctly pick them out, too. Of course, it's not like they are easy to spot. All you can really do is make a series of educated guesses and hope for the best. Here are four lower seeds that have a chance to exceed expectations - in the case of double-digit seeds those expectations are to lose their first game and go home.

2016 NIT Bracket Picks and Expert Predictions
by Trevor Whenham - 3/14/2016

The NIT is kind of like Reno in my mind. Being in Reno is nice enough - you are in Nevada, you can gamble, there is lots of stuff to do, and it's generally a fun place. There is almost no one, though, who can honestly say that they would choose to spend real time in Reno if they could be in Las Vegas instead. Similarly, the NIT is postseason ball, and there is some prestige in winning it, but any team in existence would give up being a No. 1 seed in the NIT to be a No. 12 in the Big Dance - and they wouldn't even have to think about it.

All-Sports Expert Betting Tips to Help Win Cash this Week
by Dave Schwab - 3/14/2016

The annual NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament is one of the most heavily-bet sporting events of the year with everything from wagering on the individual games, playing any number of team and player props to filling out the tournament bracket in hopes of striking it rich. While multi- millions of dollars will be wagered over the next few weeks, there will be far more bets lost than won.

March Madness Money Management Tips and Expert Betting Advice
by Trevor Whenham - 3/10/2016

For a lot of people, the NCAA Tournament is all about filling out brackets and playing pools. Bettors know, though, that the real fun and profit in March is to be had not in playing pools but in betting on the tournament itself. There is a ton of games in a short time, and smart bettors have the opportunity to cash in big time. In order to enjoy the windfall, though, you need one big thing beyond just strong handicapping - you need to have strong March Madness money management.

Xavier Musketeers Odds to Win the 2016 NCAA Tournament with Picks and Predictions
by George Monroy - 3/10/2016

The Xavier Musketeers have built a name for themselves as bracket-buster and one of the mid-major conference teams to keep an eye on every year when March Madness comes around. The team has spent so much time being an underdog over the last 20-something years, that viewing Xavier as the No. 5-ranked team in the nation and a potential national title contender might seem out of place. Yet for all the success the Musketeers have seen, the program only has one Elite Eight and no Final Four appearances in the school's history.

Virginia Cavaliers Odds to Win the 2016 NCAA Tournament with Picks and Predictions
by George Monroy - 3/10/2016

The Virginia Cavaliers ended the 2016 regular season with a No. 4 ranking in the AP Top 25 poll and with a decent shot at grabbing a top seed in the NCAA Tournament. The team must first navigate a tough ACC Tournament bracket and a potential showdown with No. 7 North Carolina, if both teams advance into the weekend.

How to Run a March Madness Brackets Pool
by Chris Vasile - 3/10/2016

No word in the English language sees more of a massive spike in use around mid-February like "Bracketology." This 12-letter, five-syllable word enters the vocabulary of all genders and races and takes over mainstream sports media until Championship Monday. Then, much like Villanova's title aspirations, it disappears without a trace.

March Madness History
by Chris Vasile - 3/10/2016

If it weren't for a Canadian-American inventor by the name of Dr. James Naismith, the month of March would have undoubtedly been a month without much sporting excitement. Occurring two months after the college football season and one month prior to opening day in baseball, the invention of basketball seems to have filled the March sporting void that would have otherwise been present in many homes across the country.

NCAA Tournament Facts and Interesting Information
by Trevor Whenham - 3/9/2016

We are almost there. Finally. The NCAA Tournament, the greatest three-week stretch of sporting glory on the annual calendar, tips off in just a few days. Getting ready for this tournament is almost as much fun as the tournament itself. To help in your preparations, here is a collection of NCAA Tournament facts to get your mind limber and ready for action:

March Madness Betting Trends for 2016 NCAA Tournament Wagering
by Trevor Whenham - 3/9/2016

It's almost time for what are easily two of the most exciting days of the year for sports bettors and sports fans in general - the first two days of the NCAA Tournament. For many glorious hours we can watch game after game, knowing that countless millions are skipping work to do the same thing as well. We are limited in the real handicapping that we can do until the brackets are set on Selection Sunday.

2016 American Athletic Conference Tournament Predictions and NCAA Basketball Odds
by Robert Ferringo - 3/9/2016

The American Athletic Conference is the college basketball league that no one wanted, no one cares about, and no one knows about. But that's why I love it! The AAC's lack of national profile means that it is an afterthought for the oddsmakers as much as for bettors. Their conference tournament tips on Thursday, though, and it should provide one last opportunity for a big score (or two) this season.

College Basketball Conference Tournament Picks for Tourney Winners
by Dave Schwab - 3/9/2016

It is Championship Week in men's college basketball. And while teams from mid-major conferences all over the country have one-by-one been punching their ticket to the Big Dance all week long, the big boys in the majors will be in action right through this weekend to decide the winner in their conference tournament.

2016 Big Ten Tournament Predictions and NCAA Basketball Odds
by Robert Ferringo - 3/8/2016

For the impressive depth and talent that the Big Ten has produced in college basketball over the past decade, the Big Ten Tournament has been fairly predictable. The No. 1 seed has won the title in four of the last six seasons. And either the No. 1 or the No. 2 seed has cut down the nets in 14 of the 17 years that the conference has crowned a tournament champion.

2016 Big 12 Tournament Predictions and NCAA Basketball Odds
by Robert Ferringo - 3/8/2016

Why not just crown Kansas the Big 12 champions and be done with it? The Jayhawks have accomplished one of the greatest streaks in sports, winning 12 consecutive Big 12 regular-season titles over the past dozen years. They've done so despite the fact that the Big 12 is consistently one of the best two or three best conferences in the country. However, tourney time is a different animal. And if the Jayhawks want to pull the diesel double, winning the league and tourney crowns, they'll need to fight their way past a field that's stacked with talent and toughness.

2016 Pac-12 Tournament Predictions and NCAA Basketball Odds
by Robert Ferringo - 3/8/2016

The Pac-12 Conference is still the best league in the country that no one is watching. With an array of styles, exceptional athleticism, great coaching, and a ton of big-time traditional rivals and powers, this conference has everything that a college hoops fanatic can want.

2016 Big East Conference Tournament Predictions and NCAA Basketball Odds
by Robert Ferringo - 3/8/2016

The Big East Tournament used to be one of the biggest, best, and most exciting conference tournaments in college basketball. Conference realignment (screw you, college football!) has robbed the Big East of some of its star power and traditional rivalries. But the league has rebuilt, rebranded, and refreshed itself, even if it has had to do so outside of the national spotlight.