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SportsBook recently released its early odds and lines on the 2012-13 Division I Men's College Basketball National Champion. Predictably, Boston College is nowhere to be found. If you want to throw down some cash on the Eagles to win it all in 2013, you'll have to take the field at 100:1 (+10000).
But hey, it's a better bet than taking the UConn Huskies.
Indiana is your early favorite to cut down the nets in Atlanta at 7:1, followed closely by Louisville (8:1), Kentucky (10:1), and Michigan State, Ohio State, Syracuse and Kansas, all 15:1.
Can Vegas predict how the 2013 race in the ACC is going to shake out? Let's take a look:
+2000 Duke Blue Devils
+2000 North Carolina Tar Heels
+5000 N.C. State Wolfpack
+10000 Florida St. Seminoles
+10000 Virginia Cavaliers
+20000 Maryland Terrapins
+20000 Miami Hurricanes
+20000 Clemson Tigers
+30000 Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets
+30000 Virginia Tech Hokies
Only BC and Wake Forest aren't listed on the board. The new bottom of the ACC?
A couple thoughts on these lines:
-- At 20:1, both Duke and North Carolina seem to be sucker bets. The fact that Duke has the same odds to win it all right now as North Carolina and is ahead of N.C. State, Florida State and Maryland seems to be based on name alone. Meanwhile, no one loses more production as the Heels do next season.
-- Call me crazy, but N.C. State at 50:1 seems like a decent bet. While I don't expect an ACC program to cut down the nets in Atlanta next season, the Wolfpack return a highly talented team that will be looked to challenge for a conference title next season.
-- No BC and Wake line is part bad programs and part roster turnover, I'm sure. The Eagles lose their only two scholarship upperclassmen in Humphrey and Moton, which will hurt. Wake Forest loses Nikita Mescheriakov, Ty Walker, Tony Chennault (transfer), Carson Desrosiers (transfer) and Anthony Fields (transfer). After two extremely underwhelming seasons followed by a string of transfers in each of his first two offseasons, coach Jeff Bzdelik has his hands full at a program which is not used to losing.