The Kansas Jayhawks earned the number 2 overall seeding in NCAA basketball Vegas odds and the top seed in the Southwest regional as the regular season and conference tournament champion of the Big 12 conference. The Jayhawks will open up 2011 NCAA tournament action in the Big Dance on Friday from Tulsa against Boston University. Kansas opened in Southwest regional bracket picks as a +130 college basketball betting favorite to win the region and +400 to win the national championship.
The Notre Dame Fighting Irish were considered a serious contender for a number one regional seed but instead got the number two slot in NCAA basketball Vegas odds for the Southwest regional bracket after an outstanding year in which they were the regular season runner up team in the always tough Big East conference. Notre Dame will open up the Big Dance on Friday night in Chicago against Akron. The Fighting Irish opened in Southwest regional odds as a +325 selection to win the bracket while he Purdue Boilermakers make for a dangerous number 3 seed as they were a serious contender in the Big Ten Conference race and ranked in the top ten for most of the year. The Purdue Boilermakers will open up 2011 NCAA tournament action on Friday from Chicago against Saint Peter's and sportsbooks have listed the Boilermakers as +425 favorites to win the bracket and +2000 longshots to win the national title.
The number 4 seed in NCAA basketball Vegas odds for the Southwest regional are the Louisville Cardinals who are another dangerous Big East commodity and have value at +525. The Louisville Cardinals have one of the most respected coaches in the game with Rick Pitino and will open the Big Dance from Denver on Thursday against Morehead State. Other possible values in NCAA basketball betting for Southwest regional bracket picks include #8 UNLV and #5 Vanderbilt who are both listed at +2000. Georgetown (+1200) got a surprising number 6 seed but is injury bugged and could be a bit overrated heading into the tournament. Be sure to play in the $5,000,000 March Mayhem bracket contest, make your college basketball picks for the 2011 NCAA tournament and win millions!
