College Confidential

Kentucky, Kansas given best odds to win 2014 NCAA men's BKB title in Cowboys Stadium #kentucky, #kansas

With the recent addition of Andrew Wiggins, one of the nation’s top-ranked high school recruits, Kansas joins Kentucky among the early favorites to win the 2014 NCAA men’s basketball championship, based on odds released today by Bovada Sports Book (www.bovada.lv).

Based on today’s odds posted by the website, the primary teams to track as likely participants in the 2014 Final Four, to be held April 5-7, 2014 at Cowboys Stadium in Arlington, will be Kentucky (5/1 title odds), Kansas (11/2), Louisville (17/2) and Michigan State (12/1).

Louisville won last month’s 2013 title in Atlanta, defeating Michigan, 82-76, in the championship game.
Among Texas-based colleges, the teams with the best 2014 NCAA title odds are Baylor (50/1), Texas (100-1) and Texas A&M (200-1). Odds for other projected frontrunners in next year’s Big 12 race include Oklahoma State (50-1), Iowa State (100-1), Kansas State (100-1) and Oklahoma (200-1).

Below is a look at all teams that were giving individual odds to win the 2014 NCAA men’s basketball championship, which will be settled in Arlington:

2013-14 NCAA Men's Basketball Championship - Odds to Win    
Kentucky                              5/1
Kansas                                 11/2
Louisville                              17/2
Michigan State              12/1
Duke                            14/1
Arizona                                 15/1
North Carolina                    16/1
Florida                                  18/1
Ohio State                    20/1
Syracuse                              25/1
Connecticut                         33/1
Indiana                                  33/1
Memphis                              33/1
Michigan                              33/1
Colorado                              40/1
UCLA                            40/1
Baylor                           50/1
Creighton                      50/1
Georgetown                        50/1
Gonzaga                       50/1
Iowa                                       50/1
Marquette                            50/1
Missouri                               50/1
NC State                       50/1
New Mexico                        50/1
Oklahoma State            50/1
Pittsburgh                            50/1
St. Louis                              50/1
VCU                             50/1
Wisconsin                            50/1
Butler                                     66/1
Illinois                                    66/1
Minnesota                            66/1
St. John's                     66/1
Tennessee                           66/1
UNLV                            66/1
Villanova                       66/1
Virginia                                 66/1
Wichita State                 66/1
Florida State                 75/1
Notre Dame                  75/1
Alabama                               100/1
Arizona State                100/1
BYU                             100/1
California                             100/1
Cincinnati                             100/1
Iowa State                     100/1
Kansas State                100/1
Miami Florida                     100/1
Ole Miss                       100/1
Oregon                                 100/1
Purdue                          100/1
San Diego State            100/1
Stanford                       100/1
Texas                                    100/1
Vanderbilt                     100/1
West Virginia                      100/1
Arkansas                              150/1
Boise State                   150/1
Colorado State              150/1
Dayton                                  150/1
St. Mary's                     150/1
Temple                                  150/1
USC                             150/1
LSU                              150/1
Georgia                                200/1
Georgia Tech                200/1
Harvard                         200/1
Maryland                              200/1
Oklahoma                            200/1
Texas A&M                   200/1
Washington                         200/1
Washington State          200/1
Xavier                           200/1
Clemson                       250/1
Davidson                      250/1
South Carolina                   250/1
St. Joe's                       250/1
Virginia Tech                 250/1
Wake Forest                       250/1
Boston College                 500/1
Northwestern                 500/1
Mississippi State           500/1
 
Andrew Wiggins - Will he be selected #1 overall in the 2014 NBA Draft?   
Yes                   -300     (1/3)    
No                    +200     (2/1)
 
Andrew Wiggins - Average PPG in the 2013-14 NCAA Basketball Season?
Over/Under                   18
 
_ Jimmy Burch

May 31 deadline approaching for fans to apply for tickets to 2014 Final Four at Cowboys Stadium

May 31 is the deadline for fans to apply for tickets to the 2014 NCAA Final Four, to be held April 5-7, 2014 at Cowboys Stadium in Arlington.

Applications will be taken online at the link below:

http://www.ticketingcentral.com/V2/Home.aspx?I=sWjeOgAAAAAMfBqlAAAAAABE%2fv%2f%2f%2fwD%2f%2f%2f%2f%2fDU5DQUFfTUZGXzIwMTQA%2f%2f%2f%2f%2f%2f%2f%2f%2f%2f8%3d

 

Each applicant may request up to four tickets and must apply in his/her name from his/her street address (no P.O. boxes). Completed applications must include a $20 non-refundable application fee for shipping/handling. The fee also includes a Final Four championship program.

Any applicant not selected for tickets will receive a refund, minus the $20 application fee. Duplicate orders will be cancelled without notification at the conclusion of the application period.

_ Jimmy Burch

 

Barnes to chair NCAA men's basketball committee for 2014-15 season

Scott Barnes, vice-president and athletic director at Utah State, has been selected as chairman of the NCAA Division I men’s basketball committee for the 2014-15 season, officials announced Wednesday. Barnes will oversee selection of teams that compete in the 2015 NCAA Tournament.

He will spend next year serving as vice-chairman to Ron Wellman, the Wake Forest athletic director who will be chairman of the committee for the 2013-14 season. Wellman will oversee selection of teams for the 2014 event, which will culminate with the 2014 Final Four at Cowboys Stadium in Arlington. The Final Four games in Arlington will be played April 5-7, 2014.

Mike Bobinski, last year’s committee chairman, ends his term in September.

_ Jimmy Burch

 

CBS, TBS to split telecasts of 2014 Final Four at Cowboys Stadium, a first for TBS

Officials at CBS Sports and Turner Sports announced today that coverage of the 2014 Final Four in North Texas will include Saturday semifinals games on TBS, with the Monday championship game on CBS.

It will mark the first time for Final Four games to be carried on the cable network. CBS has been the exclusive provider for all Final Four telecasts since 1982.

The new broadcast schedule, part of the networks’ exclusive joint coverage agreement of the NCAA Tournament that runs through the 2024 season, also will be in effect for the 2015 Final Four.

In addition, network officials announced that coverage of regional semifinals and regional finals will be split by TBS and CBS during the remaining tournaments under the agreement (2014-2024). Earlier round games will continue to be divided between four national carriers: CBS, TBS, TNT and truTV.

Starting with the 2016 Final Four, CBS Sports and Turner Sports will alternate coverage of the Final Four games on an annual basis. TBS will televise all Final Four games in 2016, with CBS handling all telecasts at the 2017 Final Four.

In a statement issued Tuesday, CBS Sports chairman Sean McManus called the future broadcast plans a “win-win arrangement that continues to help us extend the reach of this marquee property by combining the resources of our two organizations … From the beginning, our partnership with Turner Sports has exceeded every one of our expectations.”

David Levy, Turner Broadcast System’s president of sales, distribution and sports, said his network was “thrilled to have the opportunity to televise the Final Four” starting with next year’s event in Arlington. The 2014 Final Four will be played April 5-7, 2014 at Cowboys Stadium.

_ Jimmy Burch

 

Dallas could host multi-game kickoff to college BKB season at AAC in November

Discussions are ongoing to start the 2013-14 college basketball season with a multi-game event at American Airlines Center in Dallas featuring some of the nation’s top teams, ESPN.com reported today.

The one-day event, which could feature up to four games on a yet-to-be-determined date in November, would be run by bd Global. In the ESPN.com report, bd Global president Brooks Downing told the website: “We’re still tying up some loose ends but hopefully we’ll be able to announce something soon.”

Downing declined to name potential teams but said the idea is to use the event as a tip-off to the college season and “generate a lot of excitement and hype about college basketball in the city that’s hosting the Final Four.”

The 2014 Final Four will be played at Cowboys Stadium in Arlington.

_ Jimmy Burch

Louisville installed as prohibitive favorite at Final Four, with Michigan the likely title game foe

Louisville, the lone No. 1 seed remaining in the 2013 NCAA Tournament, has been installed as a prohibitive favorite to cut down the nets at the conclusion of this week’s Final Four in Atlanta.

The Cardinals were given 2/3 odds today to win the national championship by Bovada Sports Book (www.Bovada.lv), best of any remaining team in the field. Other championship odds given the Final Four teams included Michigan (3/1), Syracuse (17/4) and Wichita State (12/1).

Michigan, a No. 4 seed and Sunday’s winner of the South Regional at Cowboys Stadium, will meet fellow No. 4 seed Syracuse in one of Saturday’s semifinal games at the Georgia Dome. Louisville will meet Wichita State, a No. 9 seed, in the other semifinal contest.

The winners will play in Monday’s championship game. Below is a look at a variety of odds established by the website related to Final Four possibilities:
.
 
Odds to win the 2013 NCAAB Men's Basketball Championship
Louisville #1                                          2/3
Michigan #4                                          3/1
Syracuse #4                                          17/4
Wichita State #9                                    12/1
 
2013 NCAAB Men's Basketball Championship - Exact Matchup
Louisville vs. Michigan                           5/6
Louisville vs. Syracuse                          3/2
Wichita State vs. Michigan                     15/2
Wichita State vs. Syracuse                    10/1
 
Who will win the NCAAB Basketball Tournament Most Outstanding Player?
Russ Smith (Louisville)                          4/5
Trey Burke (Michigan)                            4/1
Peyton Siva (Louisville)                         7/1
Mitch McGary (Michigan)                        10/1
Michael Carter-Williams (Syracuse)         12/1
Gorgui Deng (Louisville)                        15/1
Brandon Triche (Syracuse)                     15/1
C.J. Fair (Syracuse)                               18/1
James Southerland (Syracuse)               20/1
Nik Stauskas (Michigan)                        20/1
Tim Hardaway Jr. (Michigan)                  20/1
Malcolm Armstead (Wichita State)          30/1
Carl Hall (Wichita State)                          30/1
Cleanthony Early (Wichita State)             30/1

_ Jimmy Burch

Tickets remain for tonight's NCAA games at Cowboys Stadium #MarchMadness, #CowboysStadium

Some tickets still remain for tonight's South Regional semifinal games of the NCAA Tournament at Cowboys Stadium in Arlington. Tickets can be purchased on a walk-up basis at the stadium's north ticket office. Fans also can purchase online via ticketmaster.com or they can call 800-745-3000.

As of Tuesday, organizers said more than 32,000 seats had been sold for tonight's games. Cowboys Stadium will be configured to hold 42,614 for tonight's session. One single-session ticket will allow fans to watch both games tonight between Kansas-Michigan (6:37 p.m.) and Florida-Florida Gulf Coast (9:07 p.m.).

_ Jimmy Burch

Louisville remains NCAA tourney favorite; Fla Gulf Coast now has 75/1 odds to win title

Louisville, the top overall seed in the NCAA Tournament, remains the favorite to win the 2013 national championship among the men’s basketball teams that have reach the Sweet 16, based on odds released today by Bovada Sports Book (www.bovada.lv). But several other schools have seen their odds improve dramatically since February, when tournament odds were first released. The list includes Florida Gulf Coast (75/1) and LaSalle (66/1), a pair of double-digit seeds still alive in the title mix. Neither of those schools received odds to win the tournament in February. Below is a look at the title odds given to each Sweet 16 team, now and then: 

NCAA Tourney Odds and Ends
Odds to win the 2013 NCAA Men's Basketball Championship
Louisville #1            NOW:        3/1      THEN:   12/1
Florida #3                NOW:       19/4     THEN:  5/1
Indiana #1               NOW:       5/1        THEN: 11/2
Miami Florida #2     NOW:       15/2      THEN: 11/2
Ohio State #2          NOW:      15/2       THEN: 30/1
Michigan #4             NOW:     11/1       THEN: 15/2
Duke #2                   NOW:     12/1        THEN: 9/1
Kansas #1                NOW:     12/1       THEN: 14/1
Michigan State #3    NOW:     14/1        THEN: 10/1
Arizona #6               NOW:      18/1        THEN: 20/1
Syracuse #4            NOW:     20/1         THEN: 20/1
Oregon #12             NOW:      33/1        THEN: 75/1
Marquette #3           NOW:      40/1        THEN: 60/1
Wichita State #9      NOW:      40/1        THEN: 150/1
LaSalle #13             NOW:      66/1        THEN: N/A
Fla. Gulf Coast #15  NOW:     75/1         THEN: N/A

 _ Jimmy Burch

 

Erwin Center evacuated during Miami's scheduled practice, pushing back today's schedule in Austin #NCAAtournament

The Erwin Center was evacuated for more than a half-hour today because of what Austin Fire Department officials described as an alarm malfunction in the building. Miami was scheduled to be practicing in a closed session during the evacuation window but media members exited the building from a different door than the one the team would have used. There has been no official update on whether the Miami practice was disrupted but that appears that was the case.

Today’s schedule for interviews with players and coaches has been pushed back by a half-hour because of the evacuation.

_ Jimmy Burch

Sunday game times set for Austin regional

The game times are set for Sunday's regional games of the NCAA Tournament in Austin. The South Regional matchup between Miami and Minnesota will tip off at 5:10 p.m. The winner will advance to next week's South Regional finals at Cowboys Stadium. The late game will feature Miami vs. Illinios in an East Regional matchup. That contest will tip off at 7:40 p.m.

_ Jimmy Burch