College Confidential

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

 

Tip times set for Friday's NCAA games in Cowboys Stadium as well as other Sweet 16 contests

Tip times have been set for Friday’s South Regional games at Cowboys Stadium in Arlington. The first contest will be Kansas vs. Michigan, with a 6:37 p.m. start. The late game Friday will be Florida vs. Florida Gulf Coast, with an estimated starting time of 9:07 p.m. Both games will be televised by TBS.

In other Sweet 16 matchups, the Thursday schedule will include Miami-Marquette (6:15 p.m., CBS) followed by a CBS telecast of Syracuse-Indiana. TBS’ Thursday doubleheader will include Arizona-Ohio State (6:47 p.m. start), followed by LaSalle-Wichita State.

In the other Friday games in the Sweet 16, the Oregon-Louisville game will be the early telecast (6:15 p.m., CBS), followed by Duke vs. Michigan State in CBS’ late game.

_ 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 

Texas WR Shipley tweaks hamstring, will be day-to-day for rest of spring FB drills #Longhorns

Texas receiver Jaxon Shipley strained a hamstring in Thursday’s practice and his availability for the remainder of spring drills will be determined on a day-to-day basis, school officials announced Friday. Texas will hold its spring football game March 30 in Austin.

_ Jimmy Burch

Fans face May 31 deadline to apply for tickets to 2014 Final Four in Arlington #NCAAtournament, #CowboysStadium

The application process has started for fans interested in purchasing tickets to the 2014 Final Four at Cowboys Stadium in Arlington, with a May 31 deadline for submitting an order.

Fans are encouraged to apply for tickets online at www.NCAA.com/mbbtickets. All tickets for the 2014 Final Four in North Texas are sold in “books” for $190. Each book includes tickets to the national semifinals on Saturday, April 5, 2014 and to the national championship game on Monday, April 7, 2014.

Applicants’ credit cards will be charged upon submission of the application, including a $20 application fee that includes an NCAA Final Four game program along with shipping and handling fees. Fans will be allowed to apply to purchase up to four books of tickets. Only one application per individual/household will be accepted in the NCAA’s ticket selection process.

The NCAA will use a random selection process to determine ticket recipients. Individuals selected to purchase tickets will be notified by the end of September, 2013. Individuals not selected will receive a full refund, less the $20 application fee, by September, 2013.

For more information, visit www.ncaa.com/mbbtickets.

_ Jimmy Burch

Texas A&M's Vaughan, a Mansfield Legacy grad, sets top U.S. mark to win national honor #TAMU

Texas A&M discus thrower Shelbi Vaughan, a freshman from Mansfield Legacy, was selected Monday as the national athlete of the week by the U.S. Track & Field Cross Country Coaches Association for her efforts in last week’s Castillo Invitational in Tempe, Ariz.

Vaughan broke a 10-year-old school record on her first throw, then bettered the mark to finish as the top college competitor at the event with a toss of 185-feet (56.40 meters) in her first outdoor meet of the season. Vaughan, who also plays on A&M’s volleyball team, finished second in the meet and holds the mark for the longest longest discus throw by a U.S. competitor this season.

In addition, A&M javelin thrower Sam Humphreys also earned national athlete of the week recognition by setting a men’s meet record of 268 feet, 7 inches (81.86 meters) at the Castillo Invitational.

_ Jimmy Burch

OU quarterback Steve Davis: The last shall be first

He was a pudgy quarterback on the Oklahoma Sooners freshman team, and my dorm roommate and I thought it laughable that this Steve Davis we watched play no-frill freshman games on the practice field would one day be the starting quarterback at OU.

In 1972, he was one of eight -- eight! -- quarterbacks listed on the Oklahoma roster, which numbered around 130. The year 1972 was the first year freshmen had been made eligible for NCAA play, part of the transition to 30-scholarship limits. But in 1972, the 45-per-year limits had Oklahoma's roster so bloated that it took a good five minutes for the Sooners to clear the tunnel leading to Owen Field before a home game.

Steve Davis was an absolute revelation as a college football player. In 1973, deftly operating OU's 3-year-old, precocious Wishbone offense, the eighth quarterback on OU's roster as a sophomore in 1972 led OU to an 11-0-1 record playing seven teams ranked in the Top 20. He would help lead OU to national titles in 1974 and '75 (and the '73 team might have been the best of that bunch) and finish with a phenomenal 32-1-1 record as a starting quarterback.

He was, quite simply, a terrific Wishbone quarterback, an affirmation that dreams and transformations do happen.

Steve Davis, age 60, died Sunday in a crash of a private jet in South Bend, Ind.

Perhaps Steve Davis' public parting gift to Sooner Nation came during the OU-Texas game in October.

Louisville gets nod as NCAA favorite; oddsmaker likes Florida over Kansas in South despite seeds #NCAA

Louisville is the top overall seed in the 2013 NCAA Tournament, based on the findings of basketball selection committee members, but ranks as only a slight favorite over other teams – including No. 3 seed Florida, the favorite in the South Regional – based on odds released today by Bovada Sports Book (www.Bovada.lv).

Although the four top seeds in the various regionals rank among the website’s five teams with the best chance to win the tournament, Louisville (19/4) is given only slightly better odds than fellow No. 1 seeds Indiana (5/1), Gonzaga (10/1) or Kansas (10/1). Florida (7/1) actually received more favorable odds than Kansas, the Big 12 champion, to win the South Regional that will be decided March 29-31 at Cowboys Stadium in Arlington.

With no Texas teams in this year’s event, schools from neighboring states given the best odds to cut down the nets in Atlanta on April 8 include New Mexico (25/1), Oklahoma State (75/1), Oklahoma (250/1), New Mexico State (500/1) and Northwestern (La.) State (500/1).

Below is a look at the odds for all 68 teams in the tournament field, released today:

 

Odds to win the 2013 NCAA Men's Basketball Championship 

Louisville #1                              19/4

Indiana #1                                 5/1

Florida #3                                 7/1

Gonzaga #1                              10/1

Kansas #1                                 10/1

Duke #2                                   12/1

Miami, Fla. #2                           14/1

Ohio State #2                            16/1

Michigan State #3                      18/1

Georgetown #2                          20/1

Syracuse #4                              22/1

New Mexico #3                          25/1

St. Louis #4                              25/1

Michigan #4                              25/1

Wisconsin #5                            25/1

Pittsburgh #8                            33/1

VCU #5                                     40/1

UNLV #5                                   60/1

Arizona #6                                 60/1

NC State #8                              60/1

North Carolina #8                       60/1

Marquette #3                             66/1

Memphis #6                              75/1

Butler #6                                   75/1

UCLA #6                                   75/1

Minnesota #11                           75/1

Oklahoma State #5                    75/1

Kansas State #4                        75/1

Missouri #9                               75/1

San Diego State #7                   100/1

Creighton #7                             100/1

Notre Dame #7                          100/1

California #12                            150/1

Illinois #7                                  200/1

Colorado State #8                     200/1

Wichita State #9                        200/1

Villanova #9                              200/1

Temple #9                                 200/1

Iowa State #10                          200/1

Colorado #10                            200/1

Ole Miss #12                            200/1

Oklahoma #10                           250/1

Cincinnati #10                            250/1

Oregon #12                               300/1

St. Mary's #11                           300/1

Bucknell #11                             300/1

Belmont #11                              300/1

Middle Tennessee #11               500/1

Akron #12                                 500/1

Boise State #13                         500/1

LaSalle #13                               500/1

New Mexico State #13               500/1

South Dakota State #13             500/1

Montana #13                             500/1

Davidson #14                            500/1

Valparaiso #14                          500/1

Harvard #14                              500/1

Northwestern State #14              500/1

Iona #15                                    500/1

Pacific #15                                500/1

Florida Gulf Coast #15               500/1

Albany #15                                500/1

Western Kentucky #16               500/1

Southern #16                             500/1

James Madison #16                  1000/1

LIU Brooklyn #16                       1000/1

NC A&T #16                              1000/1

Liberty #16                                1000/1

 

Odds to win the 2013 NCAA Midwest Region  

Louisville #1                              11/10

Duke #2                                    15/4

Michigan State #3                      11/2

St. Louis #4                              15/2

Oklahoma State #5                    20/1

Creighton #7                             20/1

Missouri #9                               20/1

Memphis #6                              25/1

Cincinnati #10                            50/1

Saint Mary's #11                        50/1

Oregon #12                              66/1

Colorado State #8                     75/1

New Mexico State #13               75/1

Valparaiso #14                          100/1

Albany #15                                100/1

NC A&T #16                              200/1

Liberty #16                                200/1

 

Odds to win the 2013 NCAA West Region       

Gonzaga #1                              5/2

Ohio State #2                            11/4

New Mexico #3                          5/1

Wisconsin #5                            8/1

Pittsburgh #8                            8/1

Arizona #6                                 12/1

Kansas Sate #4                         16/1

Notre Dame #7                          33/1

Iowa State #10                          35/1

Ole Miss #12                             40/1

Belmont #11                              50/1

Boise State #13                         66/1

Wichita State #9                        66/1

LaSalle #13                               100/1

Harvard #14                              100/1

Iona #15                                    100/1

Southern #16                             100/1

 

Odds to win the 2013 NCAA South Region      

Florida #3                                 3/2

Kansas #1                                 7/2

Georgetown #2                          5/1

Michigan #4                              7/1

VCU #5                                     14/1

North Carolina #8                       16/1

Minnesota #11                           18/1

San Diego State #7                   25/1

UCLA #6                                   30/1

Villanova #9                              40/1

Oklahoma #10                           40/1

Akron #12                                 75/1

South Dakota State #13             75/1

Northwestern State #14              100/1

Florida Gulf Coast #15               100/1

Western Kentucky #16               100/1

 

Odds to win the 2013 NCAA East Region         

Indiana #1                                 5/4

Miami Florida #2                        7/2

Syracuse #4                              5/1

Marquette #3                             12/1

UNLV #5                                   15/1

Butler #6                                   20/1

NC State #8                              20/1

Illinois #7                                  25/1

California #12                            40/1

Davidson #14                            40/1

Colorado #10                            40/1

Temple #9                                 50/1

Bucknell #11                            50/1

Montana #13                             75/1

Pacific #15                                100/1

LIU Brooklyn #16                       200/1

James Madison #16                  200/1

 

 _ Jimmy Burch

 

 

Texas-Houston matchup in CBI set for Wednesday on AXS TV (Mark Cuban's network) #Longhorns

Texas will play at Houston in Wednesday’s opening-round matchup in the 2013 College Basketball Invitational (CBI), allowing the Longhorns to reach a postseason tournament for the 15^th consecutive season under coach Rick Barnes.

Texas (16-17) and Houston (19-12) will meet Wednesday night in Hofheinz Pavilion (8 p.m., AXS TV). The CBI features a 16-team field, with every game played on college campuses. Wednesday’s winner between the former Southwest Conference rivals will advance to a quarterfinal contest on Monday, March 25. The tournament semifinals are set for Wednesday, March 27.

In a unique twist, the CBI title is decided in a best-of-three championship series that will be played April 1-5. This is the Longhorns’ first appearance in the CBI after reaching the NCAA Tournament in each of Barnes’ first 14 seasons at the school.

 AXS TV, a network started by Dallas Mavericks' owner Mark Cuban, will broadcast most of the CBI tournament games, including each game of the championship series.

_ Jimmy Burch