And there was one (top-seed). The dust from the turbulent Sweet 16 and the insanely paced Elite Eight has settled and with Syracuse and Kansas already out of the picture, it seemed like the rest of the way should be a cake walk for either Duke or Kentucky. As you know by know the Wildcats were walloped by West Virginia in a thriller to mark their early exit. That leaves Duke standing as the only first-seed left as we embark on our Final Four betting journey. Love them or hate them, they’re the most dangerous team left in March Madness betting.

Of course, before I get to their strengths, it would be remiss of me to neglect the fact that they’ve had the easiest bracket thus far. Granted, Purdue would have been a much bigger threat had Robbie Hummel not been injured, but the bracket makers knew this going in to the tournament. Duke was slated with Villanova as a two-seed, and we all know that those guys were destined for failure.

There are plenty of rumors as to why Duke received the “luck of the draw”. The most popular theory is that the tournament needed its biggest draw to advance deep in to the brackets because it has a TV contract up for renewal. The other is that the pollsters are all a bunch of Duke loving suck bags. It’s hard to imagine that Kansas didn’t earn an easier bracket, but bracket-o-logy is a cold mistress. Duke isn’t the first team to get a pancake bracket, and Kansas won’t be the last team to get a stiff draw.

If any team had a chance to knock Duke off its perch, it was Baylor. The Bears gave it the fight of their lives and were perhaps the only team in the entire South Regional to stack up well enough to manage the towering defense of Duke. As hard as they played, Duke’s bigs overshadowed those from Baylor. Ekpe Udoh, Anthony Jones, Quincy Acy and Josh Lomers combined for 37 points and 24 rebounds and failed to capitalize on the early foul troubles of Brian Zoubek.

Size may be the scariest component of Duke’s roster overall, but the stealth sniper shooting of Jon Scheyer and Nolan Smith is unreal. Scheyer was especially clutch in the fourth quarter, ending the game with 20 points, while Smith chipped in a game-high 29 points. When you consider the fact that Duke dominated the offensive boards and gritted it out for second chances, which they cashed in emphatically, against the second-biggest team remaining in March Madness betting lines it’s almost impossible to think that anyone else will unseat them.

Both Butler and Michigan State are streaky teams that need a ton of momentum to get to the top of the mountain. West Virginia simply doesn’t have the kind of depth that you need. Wherever the hate for Duke came from, it has to be balanced by a fair amount of respect. You don’t just luck in to top-notch recruiting. Those of you that took a flier on Duke when the tournament began must be salivating at your +700 odds. Maybe you can rub your winnings in to the faces of the idiots (like me) who just couldn’t take Duke to win it all on principal.

The betting public plays March Madness to win big, and why we couldn’t sign on with a team that is designed to win the big one is perhaps the biggest blunder in the flurry of March Madness betting.

Check out the NCAA odds and place your bet HERE!
 

 

Click here to view all of today's premium picks.

Social Bookmarking