NCAA Championship Tournament - East Bracket Preview

Attention all college basketball sports betting fanatics, the 2009 NCAA Championship Tournament is set to kick off and this preview of the tournament’s East Bracket (click here for your printable March Madness bracket) will give BetUS members the knowledge they need to compile a winning bracket and make several bankroll-boosting wagers in the process.

With tip-off time just hours away, it’s time to get down to business.

The Pittsburgh Panthers (28-4 SU, 16-9-1 ATS) are clearly the cream of the crop in this region and will ‘take out the trash’ in Round 1 (sorry East Tennessee State) before getting a stiffer test in Round 2 against No. 8 Oklahoma State whom I expect to squeak by No. 9 Tennessee in arguably the best first round matchup in any region.

No. 2 Duke (28-6 16-16-1 ATS) cakewalks in Round 1 before squeaking by No. 7 Texas in a second round matchup that turns out to be a lot closer than expected.

I fully expect No. 3 Villanova, which plays at home in Philly, to win easily in Round 1 before meeting No. 6 UCLA who squeaks by No. 11 VCU in their first round matchup (despite the numerous predictions to the contrary).

No. 4 Xavier is seeded a bit too high if you ask me and gets bounced out in the second round against a red-hot and very dangerous No. 5 Florida State team that beats No. 12 Wisconsin in Round 1.

Moving forward, I like Pitt to meet Florida State in one regional semifinal while Duke faces Villanova in the other regional semifinal matchup.

While I fully expect Pittsburgh and Duke to meet in the regional finals, I have not taken into account the fact that some team is likely going to get upset as happens every year in at least one conference.

My possible ‘Upset Specials’ brewing in this round are Tennessee over Oklahoma State in Round 1, Florida State over Xavier in Round 2 and VCU over UCLA in Round 1, (okay, it could very well happen).

In the end, I expect Pittsburgh to reach the regional final where they will beat No. 2 Duke.

Now, what BetUS college hoops bettors really need to know is that the overachieving Oklahoma State Cowboys went an absolutely mind-blowing 9-1 ATS over their L/10 winning and covering the spread in nine straight until falling to Missouri in the Big 12 tournament.

Pittsburgh is 7-3 ATS over their L/10 while No. 2 Duke has gone 2-3 ATS over their L/5 and posted pedestrian ATS statistics all season long.

Villanova is just 4-6 ATS over their L/10 while Florida State went a solid 4-2 ATS over their last six contests.

Minnesota alternated both, SU and ATS wins and losses in each of their last seven games while a shaky Xavier team went 1-2 SU and ATS over their last three games, losing to mediocre Temple and Richmond.

In the end, there is no other choice to reach the Final Four except the Pittsburgh Panthers.

East Region Winner: Pittsburgh