Kentucky Favored to Win NCAA Tournament; Cornell Odds Are 60-1

By Erik Matuszewski

March 22 (Bloomberg) -- The University of Kentucky is now the favorite among Las Vegas oddsmakers to win college basketball’s national championship after top-ranked Kansas was eliminated over the weekend.

Kentucky has won seven men’s titles, second to UCLA, and the Lexington, Kentucky, school’s 2,022 wins are the most in National Collegiate Athletic Association history.

The Wildcats (34-2) won their first two NCAA tournament games by an average of 29.5 points and are given 2-1 odds to win the men’s title, according to Las Vegas Sports Consultants, which advises Nevada sports books on gambling lines. The two lowest-seeded remaining schools -- No. 11 University of Washington and No. 12 Cornell University -- are in Kentucky’s region.

“Kentucky looks like they just have a little bit of an easier road,” Las Vegas Sports Consultants oddsmaker Sean Van Patten said in a telephone interview.

Kansas, the 2-1 pre-tournament favorite, became the first No. 1 regional seed since 2004 to get ousted in the second round when the Jayhawks were beaten by Northern Iowa 69-67 two days ago. The tournament field has been cut to 16 teams from 64.

Kentucky was tied with Syracuse as the second choice to win the title at 7-2 last week. Syracuse, which won its first two tournament games by a combined 45 points without injured center Arinze Onuaku, remains the 7-2 second choice behind Kentucky. Onuaku was out with a quadriceps injury and his availability for the rest of the championship hasn’t been determined.

‘Stiffer Competition’

“Syracuse has played great, but it’s a question if the Onuaku injury is going to make a bigger difference when they start going against stiffer competition,” Van Patten said.

The top seed in the West Regional, Syracuse is a six-point favorite against No. 5 Butler University for its March 25 game in Salt Lake City. Kentucky, the No. 1 seed in the East region, is favored by 10 points in its matchup against Cornell the same day in Syracuse, New York.

Cornell’s odds of winning the championship are 60-1 -- the longest in the field -- after opening at 200-1.

Cornell, of Ithaca, New York, became the first Ivy League school since 1979 to make the final 16 of the NCAA tournament with upset wins over Temple and Wisconsin. The Big Red, led by eight seniors, has a 29-4 record and is the only team in the tournament to play twice on the road against opponents ranked No. 1 in the nation. Cornell lost at Syracuse 88-73 on Nov. 24 and was beaten by Kansas 71-66 on Jan. 6.

‘Clean Environment’

“I don’t think there’s any question those games have already benefitted us greatly,” Cornell coach Steve Donahue said yesterday. “Now in the NCAA tournament you get a neutral site and officials. You really get an opportunity to play your game against teams in a real honest, clean environment.”

Cornell never had an NCAA tournament win before this season. The Wildcats, who are led by freshmen John Wall and DeMarcus Cousins, have an NCAA-best 100 tournament victories.

“I don’t know if we’re the overwhelming favorite (to win the championship),” Kentucky coach John Calipari said during a news conference after his team’s 90-60 rout of Wake Forest two days ago. “We’re still a bunch of freshmen and sophomores.”

Duke University, the top seed in the South Regional, is tied with West Virginia University with odds of 6-1.

Duke, of Durham, North Carolina, meets No. 4 Purdue in a South Regional semifinal on March 26 in Houston, while West Virginia, the second seed in the East, faces No. 11 Washington on March 25 in Syracuse.

Second seeds Kansas State and Ohio State both have 8-1 odds to win the championship. Northern Iowa, the ninth seed in the Midwest Regional, is 40-1 after knocking off Kansas.

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Team Championship
Odds
=======================================
Kentucky 2-1
Syracuse 7-2
Duke 6-1
West Virginia 6-1
Kansas State 8-1
Ohio State 8-1
Baylor 20-1
Michigan State 25-1
Tennessee 25-1
Washington 30-1
Butler 35-1
Xavier 35-1
Northern Iowa 40-1
Purdue 40-1
Saint Mary’s 40-1
Cornell 60-1
=======================================
Odds courtesy of Las Vegas Sports Consultants

To contact the reporter on this story: Erik Matuszewski in New York at matuszewski@bloomberg.net
Last Updated: March 22, 2010 00:01 EDT


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Doesn't this make you tingle a little bit!