Every year around the middle of March the Madness officially begins when 65
teams compete for the NCAA College Basketball Championship. The betting interest
is huge, exceeded only by the Super Bowl as casual fans and professional sports
gamblers alike wager on which teams will advance in the Division 1 Men's
basketball bracket.
The NCAA tournament bracket is filled during Selection Sunday, an event in
itself when the bubble teams are eliminated, the final field of 65 March
Madness Teams is determined, and the newest sports "science" of bracketology
begins in earnest.
The five teams that have fared the best historically at the Big Dance and
captured the most NCAA Tournament titles are:
UCLA with a staggering 11 championships, although most of them were in a cluster
in the distant past.
Kentucky, who have won the premier College Basketball tournament 7 times.
Indiana with a very healthy 5 March Madness titles, and one so-so college hoops
movie to their name as well (Hoosiers).
North Carolina with 4 Big Dance titles, and the most recent winner on this list
with a 2005 victory.
Duke, who have only won the tournament 3 times but act like it belongs to them.
Special mention also goes to Florida who won back-to-back NCAA Tournament titles
in 2006/07.
Be sure to check out our March Madness betting pages to get the latest
market moves on the teams that the experts feel have a shot of making the Final
Four, and possibly go all the way to be the next Tournament champion.
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Butler Bulldogs
March Madness brackets always seem to hinge on that little-known #12 school that knocks out the #5 seed in the first round and then goes to cause havoc until losing with honor in the Sweet Sixteen. Butler is that type of program and this year the Bulldogs could be many experts' underdog of choice.
Florida Gators
The Florida Gators won the NCAA Tournament in 2006 and then repeated as champions in last year's Big Dance. Against all expectations coach Billy Donovan has rebuilt the 2008 Gators into contenders once again, and ignoring them in this year's bracket is done at your own peril.
Stanford Cardinal
Stanford is one of our dark horse selections for the 2008 March Madness tournament. The Cardinal have a good tournament pedigree so they're not exactly a true Cinderella team, but we think they will go surprisingly far in the NCAA Tournament.
Georgetown Hoyas
Last year's Georgetown team threatened to go all the way in the NCAA Tournament and knocked out North Carolina befiore falling to Ohio State. Can this year's team get back to the Final Four?
Michigan State Spartans
Michigan State could well be the best team in the 2008 Big Ten conference, which includes some strong schools. The Spartans have a legitimate shot at the Final Four this year, which would be their fourth trip this decade.
UCLA Bruins
The Bruins are the only team to win the NCAA Tournament 11 times, including seven times in a row from 1967-73, a record highly unlikely ever to be broken. But UCLA has not won March Madness since 1995 and this streak might not end soon either.
North Carolina Tar Heels
The UNC Tar Heels have been to the Final Four 16 times, which is the second best record in the history of the NCAA Tournament. Under hall of fame coach Roy Williams they always appear amongst the list of favorites to win it all at the Big Dance and this year is no exception.
Duke Blue Devils
The resurgence is well and truly underway this season at Duke and the Blue Devils will be near the top of the March Madness betting boards in 2008. The program has the fourth-most wins in the history of men's college basketball.
Kansas Jayhawks
When the 2008 NCAA Tournament begins one of the teams everyone will feel they need to beat in order to win is Kansas. The Jayhawks look very strong this season and will be in many Final Four brackets.
Memphis Tigers
The Memphis Tigers are poised to make a lot of noise at the 2008 NCAA Tournament. This team has had some success in previous March Madness tourneys, but has not reached the Final Four in the past 23 years (last appearance was in 1985)
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March Madness Betting |
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March Madness Odds - Quick
Picks |
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Bodog Florida win at 81/1 |
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Bodog Kansas win at 5/1 |
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Intertops
Ohio State wins at 14/5 |
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| | 2008/05/13 12:03:30 PM |
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