March Madness Underdogs

In less than a month the NCAA basketball betting online world will be front and center as the 2011 edition of the March Madness betting tournament to crown a National Champion in college hoops will be underway. While the AP top 25 takes most of the college basketball betting attention, there are many teams on the rise that could surprise in the tournament. Here is a look at some of the underdogs for this year’s tournament.

The UCLA Bruins and North Carolina Tar Heels will be back in the March Madness tournament, for the first time since 2009 as both schools appear to have turned a corner. Last week, the North Carolina Tar Heels, with a team made up mostly of freshmen and sophomores took the Duke Blue Devils, last season’s March Madness winner to the limit in a thrilling game. The Tar Heels weren’t able to come away with the win, however they showed the rest of the NCAA that a March Madness berth is on the mind this season.

Meanwhile, the UCLA Bruins are making lots of noise this college hoops season, a big change from last year’s team. The Bruins are currently riding a five game win streak and have won nine of their last 10 games. UCLA is 18 and seven this season with a nine and three record against the rest of the Pac 10. The Bruins are led by Malcolm Lee and Joshua Smith, who appear to be destined for good careers at the college level.

In years past, saying that the UCLA Bruins and North Carolina Tar Heels were underdogs, would have got us laughed at. However, this season, with such young rosters, both squads appear to be in Cinderella mode as opposed to heavyweight contender. Meaning to say, both of these teams could make serious runs in the March Madness Tournament, en route to surprise final four finishes.