With the NBA draft now a distant memory, it is once again time for college basketball betting enthusiasts to examine which schools have the best draft classes heading into the 2011 – 12 seasons. Last year, a plethora of players many of us believed were going to be one and done type players, chose to stay in college due to a possible strike in the NBA. As a result, their schools will remain strong, but will also have to contend with these other schools that had excellent recruiting months. Here is our sports betting look at the top recruiting schools this offseason.

Michigan State Spartans – The Spartans started off strong last season, before dropping off and ultimately not going very far in the March Madness tournament. As a result, the Spartans coaching staff, made sure that this offseason was going to be a big one from a recruiting stand point. The crown jewel of Michigan State’s class is a six foot six inch small forward named Branden Dawson. While Dawson is no Kalin Lucas, he still provides the Spartans with that much needed go to player in big game situations.

Ohio State Buckeyes – Regardless of the return of power forward Jarred Sullinger, the Buckeyes once again possess one of the best draft classes in school history. This offseason, the Buckeyes recruited center Amir Williams and point guard Shannon Scott, two stand outs in the McDonalds High School game. Small forwards Sam Thompson and LaQuinton Ross provide the Buckeyes with different options for the low post heading into 2011 – 12.

Texas Longhorns – After losing their big three of Canadians Tristan Thompson and Corey Joseph, as well as American Jordan Hamilton, to the NBA Draft, the Longhorns rebounded rather nicely. Texas loves Canadians, as they recruited point guard Myck Kabongo who is considered to be the best point guard in this year’s draft class. Similar to last two first overall NBA draft choices John Wall and Kyrie Irving, Kabongo is considered to be a one and done player.

With the NBA draft just a few weeks away, sports betting enthusiasts handicapping college basketball are growing more and more curious as to how 2011 National Champion UConn will do in the 2011 – 12 seasons. After winning the National Championship against the Butler Bulldogs, former Connecticut star Kemba Walker made no secret of his intention to enter this year’s NBA draft. Then, making matters more intriguing, several of our betting online colleagues, ran stories that Conn boss Jim Calhoun was retiring. With that in mind, here is a look at the UConn Huskies offseason.

Last week was a big one for NCAA basketball handicappers, as recruiting week got underway. Leading the recruiting charge was National Champion the Connecticut Huskies, led by Head Coach Jim Calhoun. The fact that Calhoun, a coach with a number of health problems, led the way in recruiting indicates the 69 year old personally doesn’t have any intention of retiring soon. However, ultimately, if the health concerns get to be too much, Connecticut may just buy out Calhoun’s contract, in order to force him to deal with his health issues.

What is also intriguing with Calhoun retiring is the fact that Connecticut kept on the Huskies Coaching staff, despite a scandal involving a booster that doubled as an agent. For those unfamiliar with the NCAA, boosters and agents are deemed illegal when dealing with college players. Regardless of the scandal, Calhoun, was able to get a verbal commitment from Omar Calhoun a 2012 recruit who is seen by many experts as one of the top scorers in the nation. Aside from Omar Calhoun, Jim Calhoun was also able to lockup 2011 recruit DeAndre Daniels. Meaning to say, at least on paper, the Huskies shouldn’t drop down too many positions with the loss of Kemba Walker to the NBA.

Last night the March Madness betting world took center stage, as the Butler Bulldogs took on the Connecticut Huskies. In a league plagued by schools being suspended, it was a nice sports betting surprise to see the Connecticut Huskies a team on probation walk away as NCAA March Madness champions. Here is a recap.

On Monday April 4, 2011 the college basketball betting world, was disgusted at the final. In what can best be described as one of the most boring games in NCAA history, the Connecticut Huskies defeated the Butler Bulldogs by a score of 53 – 41. The game went well under the total predicted, as both teams put on a defensive clinic. In fact, overall the Butler Bulldogs emerged as a team we always knew they were, a pretender. During the game, the Bulldogs shot 18 percent overall, and despite leading after the first half 22 – 19, never really were in the game.

The second half of the game was all about the Connecticut Huskies, in terms of scoring ability and just flat out being the better school. There is no betonline.com scam, Connecticut normally plays in the Big East Conference, and going into the Final Four this past weekend, they were the only one of 11 Big East qualifying teams to have made it past the Sweet 16.

During the game last night, the Connecticut Huskies showed the world that despite being put on probation for illegal recruiting tactics, Jim Calhoun similar to Mike Krzyzewski in the 2010 Butler v Duke final is a far superior Head Coach to Brad Stevens. Connecticut also showed that playing in a much tougher conference all season and then region in the March Madness tournament, gave them the fortitude to perform at a high level. The victory for Connecticut is bittersweet going into the offseason, as Kemba Walker is headed to the NBA draft, and Jim Calhoun is headed for a suspension for the aforementioned illegal recruiting tactics.

PayPerHead.com, an online sportsbook service provider for local agents, today unveiled a new campaign featuring Vince Curatola, Johnny Sack of The Sopranos fame.

The campaign leads with Vince asking “Five bucks a head, that’s what I wanna pay…” and the website, featuring video and voice overs by Vince, walks you through the product, the process and the competition.

“Five bucks a head is really an industry first given our level of service,” a spokesman from PayPerHead.com explained. “And we very carefully and in great detail delineate on the website exactly what you get and at what price level at PayPerHead versus the other serious players, such as PPH International.”

As a sportsbook agent, what you get is a lot, including not only the traditional online sportsbook but an optional casino, live poker, in game live betting, mobile betting, tools for managing players and their funds, layoff and scalp accounts, even a “sharp check.” “We have the sharpest lines out there and one of the most experienced stages anywhere offshore,” the spokesman said, “so if we start seeing sharp action from one of your players, we can give you a heads up. What you want to do with him is up to you.”

The choice of Vince Curatola has intrigued many. “We always liked Vince’s character on The Sopranos, as John “Johnny Sack” Sacramoni,” the PayPerHead spokesman said. “He had a certain style, always classy, but never over the top; there’s a calmness and authority about him that we really admire.  He brings that serious business demeanor to PayPerHead.com, the first sportsbook-service to EVER feature any kind of celebrity in its marketing.”

With post-up books like BetUS, Sportsbook.com and SportsInteraction stopping taking US players, Bodog and others struggling with “Ecom” processing problems, the street scene is heating up and players are posting daily in forums looking for a “local out.” Players want the biggest choice of markets, including live in-game betting, and the convenience of anytime betting online or via their mobile device, but more and more say “they want to bet online but prefer to settle in cash on Monday.”

Is this the future of online sports betting? It very well could be. And with firms like PayPerHead.com investing in marketing in an unprecedented way (celebs, who’d have thunk it?!) and in product (they also offer live poker, casino and in-game betting), expect to see this sector grow significantly this season.

For more information, see PayPerHead.com.

With just under 48 hours until the next round of March Madness betting 2011, many bettors including ourselves, are now scrambling to readjust our final four bracket. The first week of the 2011 March Madness betting tournament was one of the most thrilling opening weeks in the last decade, as many teams came out of seemingly nowhere to advance. Here is our new March Madness final four prediction.

After one week of March Madness action, three of the four teams bestowed with the honor of being a number one seed in their region remain in the tournament. The Pittsburgh Panthers fell to Butler, while the Ohio State Buckeyes, Kansas Jayhawks and Duke Blue Devils all survived to live another day.

On the other hand, several teams with lower seeding came up huge in the first three rounds of the tournament to really surprise a lot of bettors. For instance, after being named as one of the bubble teams that needed to play in the first round, Virginia Commonwealth University has seemingly grown as the tournament has carried on. Otherwise known as VCU, Virginia Commonwealth could become the first team to make it all the way to the final four after playing in the at large bid games.

For our final four prediction, we are keeping Ohio State as the champion of the East and despite a strong effort, we feel that VCU will fall to number one seed Kansas in the Southwest region. That leaves the West and Southeast as the two regions that we need to readjust.

In the West region, we originally had Texas as the representative, but they fell to Arizona. Instead, we will take Mountain West Conference Champion San Diego State Aztecs to represent the west. The Aztecs have taken their game to the next level and look to be getting stronger as the tournament progresses.

Meanwhile, in the Southeast, we believe that the Butler Bulldogs will be the representative, as they too have taken their game to the next level. After shocking the world a year ago by emerging as a fifth seed all the way to the National Title game, the Butler Bulldogs have proven once again that they are for real as an eighth seed. Firstly, they defeated Old Dominion in the first round on a last second tip in to ruin our bracket, (that is no betonline com scam). Then they beat Pitt on free throw with 0.8 seconds left in the game. To say Butler has been as lucky as they are good would be an understatement.

This past weekend saw the end of the 2010-11 college basketball betting regular season. With less than two weeks before the 2011 edition of the March Madness betting tournament, each conference will now enter their own mini tournaments. The conference tournaments are used to decide which teams will automatically qualify and which will be forced to play their way into the tournament. Today we focus on the Big East tournament, which could see as many as 11 of the 16 teams qualify for the madness.

If the 2010 – 11 Big East Conference regular season play is any indication, the Big East Tournament coming up later this week may be the best part of the entire season. Put March Madness on the back burner for a week, as your attention should be glued to the Big East Tournament set for the weekend of March 11 to March 14 from New York. This year’s tournament could be an indication of things to come in the March Madness tournament as 11 of the 16 teams in the conference could make up parts of three brackets in the Madness tournament.

Over the last two months, all 16 schools to make up the Big East have literally torn a strip off on one another for our handicapping pleasure. What’s perhaps most astonishing about the Big East, is that without the inter-conference tournament even starting yet, there has already been 28 games involving ranked teams. What’s more five of those 28 games have involved teams ranked within the top 10.

Meaning to say, not only is the Big East a conference full of talent, but it is one made up of some of the best talent in the entire NCAA. In fact, we will go out on a limb and say that the winner of the Big East tournament goes far in the March Madness tournament.

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.

NCAA basketball betting online handicappers have become all too familiar with the NBA recently, as many freshmen in college have made the jump right away to the NBA. During the 2010 NBA sports betting draft alone, 10 freshmen were selected in the draft. With so many college hoops stars making the jump to the big leagues, here is a look at two of the
2010-11 freshmen, that could make it to the NBA come June’s draft.

Side Note: Kyrie Irving from Duke was originally going to be a part of this list, as he was having an incredible freshmen year. However, in the middle of December Irving broke his toe, and his status for the rest of the season and NBA draft remain uncertain.

• Corey Joseph Texas G – At six foot three 180 pounds, Corey Joseph is one of the best players in the Big 12 this season. The rookie from Pickering, Ontario Canada is one of two rookies starting for the Longhorns this season. Joseph meshes well with teammates, and possesses amazing basketball IQ while his defensive play is strong as well. Right now, Joseph is averaging 11.2 points per game, with four rebounds and one steal per game. We project the young guard to go in the second round of the draft, and could end up as a backup guard for some lucky team.

• Brandon Knight Kentucky G – A year after losing freshmen phenom John Wall to the NBA draft and Washington Wizards, the Kentucky Wildcats under Head Coach John Calipari appear destined to once again lose a guard come June’s NBA draft. This time it is freshman Brandon Knight, a player that has been pivotal to Kentucky’s resilient effort to continue dominating the NCAA.

Similar to Wall from a season ago, Knight has outstanding court vision and is great defensively. At 17.6 points per game, four rebounds and nearly four assists per game, Knight has the potential to be the second Wildcat in a row to enter the NBA draft as the first overall selection.

In a couple of months the NCAA college basketball betting lines will be center stage as the greatest college sports tournament in the world, the March Madness betting tournament will begin. With almost two months to go and a lot still left to decide for sports betting fans, here are some of our projections for top underdog draws in the tournament.

This season the NCAA has decided to expand the format from 64 to 68 teams, what this means is that there will be two instead of one BCS at large game.The two winners will be entered into the tournament as at large teams, which are basically teams not good enough to be considered elite but also not bad enough to be considered awful.

Here are two underdogs we expect to have an impact in the tournament.

• Florida State Seminoles ACC - At first glance, many people may be questioning why Florida State would be considered to even make the March Madness tournament. On the one hand, the Seminoles were blown out earlier this year by a terrible Auburn Tigers squad. However, recently they have been on a three game win streak, including victories over top ranked Duke, as well as Miami and Boston College.

The three game win streak, allowed Florida State to jump from 60^th in the country to 46^th, and with upcoming games against favorable opponents, the Seminoles appear to be a team on the rise.

• Texas Longhorns (Big 12) - The Texas Longhorns are a team that everyone and their uncles should have on their watch lists as the NCAA March Madness tournament creeps upon us. This past weekend the Longhorns upset third overall ranked Kansas in what could be the pre tournament upset of the year. Texas is currently ranked ninth in the country, but by the start of the tournament could be the top seed coming out of the Big 12.

College basketball betting enthusiasts are looking forward to this month as the non-conference games have come to an end! Now the diehard handicapper’s sports betting on NCAA basketball can look forward to inter-conference games, which as many of you know is the best indicator for how good a team truly is. Today we look at team’s we think aren’t as amazing as their early season records suggest thus far.

1. Cincinnati Bearcats (15 – 1) – Going into inter-conference play with their fellow Big East rivals, the Cincinnati Bearcats had by far the easiest schedule of any AP top 25 team. Prior to their loss against Villanova earlier this week, the Bearcats had managed to win their first 15 games. In their loss to Villanova 61 – 72, Villanova showed off its defensive prowess against a Bearcats offense that still leaves a lot to be desired. With a two and one record against conference opponents, Cincinnati has a lot proving to do, before they turn their critics into believers.

2. Iowa State Cyclones (13 – 3) – Similar to the last five years, this season’s Iowa State Cyclones squad wasn’t expected to be a serious threat to any of Big 12 powerhouses. However, they opened up with a 13 and two overall record, and many Big 12 handicappers started to consider them as threats to the Big 12 crown. However, they recently lost by one point to the Nebraska Cornhuskers, and many critics are now thinking that the Iowa State teams of years past are still lingering in the 2010-11 squad.

St. John’s Red Storm (10 -4) –

Heading into this month, the Red Storm had an interesting start to the season. On the one hand their schedule was relatively weak, but on the other, the tough competition they faced early, showed that the Red Storm still have a lot to work to do before they are considered amongst the elite of the Big East.