NCAA Basketball Conference Tournament Odds

Sometimes, March Madness arrives earlier than expected.

Selection Sunday is just around the corner, March 17th, but before the big bracket is announced, there’s a series of smaller ones that will help shape it.

While some teams will win their conference and receive an automatic bid for the NCAA Tournament, others will need to get an invitation to the big dance as an at-large team.

Unfortunately, most clubs will be left without a dance partner, standing awkwardly alone by the punch bowl, which is basically the NIT Tournament.

Let’s take a look at NCAA Basketball’s Power 6 conferences, and examine which clubs can waltz their way to a conference title.

Each conference tournament breakdown is provided a conference bracket with the best odds for each club.

ACC Conference Odds

The North Carolina Tar Heels and Duke Blue Devils are the clear favorites to win the ACC as the conference tournament is set to begin on Tuesday.

With seven of the 15 teams in the ACC tourney holding best odds of over 100-1, just a few clubs are being viewed as contenders in this top-heavy bracket.

The Wake Forest Demon Deacons being valued at +1000 at bet365 provides an interesting wager, but they will have to find a way to trip up one of the Atlantic Coast blue bloods.

In their lone bout against UNC this season, Wake lost by 21 points back in late January, but they did split their two games against Duke.

The Virginia Cavaliers (+1900: DraftKings) and Pittsburgh Panthers (+1600: FanDuel) could also be flying under the radar.

Pittsburgh has won nine of their last 11 conference games, and Virginia has one of the best defenses in the country, currently ranked seventh in adjusted defense at KenPom.

In the end, the ACC could come down to another Tar Heel-Blue Devil classic.

Duke is 19th in effective field goal percentage (55.5%) and moves at a much quicker pace than North Carolina’s offense, which is 140th in eFG% (51.4%).

But, the Tar Heels defense is ranked fifth in adjusted defense, and the frontcourt combo of Armando Bacot and Harrison Ingram may be the best duo in the country, with each forward averaging nearly a double-double a night.

No matter the outcome, the ACC always delivers on entertainment.

Big East Conference Odds

The UConn Huskies are heavy favorites in the Big East tourney, but there are some solid values lurking.

At +450 on bet365, the Creighton Blue Jays have solid value, and they’ve made a strong run to close out the regular season.

Creighton has won seven of their last eight games, including a 19-point win over Connecticut.

The Blue Jays’ big three of guards Baylor Scheierman, Trey Alexander, and center Ryan Kalkbrenner is one of the most efficient trios in the country.

Creighton is No. 3 in the nation in effective field goal percentage (57.9%) and can overwhelm opponents offensively.

The Marquette Golden Eagles are also very much in the mix, with best odds of +650 at BetMGM.

Marquette has lost three of their last seven games, but all three losses have come against UConn and Creighton, so I can’t fault them too much.

The health of Tyler Kolek will be huge for the Golden Eagles moving forward.

If the St. John’s Red Storm can get past Connecticut, they could make for an interesting wager at +1300.

St. John’s is in the top 40 of adjusted offense and adjusted defense, according to KenPom, and they have coach Rick Pitino on the sidelines.

Big Ten Conference Odds

It’s tough to picture the Purdue Boilermakers not winning the Big Ten.

The Illinois Fighting Illini are a formidable opponent, but they’ve lost both of their matchups with Purdue earlier this season, and they would almost certainly have to go through Purdue again to win the conference tourney.

Every year, it seems like all of the basketball analysts and prognosticators begin to back the Michigan State Spartans.

With best odds of +1400 at FanDuel, Sparty may be priced out for me, and they should be much closer to +4000.

Michigan State has gone 1-4 in their final five games, and finished the regular season with just a 10-10 in-conference record.

It’s perfectly okay for bettors to ignore the Spartans this year, no matter what the TV tells you.

The Northwestern Wildcats are an intriguing bet at +2000 on FanDuel.

Northwestern is not typically a team that’s in contention for the Big Ten come tourney time, but there may not be a team that fights harder to the final minute.

The Wildcats have even taken the Boilermakers to overtime twice this season, splitting their two games with Purdue.

Purdue remains as the top team in the Big Ten though, and with Zach Edey, the best in the NCAA, they should be cutting down the nets.

Big 12 Conference Odds

The Houston Cougars are the runaway favorites in the Big 12 tournament, and with the best combo of two-way guards in the country, Jamal Shead and L.J. Cryer.

Between both guards, the Cougars receive about 28 to 30 points and three to four steals a game.

Houston is 28-3 this season, and they enter the tourney with a nine-game winning streak.

The Kansas Jayhawks are usually in the mix for the Big 12, and with odds of +1400 on DraftKings, Kansas is a decent value that is still very much in play, even if the path to victory is a little longer.

The Iowa State Cyclones are a solidly priced #2 seed, and they are also No. 2 in the NCAA in defensive efficiency, one behind the Houston Cougars.

The Big 12 Conference championship could very likely be a battle between the two best defensive teams in the country.

The difference maker could be Houston’s more effective offense, but with their best odds of -135, I’m not buying at that price.

Pac-12 Conference Odds

The Arizona Wildcats are looking to win their third straight Pac-12 title, and as the odds currently sit, they shouldn’t have too much standing in their way.

The Wildcats have some beatable opponents on their side of the Pac-12 bracket, but if they were to lose, that could clear the runway for the Washington State Cougars.

At +700 on DraftKings, the Cougars make an interesting value to win the Pac-12 tournament.

If Arizona were to meet Washington State in the conference championship, that could be the worst case scenario for the defending Pac-12 champs.

The Cougs have gotten the better of the Wildcats, winning both meetings in the regular season.

The Colorado Buffaloes had a much better season on the hardwood than they did on the gridiron, so as of right now, Tad Boyle is the top coach in Boulder.

Although Colorado has had a fine season, they still can’t seem to get over their stiffer in-conference competition.

For me, Washington State is the best play in the Pac-12.

SEC Conference Odds

The SEC Conference should be the wildest conference tourney of the Power 6.

The Florida Gators have been surging, taking down plenty of top opponents in the SEC.

The Gators have defeated Kentucky, Auburn, and Alabama since January 31st, and Florida’s name has emerged late.

With best odds of +270 on bet365, the Auburn Tigers may have to get past the Tennessee Volunteers in the semifinals, so I’m not liking that value too much.

The Kentucky Wildcats (+500: DraftKings) and Alabama Crimson Tide (+500: BetMGM) both coming in with the same odds has the bottom portion of the SEC conference looking like a bit of a gamble.

Florida could once again be a player if they can squeeze past Alabama and potentially Kentucky and reach the SEC championship.

The Tennessee Volunteers have no real weaknesses though, so for me, they are too tough to fade at +160 on FanDuel.

According to KenPom, the Vols are 25th in adjusted offense, third in adjusted defense, and they have faced stiff competition with the seventh-most difficult strength of schedule in the nation.

“Rocky Top” is at the top in the SEC.