College Basketball Conference Betting

One of the most fun weeks in the entire sports calendar is here, with college basketball conference tournaments set to tip off. With many smaller conferences providing an opportunity to provide profitable games for bettors, a look at the odds to win each conference tournament could reveal some real value, as evidenced by these three picks to win their respective conference tournaments before the major conferences start their respective tournaments.

1. Monmouth Hawks

Monmouth has been the best team in the MAAC all season long. Last year, they should have been admitted into the NCAA Tournament, but were denied in lieu of teams with better name recognition and fewer quality wins. This year, the Hawks are at +130 to win the MAAC tournament despite being far and away the best team in the conference. Justin Robinson is the best player in the league this year, and should help his team dominate Siena, Iona, and the rest of the league en route to a long overdue NCAA Tournament berth.

2. Albany Great Danes

The America East tournament is Vermont's to lose. The Catamounts have the longest winning streak in the country, after Gonzaga blew their nation-best streak at home against a clearly inferior BYU team. With that said, the Catamounts have struggled in the America East tournament in recent seasons, with Vermont failing to make the NCAA Tournament in many years. At 5/1 odds, the Albany Great Danes have a legitimate chance to make their fourth tournament in five years.

3. Valparaiso Crusaders

Valpo is the prestige program of the Horizon League, and they look like they are in position to prove it yet again in their conference tournament. The Crusaders are at +140 to win their conference tourney this year, and should do just that with the talent they possess relative to the rest of the league this season. Guard Micah Bradford has come into his own this year and could have a true coming out party over the course of this conference tournament.

Each of these three teams could easily make the NCAA Tournament, at which point they have the ability to make some noise as lower seeds against more difficult teams in March.