Need help in picking your NCAA Tournament Brackets? Certainly the oddsmakers do it for a living and have posted odds to win the West Region, not to mention a betting line for each regional.

Most experts said there were five teams battling for the four top spots and the sportsbooks seem to agree. The one regional that had two of the consensus top five teams, the West Region has Connecticut and Memphis as the co-favorites to win the 2009 NCAA West Region championship. Each team is 1-1.

Third seeded Missouri is 11-2, followed by Washington at 13-2 and Purdue at 8/1. Joe “Maverick” Clements of BetOnSports360.com won’t be wagering on the Huskies as he predicts that No. 13 seed Miss State knocks them off in the first round. Mississippi State in fact is 30-1 to go to the Final 4.

Once considered a frontrunner, Marquette slides in at 15-1. “The Eagles had perhaps the nation’s best backcourt, but point guard Dominic James is out for the year,” says Brian Gould of ScoresOddsPicks.com, saying the injury has doomed Marquette‘s once realistic hopes to win the Big Dance.

BYU is 18-1, followed by dark horse California at 24-1. “They are efficient with the ball, lead the nation in three-point shooting and have the best coach nobody talks about in Mike Montgomery,” asserts Bob Warner, betting expert of Lines-Maker.com. Warner believes the Bears are the best long shot of the tournament.  

Maryland and Maryland are the only two teams less than 60-1 as each is 35-1 to wear the glass slipper.

For the game college basketball odds and free databases visit ScoresOddsPicks.com . For winning against the spread picks, only the world class handicappers at OffshoreInsiders.com will do, the only big time sports handicappers.

In addition to the phenomenal March Madness betting articles at sports betting blog Lines-Maker.com and the 2009 NCAA Basketball betting databases at ScoresOddsPicks.com, the staff here presents Friday betting previews for the Big Dance.

For Thursday’s trends report to beat the Vegas odds as well as breaking news and premium sports picks, check out OffshoreInsiders.com. All records in the previews are against the spread.

Stephen F. Austin-Syracuse

The Orange enters the tournament on a 7-1 run. They’ve gone over seven straight games on neutral courts.

Tennessee-Oklahoma State

The Cowboys are 9-1 their last 10. However, Okie State is 8-20 as an underdog of 6.5 or less.

Utah State-Marquette

Marquette 16-5 as a favorite of 6.5 or less.

North Dakota State-Kansas

The Bison are 6-1 nonconference and 37-17 opponent winning percentage of .600 or greater.

Temple-Arizona State

The Owls are 16-5 off spread win. The Sun Devils are 11-2 off an ATS loss.

East Tennessee State-Pittsburgh

ETSU is 7-2 as an underdog. The Panthers are 8-2 off an ATS loss.

Dayton-West Virginia

The Mountaineers are 8-1-1 their last 10 NCAA Tournament games.

USC-Boston College

Boston College is 22-8 on neutral courts against the sportsbooks.

Portland State-Xavier

The Musketeers are 35-17 on neutral courts.

Cleveland State-Wake Forest

Cleveland State is 24-10 off straight up win. Wake Forest is 6-22 on neutral courts and 0-8 in the NCAA Tournament.

Siena-Ohio State

Ohio State is 12-3 in nonconference games but 3-9 their last 12 in the Big Dance including 2-8 as a favorite.

Robert Morris-Michigan State

The Spartans are 9-0 off a straight up loss. MSU is also 13-3 in Big Dance betting as a favorite. However, they are just 4-10 as a chalk of 13 or more.

Wisconsin-Florida State

The Noles are 8-0 off an ATS loss and on a 22-10 overall run.

For the against the spread winners in these games, check out the premium picks at OffshoreInsiders.com featuring only the world’s top handicappers.

March Madness betting is here! Selection Sunday has passed and, while for the next few days we’ll be discussing who got in and who didn’t, soon our attention will finally turn to the games tournament itself. Louisville, Pittsburgh, UConn and North Carolina each earned No. 1 seeds, with Louisville getting the biggest “home court” advantage. The Cardinals play in the Midwest region, which is within driving distance for their fans, a luxury the other schools won’t enjoy. Keep that in mind when you’re choosing March Madness odds, because it could give Louisville a big boost.

North Carolina still leads the way in terms of odds. Here’s how it breaks down for the top five teams:

North Carolina: 2-1
Pitt: 4-1
Louisville: 9-2
Connecticut: 5-1
Memphis: 10-1

The action gets underway on Thursday at 12:20 p.m. ET, when No. 8 LSU and No. 9 Butler square off. That game will be followed by 15 more, making for an incredible basketball blowout. If you can’t wait until Thursday, you can always catch the play-in game between Morehead State and Alabama State, which takes place Tuesday at 7:30 p.m. ET.

Yes, there are actually sporting events happening other than March Madness right now. In NBA betting, Dwight Howard had an absolute monster game for the Magic on Sunday, posting 28 points and 20 rebounds. It carried Orlando to a 105-87 win over the Jazz and was Howard’s 21^st game with 20 or more points and rebounds since 2004-2005, the most in the NBA (Kevin Garnett is second with eight).

Speaking of Garnett, he was out of action again this weekend because of injury. Boston dropped an 86-77 decision to the pitiful Milwaukee bucks, and it was the Celtics’ third loss in their past four games. Boston turned the ball over a season-high 25 times.

Of course, you can’t mention the NBA without LeBron James. He chipped in 19 points in a 98-93 victory over the Knicks. Not only did it improve Cleveland to 29-1 at home, but it clinched the Central Division for the Cavaliers. LeBron also added 10 assists and eight boards.

In World Baseball Classic betting, the Netherlands‘ magical run finally came to an end, as the Dutch fell 9-3 to Team USA.  Jimmy Rollins led the way for the Americans, hitting a homer, triple, and driving in four runs. Starter Roy Oswalt pitched four scoreless innings. The Americans are one loss away from elimination, and they’ll face either Puerto Rico or Venezuela on Tuesday night, with lefty Ted Lilly expected to go to the mound. Expect some tight sportsbook odds in that one.

Get all the March Madness betting winners at OffshoreInsiders.com   

The NIT brackets are out and OffshoreInsiders.com presents betting previews for the NIT Tournament. The college basketball odds are updated live. All records are against the spread unless spread records are specified.

Davidson-South Carolina

The Wildcats are 54-20-3 off ATS loss and a very impressive 42-18 on the road versus teams with home winning percentage of .600 or better. They enter though on a 1-6-1 overall skid.

The Gamecocks are 8-20 at home versus an opponent with a winning road record. They are 6-0 off a double digit home loss.

Rhode Island-Niagara

The Rams are 13-4 in nonconference games, while the Purple Eagles are 38-17 under the same circumstances.

Morehead State-Alabama State

This is of course the NCAA Tournament play-in game. The Eagles of Morehead are 16-5 against teams with a winning record but yet 5-25-4 in nonconference action. Alabama State enters on a 6-1 streak.

George Mason-Penn State

The Patriots are 1-6 overall their last seven. The Nittany Lions are 9-3 off an straight up loss.

Northeastern-Wyoming

The Cowboys have covered 8-of-10 at home.

UAB-Notre Dame

Notre Dame is 3-11 against teams with a winning record.

UNLV-Kentucky

UNLV 8-1 off double digit home loss but are on an 0-6 skid entering the NIT.

Weber State-San Diego State

Weber State is 8-0 road versus teams with a winning home record and they are 7-0 off a ATS loss.

Nebraska-New Mexico

The Cornhuskers are 12-26 on the road.

UTEP-Nevada

UTEP is 9-2 in the WAC. Nevada is 8-20 opponent winning percentage of .600 or greater. The Wolf Pack are 3-13 at home versus opponent with a losing road record.

Washington State-St. Mary’s

The Gaels are 7-2 off an ATS loss. All the winning March Madness picks and predictions against the spread for the 2009 NIT Tournament, CBI, and College Insider Tournament will be at OffshoreInsiders.com   

The 2009 NIT brackets have been announced and the Vegas odds will be up shortly. Auburn and Florida headline the top seeds.  The big March Madness betting line though is up for the 2009 NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament. To get NCAA Tournament tickets, FatHeads or team gear check out the Guy Store.

Today in the Daily Sports Roundup: The Rockets look to blast past the Hornets, the Caps meet the Thrashers, and college hoops fans start filling out brackets.

Tipping off on the hardwood  . . .

Both the Rockets and the Hornets will be looking to get back into the win column on Monday night when the two teams meet in New Orleans in one of five games on the NBA schedule. Houston was upended 88-85 by the Spurs on Saturday despite a 21-point performance from Ron Artest. New Orleans was blasted 97-79 by the Bulls on Saturday, with Chris Paul leading the team’s attack with 29 points.

Also on the NBA‘s schedule for Monday: Toronto at Charlotte, Portland at Memphis, New Jersey at Denver, and San Antonio at Oklahoma City. The Spurs got 28 points and eight assists from Tony Parker in that win over the rival Rockets, and they beat the Thunder 109-104 at home in their first-ever meeting in December. The Thunder fell 106-95 to the Suns in their game Saturday night.

Monday sports picks

No need to wait until the NIT Tournament picks and predictions or even Big Dance betting odds as there are several big sports picks for Monday. On a 22-4 run with NBA totals, Kongpop Sukhibomrong, head of the famed Pan-Asian Syndicate which dominated Asian and European soccer for years has now taken over the North American sports scene. Pop’s syndicate is the most requested source of winners in the history of the SuperLockLine and MasterLockLine. Today get three NBA totals

Sports service out of New York is No. 9 this year in the NBA and No. 11 all-time. (Stats are out of 620 services and syndicates monitored, rankings based on total net units won based on one-unit per play). They go for their sixth straight NBA Game of the Year winner tonight on Portland/Memphis. Click now to purchase sports betting picks from the top sports services or you can get more information and a free sports pick

The march toward Madness . . .

College hoops gets a night off on Monday before action resumes again on Tuesday with the Play-In Game between Alabama State and Morehead State. The field for this year’s Big Dance was announced on Sunday night’s Selection Show, with Louisville, Pittsburgh, North Carolina, and Connecticut earning the top seeds for the tournament. Those teams will see their first tournament action on Thursday and Friday when March Madness finally gets underway in earnest.

There are actually three other postseason tournaments vying for your attention this year, most notably the Postseason NIT which will stage first-round matchups on Tuesday and Wednesday and eventually wrap up at Madison Square Garden on April 2. As well, there’s the College Basketball Invitational, which also has first-round games Tuesday and Wednesday and concludes March 30-April 3 with a  three-game Championship Series. Finally, there’s the new CollegeInsider.com tourney, with games starting Tuesday/Wednesday and a championship March 31.

Sharp players will check out ScoresOddsPicks.com for exclusive and free sports handicapping databases for March Madness picks and predictions.

Taking a trip around the rink . . .

The Capitals will be gunning for their fourth straight victory on Monday night when they play on the road in Atlanta in one of just two games on the National Hockey League schedule. Washington made it three straight wins on Saturday, holding off the Hurricanes for a 5-4 victory. The Thrashers have been red hot as well; they knocked off the Sabres 4-3 on Saturday for their fifth consecutive win.

The other game on the slate will take place on the west coast, with the Kings playing host to the Predators. Los Angeles fell 2-1 to the Sharks in a shootout on Saturday, with Erik Ersberg stopping 38 of 39 San Jose shots on the night. Nashville is coming off a 2-0 win over the Coyotes on Saturday night, as Pekka Rinne stopped all 18 shots he faced and J.P. Dumont had the game-winning goal.

Rounding out the Roundup . . .

The World Baseball Classic continues on Monday with a game between Venezuela and Puerto Rico at Dolphin Stadium in Miami. The Venezuelans toppled the Cinderella team from the Netherlands 3-1 on Saturday, while the Puerto Ricans blasted the United States 11-1 in their first game of the second round. The winner of that Monday matchup advances to Wednesday’s pool final. The other WBC game on Monday will take place at San Diego‘s PETCO Park, and will be an elimination game between the losers of the late Sunday contests.