There is good money to be made with online sportsbook gambling.  One of the best events for lucrative odds is the NCAA College Basketball Championships, commonly referred to “March Madness.”  In this single game elimination tournament, the best 65 teams in the country compete for the title of NCAA Champ.  On their trail to the title, there are many games that can be money-makers for you.  The best of these is the futures bet on the eventual NCAA Champ.   According to our previously outlined selection methodology, let’s arrive at our winner and place the wager.

Know Your Subject – The NCAA Champ will probably come from one of the four powerhouse conferences:  Big East, Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC), Big 12 and the Southeast Conference.  This year, the SEC is weak, so we’ll eliminate those teams.  That leaves us with the Big Three Conferences and some sleepers from weaker conferences, such as Memphis and Butler .  We’re off to a good start.

In the Big East, there are four teams that deserve consideration:  Connecticut , Pittsburgh , Louisville and Marquette .  These teams have been in the “Top 10” rankings all year long, and deservedly so.  Marquette ’s point guard, Dominic James, broke a bone in his foot last week, so we can safely eliminate Marquette .  That leaves three teams from the Big East.

In the ACC, there are four teams that could possibly compete for the National Championship – North Carolina , Duke, Clemson and Wake Forest .  For argument’s sake, we’ll include all four at this point.

In the Big 12, there is only Oklahoma .  They have played well all year, but they stumbled recently when Player of the Year candidate, Blake Griffin, sat out two games with a concussion.

In the Southeast Conference, there are no teams that have impressed this year.

Among the “Sleepers,” Memphis has showed tenacity and grit, and deserves to move on to our next round.  

Be Aware of the Variables – In order to advance deep into the tourney, you need to win at least one close game and avoid injuries.  For teams to win close games, they need to have exceptional play at the point guard position.  While Memphis has all the elements to advance, they are susceptible to ball pressure because they do not have a natural point guard.  So, say goodbye to Memphis for this year.  The same goes for Clemson, whose ample front line will be able to carry them just so far in the tournament.

Trends – The Duke Blue Devils are generally overrated, and so they are this year as well.  They lack an inside presence, and they are playing their worst basketball of the season at this time.  So, Duke leaves our inner circle of teams.  Connecticut lost guard Jerome Dyson with a torn ACL a few weeks ago.  He was their money player, and while U Conn has not missed Dyson so far, they will as they compete against the best teams in the land.  They may make the Final Four, but will not win the title this year.

 The “Can’t Lose” Bet - These wagers are the ones that the online gambling sites make their money on.  Look for one of the favourite teams to get knocked off in an upset.  Of these teams, Wake Forest is most likely to lose to a heavy underdog because of their lack of outside shooting threats. 

The remaining teams are Pittsburgh, Oklahoma and North Carolina .  The winner is… you’ll have to wait until next week to find out.  In the meantime, your homework assignment is to watch the lines on these three teams.  That will tell you what the master oddsmakers who, set the online sportsbook gambling lines, are thinking.