Houston a 6-1 preferred in wide-open NCAA tourney

Alabama got the No. 1 total seed, but sportsbooks have Houston as the consensus favorite to win the championship game ahead of what oddsmakers believe is a wide-open guys’s NCAA basketball tournament.Houston, the front runner

in the Midwest Area, is noted at 6-1 at Caesars Sportsbook, followed by Alabama at 7-1 and fellow No. 1 seeds Kansas (8-1) and Purdue (10-1) at the top of the oddsboard.On Sunday, before the bracket was launched, 8 groups had nationwide title odds of 15-1 or shorter at Caesars Sportsbook. Four of those groups– Kansas, UCLA, Gonzaga and UConn– landed in the West Region.Odds to win men’s national championship Team Odds to win Houston +600 Alabama +700 Kansas +800 Purdue +1000 UCLA +1200 Arizona +1200 Texas +1500 Gonzaga +1500 UConn +1500 Marquette +2000 Duke +2200 Baylor +2500 Tennessee

+3000 TCU +4000 Miami +4000 Creighton +4000 Indiana +4000 Kentucky +4000 Xavier +5000 Virginia +5000 Texas A&M +5000 Kansas State +5000 Saint Mary’s +5000 Arkansas +6000 Iowa State +6000 San Diego State +6500 Memphis +7500 Maryland +7500 West Virginia +10000 Auburn +10000 Illinois +10000 Iowa +12500 Providence +12500 Michigan State +15000 Penn State +15000 Northwestern +15000 Missouri +15000 Everyone else +20000 or longer Houston is coming off a loss to Memphis on

Sunday in the AAC competition championship . Cougars guard Marcus Sasser, the team’s leading scorer, was held out of Sunday’s national championship after suffering a groin injury versus Cincinnati on Saturday.Houston opens the NCAA tournament on Thursday against Northern Kentucky . The Cougars are 19.5-point favorites.Kansas likewise lost

in its conference competition champion, falling to Texas on Saturday. The defending national champ Jayhawks lacked coach Costs Self, who was

hospitalized with an undisclosed medical problem but was discharged Sunday and is anticipated back this

week.Kansas, which is attempting to end up being the

first back-to-back national champ given that 2007, opens its title defense against Howard on Thursday. The Jayhawks opened as 21.5-point favorites.More bets

have actually been put — and more cash wagered– on Kansas to

win the championship game than any other team at BetMGM sportsbooks.”This year’s NCAA competition is broad open, “Seamus Magee, a sports trader for BetMGM, said in a business release.”We are anticipating more action than ever, with a large number

of competitors in the field.”Sportsbooks posted point spreads on the First Four and first-round games Sunday, soon after the bracket was released. Three lower seeds– No. 9 West Virginia, No. 9 Auburn, No. 10 Utah State– opened as favorites over greater seeds. The line on No. 10 seed Boise State versus No. 7 seed Northwestern opened at choice ’em at Caesars Sportsbook.The Final 4 will start April 1 in Houston, with the championship game game slated for April 3.