PinnacleSports.Com Releases Updated NCAA Tournament Odds

Now that the regular season has ended, over 300 Division I men's basketball teams enter their conference tournaments this week hoping to earn an invite to "the big dance" for a shot at the national championship. With the field of 65 teams announced on Sunday, leading online sportsbook PinnacleSports.com today released updated odds to win the 2006 men's NCAA Basketball Tournament.

The largest sports betting site on the Internet, PinnacleSports.com has listed individual odds on several likely tournament-bound teams capturing the NCAA crown. Perhaps the nation's most talented team from top to bottom, the Connecticut Huskies are the odds-on favorites to win their third national championship under Jim Calhoun at 5/2 odds. Despite losing back-to-back games to Florida State and North Carolina, PinnacleSports.com lists Duke at 4/1 to survive "March Madness". Big East regular season co-champions Villanova currently stand at 8/1 to win the national championship while reigning champions North Carolina are at 10/1 to become the first repeat winners in over a decade. PinnacleSports.com lists the Texas Longhorns at 11/1 to add the men's basketball title to the BCS championship they won in January's Rose Bowl. Other teams that should be in contention for the national title include: Memphis (12/1); Ohio State (14/1); West Virginia (19/1); Illinois (21/1) and Florida (26/1).

In addition to offering odds on which team will win the national championship, PinnacleSports.com has also created a betting option on the Division I conference of the tournament winner. With likely number 1 seeds Connecticut and Villanova, the sixteen-team Big East is an overwhelming 7/5 favorite to win this year's NCAA tourney. PinnacleSports.com lists the Duke and North Carolina-led ACC with the second best odds at 14/5 followed by a deep Big 10 conference at 8/1 and the Big 12 at 9/1. With Memphis likely to earn a high seeding in the NCAA tournament, Conference USA is 11/1 to capture the title while the SEC and PAC-10 are at 20/1 and 23/1, respectively.