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Arizona is the odds-on favorite to win the inaugural Pac-12 Tournament in Las Vegas, according to online sports book Bovada. Seeded fourth after finishing a game behind UCLA in a three-way tie for second place, the Wildcats currently sit at 2-to-1.
WSU, meanwhile, is a longshot: At 33-to-1, your $100 bet on the Cougars to win the tournament will net you a cool $3,300 if they can somehow pull it off. That's actually better odds than you'd expect for the No. 11 seed.
There's been a lot of talk about this being a potentially wild tournament, given the parity in the conference this year, but the oddsmakers have identified the top four seeds as the favorites: UCLA is 4-to-1, while Oregon and Cal each sit at 9-to-2. Colorado and Stanford head up the next tier at 9-to-1 and 10-to-1, respectively.
Interestingly, Las Vegas' line on Arizona fits right in with Ken Pomeroy's log5 probabilities: s Hilaptop pegs their chances at 30 percent, and 2-to-1 odds suggest a 33 percent chance of winning the tournament for the Wildcats. (Those guys in Vegas don't make all that money for nothing.)
You might want to stay away from the Bruins, though, if you're simply considering probabilities. Pomeroy projects them with a 14 percent chance of taking it all, meaning they're actually overvalued at 4-to-1 (20 percent). Oregon and Cal also are overvalued by the odds, as well, albeit a bit less.
The values presented by the longshots are pretty much in line with Pomeroy's percentages, so maybe the lesson is this: Just bet on your favorite team and enjoy your time in Las Vegas.
Pac-12 Tournament Odds
Arizona |
2/1 |
|
UCLA |
4/1 |
|
California |
9/2 |
|
Oregon |
9/2 |
|
Colorado |
9/1 |
|
Stanford |
10/1 |
|
Washington |
18/1 |
|
Arizona State |
25/1 |
|
Washington State |
33/1 |
|
USC |
50/1 |
|
Oregon State |
100/1 |
|
Utah |
100/1 |