College Basketball Odds to Win Pac-12 Title

Dana Altman’s Oregon Ducks have recently dominated Pac-12 play having taken home either the regular season title or won the conference tournament each of the last three seasons. It would’ve kept its hat in the ring of possibly doing so once again this season had it snagged the win in Tucson this past Saturday night. Alas, the “Quack Attack” ultimately failed regardless of covering what proved to be a laughable 13-point spread per the closing college basketball betting odds. You’ll be hard-pressed to find many US regulated sportsbooks with futures odds still on the board to win the Pac-12 regular season title, but DraftKings Sportsbook isn’t one of those books. That being said, it all but sees it as being a foregone conclusion that Tommy Lloyd’s kids will in fact bring the title back home to the desert for the first time since 2017-18 when it also won the conference tournament but was later unceremoniously bounced in the first round of the NCAA Tournament by CJ Massinburg and the Buffalo Bulls. Zona is not only the runaway favorite to take home the regular season title, but linemakers also have it installed the second shortest option on the board to cut the nets down in April. Regardless, here are my favorite, underdog and longshot selections to win the Pac-12’s regular season title.

Pac-12 Title Odds at DraftKings Sportsbook

Arizona -5000

UCLA +5000

USC +5000

Oregon +50000

Colorado OTB

Washington OTB

Stanford OTB

Washington State OTB

Arizona State OTB

Utah OTB

Cal OTB

Oregon State OTB

Favorite to Bet: Arizona Wildcats -5000

With five games still to be played over the next two weeks, the Wildcats are sitting pretty perched atop the Pac-12 standings. Zona holds a 2.5-game lead over USC and sits three games clear of UCLA whom it split the regular season rivalry against. That being said, each of its next three games will be played on the road where its only two defeats have been incurred against the aforementioned Bruins and Tennessee Volunteers in non-con play. First up is a trip to Salt Lake City to face a Utes team it beat 82-64 back on January 15. Then it’s a rematch with Colorado whom it beat by 21 points as 15-point favorites in the middle of January. The toughest test remaining on the docket will close the three-game roady in Southern California where it’ll look to sweep the season rivalry from the Trojans. Don’t let that 72-63 final from back on February 5 fool you; the Trojans were in that one all the way and even held a lead late in the second half. Regardless, it doesn’t look like anyone in this conference can match Arizona at either end of the floor. Bennedict Mathurin (17.4 PPG) has taken a giant leap in his sophomore season, while Christian Koloko (3.0 BPG) has been one of the most improved players in the country. Ranked No. 3 overall at KenPom.com, the Wildcats are likely to lock down the Pac-12’s regular season title well before the regular season concludes. By all means let it ride if you got five grand lying around and want to make an easy Benjamin!

Underdog to Bet: USC Trojans +5000

While it’s the UCLA Bruins that look to be in better current form, Mick Cronin’s troops won’t have another opportunity to match wits with the Wildcats until the conference tournament. With a date still scheduled against Arizona on March 1, it’s the Trojans that I recommend backing as one of the two 50-1 teams that I suggest throwing some beer money on to win the regular season conference title should things not go as planned for the current top dogs over these final two weeks. USC’s defense is what’s allowed it to win 23 of its 27 overall played games and cash under tickets 56 percent of the time. It’s held opponents to fewer than 64 points per game (No. 38) and plays to the No. 43 ranked defensive efficiency. Isaiah Mobley is one of the most dominant two-way players in the country, and I don’t think we’ve seen the full package just yet when it comes to Boogie Ellis. Having said that, the offense has left much to be desired and it’s the main reason why this team isn’t being taken as serious contenders to win it all unlike last season. It’s ineffectiveness over the last three weeks has resulted in non-covers six of the last eight times it took to the hardwood. There is talent here for sure and maybe all these recent close wins get them primed for another deep run in the Dance. However, it would need the Wildcats to fall flat on its face these next two weeks and defeat them in the rematch to have any shot of taking home the title. I don’t foresee either stipulation coming to fruition.

Longshot to Bet: Oregon Ducks +50000

I’ll start this blurb off by saying that the Ducks have no shot winning the Pac-12 regular season title. Now mathematically, that statement is 100 percent incorrect. But in reality, it’s 100 percent correct. For Oregon to have any shot of winning the regular season title, it would need to sweep its final four games against UCLA, USC, Washington and Washington State. On top of that, it would need Arizona to lose each of its final five games. If that shocking result plays out, just hand Dana Altman the Coach of the Year Award! But here’s the kicker folks; provided USC and UCLA fail to take advantage of the scenario, the Ducks still wouldn’t be awarded the top seed in the conference tournament due to dropping an 84-81 decision to the Wildcats in Tucson this past weekend. The lone tiebreaker at DK to cash this ticket is the No. 1 seed in the conference tournament. Arizona would earn it after winning the lone regular season meeting. In other words, don’t waste any money backing the Ducks. Instead, look to the odds of winning the conference tournament should you be bullish on Will Richardson and company making some noise in March.