WCC Futures Odds Betting – St. Mary’s Gaels Remain the Top Dog

When breaking down the futures odds to win the WCC regular season title a few weeks back, I recommended buying shares of the St Mary’s Gaels (+250), San Francisco Dons (+10000), and Santa Clara Broncos. Fast forward to the 1^st of February, and Randy Bennett’s kids are now the -180 chalk to win the title for the first time since the 2015-16 season when it shared bragging rights with Gonzaga.

Freshman Aidan Mahaney has been a revelation for the program leading the team in scoring (14.7 PPG) while dishing off nearly 2.0 assists per game. While the Gaels don’t wow at the offensive end of the court, it’s the defense that’s allowed for it to get out to a commanding 19-4 start that includes an unblemished 8-0 record in West Coast Conference play. Arguably the toughest stretch of the docket has arrived with St. Mary’s set to square off against San Francisco and Gonzaga at home before paying Loyola Marymount a visit in a prime letdown spot.

I believe the Gaels have the staying power to see it all the way through, so I’m not running to the window to invest in any other team right now. Regardless, let’s take a deep dive on the current WCC futures odd at BetRivers Sportsbook and see if we can’t pinpoint a favorite, underdog, and longshot that deserve the attention of our futures portfolio.

Bet WCC Futures Odds at BetRivers Sportsbook

Favorite to Bet: Gonzaga Bulldogs +110

For the life of me I couldn’t figure out why or how the Zags were chalkier favorites to win the WCC three weeks ago than when the odds initially hit the betting board. I get that Mark Few has led the program to six straight regular season titles, but the eye test showed me that Gonzaga wasn’t leaps and bounds better than St. Mary’s. Their 88.2 percent implied probability to win the conference regular season title a seventh straight time was laughable to say the least. I had it closer to a coin flip more than anything else. Now that they’re a +110 underdog, it’s within betting range at value now that the implied probability is closer to 50 percent.

That’s not to say Gonzaga doesn’t come without warts. For as great as Drew Timme and Julian Strawther have been to this point of the season, there’s still the defense that must be contended with and it hasn’t been a pretty sight. Gonzaga ranks No. 16 overall per the current Pomeroy Ratings, and its lesser ranking is mostly due to the defense that ranks No. 79 in efficiency. That being said, the opportunity will be there for the Bulldogs to make a run at the title with five of its final eight WCC games to be held in “The Kennel” where it only just saw its 75-game win streak go up in smoke.

Underdog to Bet: BYU Cougars +15000

So I tested fate and took the points with the BYU Cougars last Wednesday night when it squared off against St. Mary’s in front of a sold out Marriott Center. Though the Coogs failed to pull out the win, I came away extremely impressed with the fight the team exhibited in falling 57-56 as 6.5-point underdogs per the closing CBB betting lines. There’s still some fight in Mark Pope’s kids after all!

Sitting 4-5 in conference play and already dropping a pair of decisions to the conference heavyweights, it would take nothing short of a miracle for Dallin Hall and the Coogs to make a run for the regular season title. However, four of its final seven WCC games will be played at home and it gets two more cracks at the Gaels and Zags on the road.

Longshot to Bet: Loyola Marymount +25000

Owners of the third best record in the conference, Loyola Marymount is getting absolutely no love from BetRivers oddsmakers. This is a team that already snapped Gonzaga’s longstanding win streak at home and will be gunning for a series sweep of BYU and San Diego through the weekend. Led by a pair of seniors in Cameron Shelton (19.3 PPG) and Kali Leaupepe, the offense shoots the daylight out of the rock from long range (No. 59) and tickles the twine for better than 76 points a game. Defensively, the Lions allow fewer than 70 points per game and clock in as one of the best at defending the perimeter (No. 24).

Their implied probability predicts less than a .4 percent chance of winning the conference title and that’s just crazy talk – I’ll take a beer money flier thank you very much!

Bet WCC College Basketball Futures Odds at BetRivers Sportsbook