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March Madness is officially here!
The University of Kentucky is scheduled to open play in the NCAA at 7:10 pm ET Thursday evening in Indianapolis. The Cats will take on the Peacocks of Saint Peter’s who won their Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference tournament.
Have you filled out your bracket yet? Do you complete just one, or create multiples?
Many folks believe in having just one “bracket of integrity” as I’ve heard it called, while others are all about getting as many chances in as possible.
I have to be honest, as promising as it is, I’ve been perturbed by the amount of people around the country who are picking Kentucky to win it all.
Sure, other college basketball enthusiasts having faith in the Cats should make me feel great.
But in reality I feel as if all brackets are made to be busted, so it scares me a little seeing so many examples of Kentucky advancing to the Final Four and beyond.
But what do the real experts over at DraftKings Sportsbook think?
As of Wednesday evening Kentucky were tied with Kansas for the third-highest odds of winning the National Championship compared to the rest of the field.
The Cats and Jayhawks (+800) trailed only Gonzaga (+300) and Arizona (+600) on the DraftKings Sportsbook odds sheet.
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Obviously with a National Player of the Year Candidate like Oscar Tshiebwe, it’s easy to see why UK is so highly thought of. But you also have to strongly assume that John Calipari’s impressive tournament resume is taken into consideration when building out the odds.
Not only do the Cats have tremendous talent on the roster, they also are led by one of the top postseason coaches in the nation.
Unlike previous years you could also make the argument that Kentucky received a fairly favorable draw in terms of their competition in the East Region. Using this rationale is also fueling the fire for those choosing to pick UK to make a big run.
March is a stressful time of year no matter how Kentucky looks heading into the NCAA Tournament. It’ll be no different this year with UK having all of the pieces to go get #9.
You can see the entire field and their odds to win the title by clicking here.