• Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer
  • NFL
    • Super Bowl Odds and Predictions
  • NBA
  • MLB
  • Soccer/Football
  • NCAAB
  • NHL
  • NCAAF
  • MMA
  • Other Sports
    • Auto racing
    • Esports
    • Golf
    • Horse Racing
    • Tennis
  • Sports Betting Systems
    • NFL Betting Systems
    • NBA Betting Systems
    • MLB Betting Systems
    • NCAAB Betting Systems
    • NCAAF Betting Systems
    • EPL Betting Systems
    • NHL Betting Systems
    • CFL Betting Systems
    • WNBA Betting Systems

WagerBop

Sports News, Strategy, Tips, and Results

  • The WagerBop News Team
  • Contact

March Madness: Comparing UVA and Oregon’s Futures Lines to Reach the Final Four

March 27, 2019 By Kurt Boyer Leave a Comment

The Virginia Cavaliers are working on killing the hobgoblin of early-round March Madness exits, and are poised after 2 easy victories at the 2019 NCAA Tournament.

The Oregon Ducks, UVA’s opponents in the South Region on Thursday night, are the only double-digit seed remaining alive in the Big Dance this year.

#1 seeded Virginia’s point spread for the Sweet Sixteen contest in Louisville is only (-8) at Bovada Sportsbook, representing the respect earned by the Ducks after a miracle conference run and 2 March Madness wins. But the Ducks are also coming from a miserable Pac-12 that has a horrid reputation in Vegas this year. That, and the school’s #12 seeding in the South, has handed Oregon a (-800) futures line to reach the Final Four, at least according to the handicappers and the action at Bovada.

“We have a blast trying to pursue a championship.” – @kylejguy5
🔶⚔️🔷 #GoHoos #SweetSixteen pic.twitter.com/lDLpaCzx1Y

— Virginia Men’s Basketball (@UVAMensHoops) March 27, 2019

UVA enjoys a (-125) line to win the next 2 games and advance to Minneapolis.

Those numbers don’t seem right for a number of reasons.

Virginia doesn’t always score in the 70s or the 80-point range, and it seems odd (excuse the pun) for such disparate lines to exist between schools playing against a single-digit spread.

If we have learned anything from this year’s tourney, it is there is just no telling when an underdog will emerge and cover a wide spread over a favorite. Despite the lack of Cinderella victories so far, bettors are getting wise and are not suckered into thinking that a #14 or #15 seed (or especially a #12 seed) is in bigger trouble than it actually is due to seeing a (-15) spread on the favorite, and figuring (subconsciously) that Vegas knows its sports.

Oregon, in large part thanks to guard Ehab Amin and forward Louis King’s combined efforts from beyond the arc and in leading in the transition game, has won in convincing fashion, upsetting the Wisconsin Badgers and roundly beating a heralded UC Irvine squad.

Take these four 3’s in a row…. 7’3 Bol Bol Who you got? @oregonmbb vs @uvamenshoops pic.twitter.com/QVPxGiYsNI

— Chris Webber (@realchriswebber) March 27, 2019

Virginia can’t be faulted for anything in the first 2 rounds, despite dealing with little fight from Oklahoma in the Round of 32. The Sooners offense was strangled in the 1st half, and Mamadi Diakite stepped up to deliver a 14-point, 9-rebound performance.

But the Cavaliers are not only going around online betting sites as a minus-line wager to win the South, but a 4-to-1 bet to win the tourney outright.

UVA’s defense is fun to watch. I like Tony Bennett’s squad, heck, I even like some of his old pop records. (I keed, I keed.) I just don’t think the Cavaliers are a 4-to-1 shot to win March Madness.

My reasoning is big-picture. Jack Salt has been injured and isn’t contributing many minutes, giving the Oregon drive-and-kick game plan a chance to work against a less-imposing lineup. This is also the time of year when we can essentially forget the seedings and the regular season. Murray State wasn’t a “high seed” anymore within minutes of their game against Marquette in the Round of 64, and Oregon likely won’t look like a #12 taking on a bigger-yet-unproven roster from Charlottesville.

Suppose the Cavaliers reach the Elite Eight. They’ll face either Purdue or Tennessee – neither a picnic. Would you parlay UVA to win 2 straight against the best of the Pac-12 and the SEC during the season? If not, then the (-125) Region line makes no sense.

The memory of last year’s UMBC upset of Virginia lingers for me not because of the fact that an unheralded D1 squad beat Bennett’s team, but because of the way his team was beaten that day. The Cavaliers’ preferred leisurely pace opens the door for an up-tempo, hot-shooting team to get ahead in the 1st half and never look back.

Is the squad prepared to get out wonderful starts in the next 2 games? It better be.

I don’t know if Oregon is the best “sleeper” line on any futures board going into the Sweet Sixteen, but you’ve got to like the underdog’s long-term odds a hell of a lot more than Virginia’s at this hour.

Kurt Boyer

Kurt has authored close to 1000 stories covering football, soccer, basketball, baseball, ice hockey, prize-fighting and the Olympic Games. Kurt posted a 61% win rate on 200+ college and NFL gridiron picks last season. He muses about High School football on social media as The Gridiron Geek.
Twitter: @scorethepuck
Email: kurt@wagerbop.com

Share1
Tweet
Share
1 Shares

Filed Under: NCAAB, Sports Betting Tagged With: Basketball, College Basketball, March Madness, March Madness 2019, Men's Basketball, Men's College Basketball, NCAA Basketball, NCAA College Basketball, NCAAB, Oregon Ducks, Virginia Cavaliers

Reader Interactions

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Primary Sidebar

We Are Social

MLB Daily Double

Sign up

Sign Up

Sign up

Authors For This Section

Georgie L

Georgie has been in the industry for over 11 years, working as a trader and a broker for some of the largest syndicates in the world. Georgie has focused his model development on international soccer leagues.

Twitter: @WagerBop
Email: georgie@wagerbop.com

Jake Nichols

Jake is a mixed martial arts reporter from Australia. At WagerBop, he merges his appreciation of combat sports and a strong passion for analytics to uncover opportunities for readers.

Twitter: @JakeNicholsMMA
Email: jake@wagerbop.com

Jay Sanin

Jay is a sports writer who has been featured on Deadspin, BetAdvisor. In addition to penning wager previews and features, Jay has broadcasted for MAAC school as well as ESPN Radio's Northeastern Affiliates.

Instagram: @jaysanin
Email: jay@wagerbop.com

Nikola Velickovic

Nikola Velickovic is a sports journalist who loves to write and read on all sports. Nikola contributes both news updates and functions as a sports breaking news writer at WagerBop.
Twitter:
Email: nikola@wagerbop.com

Kreighton R

Kreighton loves sports, math, writing, and winning -- he combines all of them as a writer for WagerBop. His favorite sports to review are MLB, NFL, NBA, NCAAF, and NCAABB.

Twitter: @WagerBop
Email: kreighton@wagerbop.com

Kurt Boyer

Kurt has authored close to 1000 stories covering football, soccer, basketball, baseball, ice hockey, prize-fighting and the Olympic Games. Kurt posted a 61% win rate on 200+ college and NFL gridiron picks last season. He muses about High School football on social media as The Gridiron Geek.
Twitter: @scorethepuck
Email: kurt@wagerbop.com

Shehryar Raza

Shehryar is a professional eSports analyst with a particular affinity for CS:GO, LoL, and DOTA. He covers major eSports events across the world for WagerBop.

Twitter: @raza_shehryar
Email: shehryar@wagerbop.com

Oscar Cantu

Oscar is a rabid sports fan who started to develop his own models when he realized that lots of sports betting "experts" rely too much on their own opinions and publicly available information to provide picks. Oscar focuses on football, basketball, and soccer.

Twitter: @WagerBop
Email: social@wagerbop.com

derek

WagerBop Authors

Latest

UEFA Champions League Group Stage Draw Completed

August 31, 2023 By Nikola Velickovic Leave a Comment

MLS: LA FC vs. Inter Miami Preview, Odds, Predictions, Picks

August 31, 2023 By Nikola Velickovic Leave a Comment

Serie A: Napoli vs. Lazio Preview, Odds, Prediction, Picks

August 30, 2023 By Nikola Velickovic Leave a Comment

Bundesliga: Borussia Monchengladbach vs. Bayern Munich Preview, Odds, Prediction, Picks

August 30, 2023 By Nikola Velickovic Leave a Comment

Premeir League: Arsenal vs. Manchester United Preview, Odds, Prediction, Picks

August 29, 2023 By Nikola Velickovic Leave a Comment

Categories

  • Auto racing
  • Boxing
  • College Football
  • Esports
  • EuroLeague
  • FBS
  • FIFA
  • General Strategy
  • Golf
  • Horse Racing
  • Men's Ice Hockey
  • MLB
  • MMA
  • NBA
  • NCAAB
  • NCAAF
  • NFL
  • NHL
  • Olympics
  • Soccer/Football
  • Sports Betting
  • Sports News
  • Sportsbook Reviews
  • Tennis
  • US Soccer
  • Women's Ice Hockey

Twitter

Twitter feed is not available at the moment.

Footer

About WagerBop

WagerBop is a sports website committed to journalism. We are founded by sports fans — for sports fans — and aim to provide the latest happenings in athletics across the board. We are a team of real, dedicated, eccentric people who aim to deliver the high level of objectivity and quality found throughout our site.

CONTACT DETAILS

Address: 3505 Olsen Blvd
Amarillo, TX 79109
Phone: 806-355-7200
Email Id: admin@wagerbop.com

FREE BETTING STRATEGIES

Free NFL Betting Strategy
Free NCAAF Betting Strategy
Free MLB Betting Strategy
Free NHL Betting Strategy
Free NBA Betting Strategy
Free NCAAB Betting Strategy
Free CFL Betting Strategy
Free EPL Betting Strategy
Free WNBA Betting Strategy

Other Pages

  • Cookie Agreement
  • Editorial Policy
  • GDPR Privacy Policy
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms and Conditions

Copyright © 2025 Wagerbop.com · Log in

We use cookies to ensure that we give you the best experience on our website Close