March Madness betting players are getting ready for the stretch run before teams go into their conference tournaments, and the rankings show that there is no team that stands above the rest. Duke will be the likely No.1 this week after rolling over Virginia and Georgia Tech, but the Blue Devils know all too well what burdens come with being the top team in the country. They lost at St. John’s on January 30th as the No.1 team, and they face a tough week as Temple comes to Cameron Indoor Stadium before heading to Virginia Tech. Kansas is another No.1 team who has fallen as they were routed at Kansas State before recovering to romp over Colorado, but the Jayhawks recently announced that starting point guard Tyshawn Taylor would be suspended for violating team rules. Betting players watching the NHL trade deadline know all about distractions, and this would qualify as one for the Jayhawks, who welcome Oklahoma State to Lawrence on Monday before heading to Oklahoma on the weekend. Ohio State also lost the No.1 spot after losing at Wisconsin, and they picked up a sloppy win over Michigan State before falling at Purdue. The loss to Purdue shouldn’t hurt them too bad in the polls as Purdue is also a top-10 team and it was on the road, but the Buckeyes need to get their act together if March Madness betting players are going to have faith in them down the stretch. Ohio State will be at home this week, hosting Illinois and Indiana. Texas had an 11-game winning streak snapped with a loss at Nebraska, but they should make up for it this week with a visit from Iowa State before travelling to Colorado. Those looking to bet 5dimes on the Longhorns in March shouldn’t take too much away from their loss in Lincoln as the Cornhuskers are extremely tough to beat at home, and the only thing it showed was that you have to be physical with Texas if you want to have a fighting chance against them. Pitt was the latest top-10 team to fall at St. John’s under the lights of Madison Square Garden, joining Duke and Connecticut. The Panthers have a big week ahead as they’ll host West Virginia in the second edition of the “Backyard Brawl”, and then Pitt faces a tricky trip to Louisville. Pitt is definitely the darkhorse of the top five, but they’ll be a factor in March. BYU and San Diego State are the BracketBusters looking to crash the party, but playing in the Mountain West could hurt them in the rankings. But we should receive a clearer picture after Saturday as the Aztecs look to avenge their only loss of the season when they host the Cougars in a massive game on Saturday. This could be the most important matchup in your online sports betting book this weekend.
