March Madness betting for most gamblers is all about statistics, trends and matchups. There is a factor that gets ignored by most gamblers that look at the March Madness brackets and that is coaching. Coaches are of paramount importance when gamblers look at March Madness gaming lines.
March Madness action lines can be influenced by coaches. This means that sometimes “name brand” coaches, like “name brand” teams, can deplete the value on the March Madness wagering board. Roy Williams of North Carolina, even before finally getting his first national championship, was highly regarded going back to his days at Kansas. Williams now has the status of being perhaps the number one “name brand” coach in America and he coaches college basketball’s “name brand” team in North Carolina. This should immediately tell gamblers that North Carolina will rarely have value in March Madness betting. North Carolina will win games, but covering March Madness wagering pointspreads will be more difficult.
Duke’s Mike Krzyzewski is another “name brand” coach of a “name brand” program; Duke. Duke is North Carolina’s archrival and another team that offers little value in March Madness action. Once you get past those two coaches there is another group that is well respected but doesn’t have the following of the public. Jim Calhoun of Connecticut continually does an excellent job but his teams are rarely overpriced in March Madness betting. Connecticut just doesn’t hold the same appeal for gamblers that Duke or North Carolina does in the March Madness brackets. Ben Howland of UCLA is in a similar, yet different situation. UCLA is a marquee team on the West Coast and attracts a large following of gamblers in March Madness betting. Bill Self of Kansas is in a similar situation. He is not known as a marquee coach, but he coaches a team in Kansas that has a large public following in March Madness action.
As you look at the March Madness brackets don’t ignore the coaches. There is no doubt that coaching is more important in college basketball than it is in the pros and that makes the coaching factor worth looking at in March Madness action. The March Madness brackets will be full of big name coaches like Krzyzewski and Williams but other up and coming coaches like Matt Painter of Purdue and Tony Bennett of Washington State will be worth watching.