2024 College Basketball Conference Tournaments: Odds and Betting Trends

Patrick Everson Sports Betting Expert

11 minute read

College basketball conference tournament odds are as much a part of March Madness as the NCAA Tournament itself.

The SEC Tournament appears to be the most competitive, with four teams among the top 10 in March Madness futures odds. The Big 12, Big Ten and ACC tournaments feature legit national title contenders. And NCAA Tournament favorite UConn is the beast in the Big East Tournament.

Here's everything you need to know about the 2024 conference tournament futures odds market: action, movement and betting trends. And if you're a basketball bettor in North Carolina, registration is now available, as all the top North Carolina sportsbooks are live.

Conference Tournament Odds

SEC Tournament Odds

Top-seeded Tennessee is the class of a conference littering the top of the March Madness odds board at The SuperBook. The Vols (24-7 SU) are the +1000 fifth choice to win the national championship.

Then a trio of SEC teams checks in: Kentucky as the +2000 co-eighth choice, followed by Alabama and Auburn at +2500.

In SEC Tournament odds, Tennessee is the +150 favorite, followed by No. 4 seed Auburn. But No. 2 seed Kentucky (23-8 SU) certainly means business and will be attractive as the +400 third choice. On Saturday, the Wildcats were 7.5-point road underdogs and beat Tennessee 85-81.

"There will probably be public support for Kentucky, because they're playing so well right now," SuperBook risk supervisor Chase Michaelson said. "Plus, Kentucky is often a team that the public supports. Three weeks ago, Kentucky probably would've been at longer odds. But the Wildcats are playing really well at the moment."

Michaelson doesn't foresee Tennessee getting much futures support, for a reason that rings true in most conference tourneys.

"Generally, the public doesn't want to bet the short-odds team, because they're not gonna get a big payout," he said. "Tennessee and Auburn don't offer what people are looking for. Kentucky is a possible exception to that, because of how popular Kentucky is."

More to Michaelson's point, he said Florida +1800 is getting early looks in the SEC Tournament futures odds market. And there were some fliers on Texas A&M at 100/1, so The SuperBook moved the Aggies into +6000.

"People generally love betting all the favorites – Houston, UConn, Arizona. But in conference tournaments, it's less common," Michaelson said.

ACC Tournament Odds

Of course, North Carolina and Duke will have some say in who wins the national title. Those two sit Nos. 6 and 7, respectively, on The SuperBook's NCAA Tourney odds board, at +1400 and +1600.

For now, though, the Tobacco Road rivals are aligned for a third meeting this season, based on ACC Tournament odds.

North Carolina (25-6 SU) is the top seed, but opened a +180 co-favorite with Duke (24-7 SU) in odds to win the ACC Tournament. That's despite the Tar Heels winning both regular-season games against the Blue Devils, including Saturday's 84-79 road victory.

UNC might be an exception to Michaelson's aforementioned rule of conference tourney bettors avoiding short-priced favorites.

"The public sees how well North Carolina is playing, beating Duke twice. So that's perhaps attractive," he said. "But I don't know if the price is attractive. It's really short, and that speaks to the relative lack of quality in the ACC. It's definitely a down year."

Big Ten Tournament Odds

The Big Ten has only one team among the top 15 in The SuperBook's March Madness futures odds market. But it's a really good Purdue outfit, the +600 co-second choice to win it all, joined by Houston.

As such, the Boilermakers are the top seed. And they're even-money favorites on the Big Ten Tournament odds board. At +300, No. 2 seed Illinois (23-8 SU) is the primary threat to Purdue, but the Illini went 0-2 against the Boilermakers in the regular season.

With Purdue (28-3 SU), it's not just a matter of an unattractive conference odds price for the public betting masses. It's also the Boilermakers' recent NCAA Tourney history: a first-round upset loss to North Texas in 2021; a Sweet 16 loss to Cinderella St. Peter's in 2022; and as a No. 1 seed in 2023, a shocking setback to No. 16 seed Fairleigh Dickinson, only the second time a 1 lost to a 16.

Of course, the first time was in 2018, when Virginia lost to Maryland-Baltimore County. The Cavaliers rebounded by winning the 2019 NCAA Tournament.

"The public does not trust Purdue. I'm not breaking any news there," Michaelson said. "I'll say this: I think Purdue is better than last year. But it's hard for me to trust them, hard for everybody to trust them."

Michigan State had an un-Spartans-like season, going 18-13 SU. The Spartans are the No. 8 seed, but are the +1200 fourth choice in Big Ten Tournament odds. The lure of coach Tom Izzo in March will attract public bettors.

"People are gonna see a price on Michigan State that's gonna excite them," Michaelson said. "If they're not paying attention, Michigan State will be an attractive price. If they are paying attention, they'll see Michigan State keeps losing."

Indeed, Sparty dropped four of its last five regular-season games. Michaelson went to Michigan State and loves his Spartans, but from his perch as an oddsmaker, he sees the reality.

"I think Michigan State sucks," he said.

Who else might bettors look to in odds to win the Big Ten Tournament?

"Ohio State will get some public interest, because they're playing so much better since they fired their coach," Michaelson said.

Buckeyes coach Chris Holtmann was fired Feb. 14, and Ohio State won five of its last six games under interim coach Jake Diebler. The Buckeyes (19-12 SU) are the No. 10 seed.

Big 12 Tournament Odds

Houston is No. 1 in the AP poll and the No. 2 choice in The SuperBook's odds to win March Madness. So not surprisingly, the Cougars are the -140 favorite in Big 12 Tournament futures odds.

Houston (28-3 SU) enters the conference tourney off a massive Saturday home blowout of Kansas, 76-46. The Cougars are on a nine-game SU win streak.

But again to Michaelson's point, a minus-money price won't attract the betting public, which will look elsewhere this week. No. 2 seed Iowa State (24-7 SU) is the +475 second choice, followed by third-seeded Baylor (22-9 SU) at +675.

"This is a really interesting league. The Big 12 and the SEC are the two best leagues in the country," he said.

Kansas (22-9 SU) is a surprisingly low No. 6 seed in the Big 12 Tourney and is +1400 to win the event. The Jayhawks have the benefit of near-home-court advantage, with the tournament taking place in Kansas City, Mo.

"They're 14/1 because they're not playing well," Michaelson said. "But certainly 14/1 on Kansas jumps out to anyone. I could see people definitely take a swing on that.

"The other team I think people will take a swing on is BYU at 14/1."

However, fifth-seeded BYU has a path that would include a likely semifinal matchup vs. Houston. But like Houston, BYU (22-9 SU) has been solid in its Big 12 debut season. On Feb. 28, the Cougars went to Lawrence as 8-point 'dogs and stunned Kansas 76-68.

Big East Tournament Odds

UConn won the national title last year and is favored to repeat this year, at +500 in The SuperBook's March Madness odds market. So no surprise, the Huskies (28-3 SU) are the -150 favorite in Big East Tournament odds.

Connecticut lost just two conference games in the regular season, Dec. 20 at Seton Hall and Feb. 20 at Creighton. Between those two losses, the Huskies went 14-0 SU.

Creighton (23-8 SU) and Marquette (23-8 SU), at +350 and +700 respectively, are given some chance in Big East Tourney odds. But the numbers stretch quite a bit from there, with fourth choice St. John's at +1400 and fifth choice Villanova +2000.

However, both the Red Storm (19-12 SU) and Wildcats (17-14 SU) could be worth a look. UConn assuredly has an NCAA Tournament No. 1 seed locked up, so motivation might be an issue. And Marquette has injury issues, primarily with guard Tyler Kolek (oblique).

"If you're looking for a team that people will probably bet, I'd say Villanova," Michaelson said of the No. 6 seed. "Obviously, brand recognition is big, and the trust is there with that program. And the Wildcats need to win games to get into the NCAA Tournament.

"Villanova also has talent and has good wins this year. They beat North Carolina and Memphis [on neutral courts], they won at Creighton. The reason they're 20/1 is they're just incredibly inconsistent."

No. 5 seed St. John's is riding a five-game win streak into the tourney.

"There's a chance people will buy into St. John's. People trust Rick Pitino, and they're playing better now," Michaelson said.

Pac-12 Tournament Odds

The final season of the Pac-12's existence has not been a good one. UCLA finished sub-.500 at 15-16 SU. Washington (17-14 SU) had a down year, as well.

Arizona is the big bright spot, seen as a legitimate national championship contender. The Wildcats (24-7 SU) are The SuperBook's +800 fourth choice in odds to win March Madness. Arizona is a -170 favorite in Pac-12 Tournament odds, not attractive to the betting public.

"We have liability on Arizona to win the national championship," Michaelson said, while noting he doesn't anticipate Arizona Pac-12 liability, in a down year for the conference. "UCLA is usually better. After Arizona, it's definitely jarring to see Colorado and Washington State with the shortest odds."

On paper, No. 2 seed Washington State had a good year, going 23-8 SU. The Cougars are the +600 third choice in Pac-12 odds. But what really demonstrates the conference's talent gap is Washington State's national championship price: +20000 (200/1). Quite a drop-off from Arizona's 8/1 odds.

No. 3 seed Colorado (22-9 SU) is the +550 second choice in Pac-12 odds and is also 200/1 to win the national championship.

Michaelson expects No. 9 seed USC to get some action this week as a +3000 long shot. The Trojans (14-17 SU) upset Arizona 78-65 catching 7.5 points at home in the regular-season finale.

"USC has a lot of talent. As a 9 seed, USC would have to win four in a row. Most teams that need to do that would have longer odds," Michaelson said. "That price is recognition of the talent the Trojans have. We're already seeing people take swings on USC."

Mountain West Tournament Odds

Nationally, perhaps not too many people think much of the Mountain West. But this mid-major could well get six teams into the NCAA Tournament, likely more than the ACC and far more than the Pac-12.

Mountain West Tournament odds reflect the strength and parity of the league. Utah State (26-5 SU) edged New Mexico 87-84 in Saturday's regular-season finale to clinch the No. 1 seed. But the Aggies are not favored to win the conference tourney.

In fact, fifth-seeded San Diego State (22-9 SU) is the +275 chalk on a crowded odds board, with seven teams at +700 or shorter. Utah State is the +450 second choice, followed by Nevada (+500), Boise State (+600), New Mexico (+650), and Colorado State and UNLV at +700.

"There are seven teams that can win this tournament," Michaelson said. "This is my favorite conference tournament, and I think that's true for a lot of people who really follow college basketball. This is the tournament for college basketball nerds.

"This is awesome. It's pretty rare to have seven teams at 7/1 or shorter."

UNLV went on a late-season 12-1 SU tear to get into the Mountain West picture. The MWC Tournament is on the Rebels' home court, so they could get some futures betting love this week. But Michaelson pointed out that UNLV opens against tourney favorite San Diego State on Thursday.

With that in mind, it's a toss-up as to where Mountain West futures money will land.

"It's a really hard question to answer," Michaelson said. "There are easy, obvious ones in the other leagues. Here, everything is so close, so well-contested."

At least among those top seven teams. Then the odds drop-off is quite steep.

"It's funny to see the cutoff, where it goes from +700 to 300/1," Michaelson said of eighth choice Wyoming.

Patrick Everson

Patrick Everson is a senior reporter for VegasInsider. Based in Las Vegas since 1994, he's worked in the sports betting journalism/content space for more than a decade. He's most known for his deep roster of contacts behind sportsbook counters, providing readers and viewers with the ins-and-outs of how events are being bet. He's also a thought leader in the sports betting space, often appearing on or moderating panels at national conferences. More from Patrick Everson