No major conference tournament this week appears more wide open for a possible winner than the Big Ten, which was the only BCS conference to see a three-way tie for first to end the regular season. Ohio State got the top seed for the Big Ten Tournament, which opens Thursday afternoon in Indianapolis – bet on it with Bodog’s college basketball odds.

OSU has opened as a 7/4 favorite on Bodog to win this tournament. The Buckeyes are the most “whole” team right now and enter having won 10 of 11. They also have conference player of the year Evan Turner, who led the Big Ten in both scoring (19.5) and rebounding (9.4) and was second in assists (5.8). He is the first player in Big Ten history to finish in the top two spots in those three categories.

Purdue and Michigan State, the co-regular champs with the Buckeyes, both have issues entering the tourney.  Of course the Boilermakers (11/2 to win on Bodog) lost star Robbie Hummel to a season-ending knee injury and then promptly struggled a bit in the final three games, including a loss to the Spartans. The Boilers are the defending tourney champs. MSU (43/20 on Bodog) could be in a spot of trouble in tits opening game in this tournament at a minimum as starting guard Chris Allen has been suspended for undisclosed reasons and might not return at all for this tournament. Allen (9.1 ppg) wasn’t a player on the level of Hummel but still a solid contributor and the team’s best three-point shooter. The Spartans, for all their NCAA Tournament success, haven’t won a Big Ten Tournament in 10 years.

Only four Big Ten teams have locked down NCAA bids, and the fourth is Wisconsin (2/1 on Bodog). The Badgers closed the season with four wins in a row and seem to have found themselves with the return of big man from a broken wrist. The Badgers beat all three top seeds in this tournament once this season, although all three wins came in Madison. Illinois and Minnesota both have shots at at-large bids if they win a few games.

If history holds, one of the top three seeds will win the tournament because a top-three team has in the past eight seasons and 10 of 12 overall. The lowest seed to win was No. 6 Iowa back in 2001. The No. 1 seed has won the tournament just four times.

Here is the schedule for the first two rounds, all times Eastern:

Thursday’s first round
No. 8 Michigan vs. No. 9 Iowa, 2:30 p.m.
No. 7 Northwestern vs. No. 10 Indiana, 5 p.m.
No. 6 Minnesota vs. No. 11 Penn State, 7:30 p.m.
Friday’s quarterfinals
No. 1 Ohio State vs. MICH/IOWA, Noon
No. 4 Wisconsin vs. No. 5 Illinois, 3 p.m.
No. 2 Purdue vs. NW/IND, 6:30 p.m
No. 3 Michigan State vs. MIN/PSU, 9 ET

Get all your Big Ten Tournament odds at Bodog

Indian Wells, California ndash; Melinda Czink will go head-to-head with veteran Kimiko Date Krumm and Polona Hercog will take on Ioana R Olaru. Elsewhere, Tamarine Tanasugarn and Alexa Glatch are gearing up for a late clash against Edina Gallovits and Elena Baltacha. Tennis Betting Line: Melinda Czink -120 21frac12; O -130 U -110 Kimiko Date Krumm -120 21frac12; O -130 U -110 First...

Carolina Hurricanes at Washington Capitals This matchup between Southeast Division rivals will no doubt get heated over the next few weeks as theyrsquo;ll face each other three times in 15 days. Tonight will be the fourth meeting of six between the Carolina Hurricanes and the Washington Capitals, wish the Hurricanes actually winning the last matchup on December 28 th by a 6-3 score. Washington...

The good news for New Orleans is that Chris Paul is due back to return this season. The bad news is that hersquo;s still about two weeks away from getting back to the court. Even worse is the idea of trying to compete with the Oklahoma City Thunder tonight as road dogs with so many glaring injuries still plaguing what should be a talented roster. The Hornets have been a basketball betting...

In the past, San Antonio has never been a NBA betting pick of the general public, but this year theyrsquo;ve had to rely on being a veteran team. The switch in the state of mind of the team run by Greg Popovich has made them an unruly bet against the oddsmakers, which is simply something wersquo;ve never been able to say about the Spurs in the past.

The Utah Jazz will look to extend their SU amp; ATS winning streak to four in a row when they invade the Palace of Auburn Hills for an NBA betting battle with the Detroit Pistons. Head Coach Jerry Sloanrsquo;s squad has been playing with its hair on fire ever since the calendar turned to the New Year.

Real Madrid became the third casualty, the biggest so far, of the R16 Champions League today when they were given a reality check by a stoic Olympique Lyonnais side. Seismic shockwaves reverberated through the soccer betting community, not to mention at Estadio Santiago Bernabeacute;u (Madrid) when Lyon took the 2:1 win on aggregate to advance into the quarterfinals.

The championship game of the Northeast Conference Tournament pits the Robert Morris Colonials against the Quinnipiac Bobcats on Wednesday night in Hamden, Conn. Robert Morris Colonials @ Quinnipiac Bobcats Wednesday, March 10th ndash; 7:05 PM ET TD Banknorth SportsCenter, Hamden, CT Broadcast: ESPN2 College Basketball Betting Spread: Qunnipiac -3.5 The Week That Was: Robert Morris...

Tonight marks the first and only NHL betting matchup of the season for the Dallas Stars and Buffalo Sabres. Buffalo has got their ship righted after a bit of a skid heading into and out of the Olympic break.

Itrsquo;ll be Bedlam in the first round of the Big XII Tournament Wednesday afternoon. That is when the Oklahoma State Cowboys square off with their cross-state rivals, the Oklahoma Sooners in the NCAA Basketball betting odds. Oklahoma Sooners (13-17 SU, 11-16 ATS) vs.

The SEC Tournament, which begins Thursday in Nashville, certainly lacks the drama of pretty much all of the major conference tournaments because the SEC crown has all but been given to Kentucky – bet on the tournament all week with Bodog’s NCAA basketball odds.

And why shouldn’t the Wildcats be massive favorites – opening at 2/5 – after going 14-2 during the regular season (with the two losses only coming in road games)? UK hasn’t won this tournament since 2004 but boasts the conference player of the year (John Wall) and freshman of the year (DeMarcus Cousins, who is a freshman like Wall). Add in Patrick Patterson, and the Cats have the three best players on the floor against any SEC foe. UK won on average by 10.1 points in SEC play, but it had seven games decided by seven points or fewer. The Wildcats’ first two games in this tournament could be against the only two teams to beat them (South Carolina and Tennessee).

Because this tournament is in Nashville, don’t rule out hometown Vanderbilt (4/1 on Bodog to win) or Tennessee (3/1). The Vols won five of their last six games, which included wins over Kentucky and at Mississippi State, the SEC West champ and No. 2 seed in this tournament. The Vols would have to face UK in the semis, while Vandy avoids Kentucky until the final – the Wildcats swept Vandy this year but were pushed to the limit in the most recent meeting.

Expect the champ to come from the East Division as it is clearly the dominant division in the conference, with Kentucky, Vanderbilt, Tennessee and Florida going a combined 24-0 against the SEC West.

The SEC probably only has three lock NCAA Tournament bids at the moment (UK, Tennessee, Vandy). Thus that could mean a potential quarterfinal matchup between Florida (12/1) and Mississippi State (13/2), two bubble teams, could be for the conference’s final at-large bid. The Gators should have little trouble in their opener against Auburn, and they beat MSU head-to-head once this year. UF enters on a three-game skid, while the Bulldogs enter having lost two in a row.

This tournament has produced a surprise tournament champ each of the last two years, with Georgia winning it in 2008 and Mississippi State a year ago. Alabama, Auburn and Ole Miss are the only SEC teams that haven't won two or more SEC Tournament games in a single year since 2002.

Here are the matchups in the first two rounds, all times Eastern:

Thursday’s first round
(E5) South Carolina vs. (W4) Alabama, 1 p.m
(W6) LSU vs. (E3) Tennessee, 3:15 p.m.
(W5) Auburn (E4) Florida, 7:30 p.m.
(E6) Georgia vs. (W3) Arkansas, 9:45 p.m.
Friday’s quarterfinals
South Carolina/Alabama vs. (E1) Kentucky, 1 p.m.
LSU/Tennessee vs. (W2) Ole Miss, 3:15 p.m.
Auburn/Florida vs. (W1) Mississippi State, 7:30 p.m.
Georgia/Arkansas vs. (E2) Vanderbilt, 9:45 p.m.

Get all your SEC Tournament odds and props at Bodog

March Madness will be in full swing when the eighth-seeded Nicholls State Colonels try topple the top-seeded Sam Houston State Bearkats in their first round Southland Conference Tournament matchup that gets underway at the Leonard E. Merrell Center in Katy, Texas tonight at 7 PM ET. The upstart Colonels have won two consecutive games and four of five to make consecutive postseason appearances for...

The Dallas Stars will attempt to do something they havenrsquo;t done in five years by winning in Buffalo in an effort to keep their playoff hopes alive on Wednesday night. Dallas Stars at Buffalo Sabres Wednesday March 10, 2010-7:00 ET HSBC Arena, Buffalo, New York NHL Betting Line: Buffalo -171nbsp; Buffalo has won the last four meetings between these teams dating back to 2006. Five...

The ladies took the stage on their normal time slot this week, and for the most part, the show had its moments. Thursday is the most important elimination of the American idol betting season as the final six ladies will all be a part of the summer tour.

The Rangers are in the midst of a three game losing streak, the latest a 2-1 overtime loss to Buffalo on Sunday. New York finds themselves on the outside looking in on the playoff race, two points back of Boston for the final postseason spot in the East. The Devils are coming off one of their more embarrassing losses of the season, a 2-0 loss to the league-worst Edmonton Oilers.

Itrsquo;s that time of year again, when the workplace halts and job productivity tanks quicker than the Cavaliers did when they were trying to draft LeBron. Itrsquo;s March Madness baby and next to the Super Bowl or the Kentucky Derby, no other time of year can match the excitement of the opening four days of the Menrsquo;s NCAA tournament. Other than the games and the general madness that...

Gary Payton, who spent many years as an All-Star point guard in the NBA and is no doubt ticketed for the Hall of Fame, is never lost for an opinion when it comes to the game of basketball. Of course, his major area of expertise as far as BetFlix viewers are concerned has been the NBA. But with March Madness upon us, he is taking a different route this week. Shooting a few baskets on his home court...

The Rice Owls take on the Golden Hurricane at a neutral site as huge underdogs in the NCAAB sportsbook. The Owls, with their 8 and 22 overall straight-up record, are at the bottom of the Conference USA standings.

The always on-point Gary Payton gives us the latest installment of the Paytonrsquo;s Corner. Gary is in the spot he knows best, hersquo;s on the basketball court. Gary is shooting free throws, his free throws werenrsquo;t hitting the mark but when Gary Payton flips the script from NBA to give us his college basketball picks for the SEC Championship, we know there will be nothing but net.

Gary Payton knows Pac-10 basketball. He was an all-time great in the conference, making the All-Pac-10 team three times, and hailed by many in his days at Oregon State as the best player in the country. Who better qualified to opine about the Pacific 10 tournament matchups for BetFlix viewers than the man who, after graduating, was named to the conference's All-Decade team for the 1980s? In...