BY MATTY D.

Oddsmakers Face a Tricky Puzzle Entering Conference Tournament Week

No one is ever going to feel badly for the sportsbook, but they do have a tricky dilemma headed into conference championship week. Some of the Power Five’s best teams might have players nursing injuries or doing load management. On the flip side, you have teams at the bottom of the league that are incredibly desperate to win the conference tournament and punch their ticket to March Madness. Creating the odds in this landscape is most certainly a challenging exercise.

Conference tournament week is often where March Madness sleepers emerge, especially when desperate teams collide with favorites managing injuries or tired legs.

A team like UConn might be an obvious minus-150 moneyline favorite to win its league in the Big East. However, there could always be a team lurking around 80-to-1 that suddenly becomes very dangerous. Here are a few sleeper teams for conference championship week when everything is on the line.

With Jizzle James-led Bearcats Gaining Momentum, how Dangerous is Cincinnati?

My #1 Sleeper Pick for Conference Championship Week

The Cincinnati Bearcats are another sleeper team worth watching. They may already be on some people’s radar because of the upset win they handed Kansas at Allen Fieldhouse in mid-February.

However, the casual college basketball fan might not realize that their star point guard, Jizzle James, missed about a month of the season. The Bearcats have been a noticeably different team with him back in the starting lineup.

James is the son of Hall of Fame running back Edgerrin James. While he may be the son of an NFL great, there are also several sons of NBA players currently competing in Division I basketball. If you enjoy those family connections across sports, it’s a fun list of memorable names.

Click here to explore sons of NBA players in college hoops right now.

The Bearcats followed up their win at Allen Fieldhouse by beating BYU in dominating fashion. That game may have delivered a death blow to BYU’s season and its March Madness hopes, especially on the heels of the Richie Saunders injury. Because of the way Cincinnati has looked since James returned, the Bearcats are firmly in the conversation when discussing conference tournament sleepers that could suddenly make a deep run.

Could the Running Rebels Bring Vegas High Wire Act Into the Big Dance?

My #2 Sleeper Pick — Because the Odds Payout Could Be Huge

UNLV is staying true to its form as the entertainment capital of the country with how the Running Rebels are entertaining college basketball fans in the closing weeks of the season.

They have a leading scorer in Dra Gibbs-Laworn who dropped 42 points in an overtime win against Nevada. They also won a thrilling matchup against Boise State after coming back from more than 25 points. Not long after that, UNLV absolutely crushed Utah State, which is a no-doubt NCAA Tournament team.

Gibbs-Lawhorn is a top scorer across college basketball.
Click here to see how leading scorers should be feared historically, regardless of seed line.

With that kind of momentum and scoring ability, the Rebels could be a dangerous sleeper if they carry that energy into conference tournament play. According to the eye test, UNLV is clearly one of the March Madness sleepers to watch if they can string together a few wins in their conference tournament.

Could Stanford’s Quietly Improving Season Turn Into an ACC Tournament Surprise?

My #3 Sleeper Pick

In the ACC, all eyes will naturally be on Duke and possibly North Carolina. However, another team lurking in the shadows is Stanford.

The Cardinal have one of the best freshmen in the country and have quietly been putting together an overall record that could at least be in the discussion for an NCAA Tournament-worthy résumé.

Because of that combination of young talent and steady results, Stanford could be one of the most intriguing college basketball dark horses entering conference tournament week.

Sports Illustrated recently wrote a great article about surprise star freshman guard Ebuka Okorie, and more specifically on the tricky decision he will face this offseason.

Could Red-Hot Colorado State Carry Its Late-Season Momentum Into the Mountain West Tournament?

My #4 Sleeper Pick

Another team that has been heating up late in the season is Colorado State. The Rams struggled earlier in the year and at one point started the season just 3-8 before finding their rhythm.

Since that slow start, Colorado State has quietly been one of the hotter teams in its league, going on an impressive run and winning the majority of its games down the stretch. The Rams have been able to win with balanced scoring and efficient shooting, and they have shown they can beat quality teams in the Mountain West. Center Kyle Jorgensen is one of many players who have returned from injury and are playing with upbeat swagger.

That type of late-season momentum can be dangerous in a conference tournament setting. If you’re looking at conference tournament predictions, Colorado State is the type of team that could surprise people if their recent form continues.

Could Northwestern’s Gritty Wildcats Turn Close Calls Into a Tournament Run?

My #5 Sleeper Pick

The Northwestern Wildcats have recently looked like a live dog. Evidence of that came after a big win against a conference opponent when their head coach was running toward the locker room with his belly out while getting doused by water bottles in celebration.

Northwestern followed up that win with another gritty performance as a 12-point underdog against Purdue, where they nearly forced overtime. The Wildcats ultimately lost the game by four points but were the victim of their own mistake when they turned the ball over on what could have been a game-tying possession against the Purdue Boilermakers.

Even in defeat, Northwestern showed the type of fight that makes a team dangerous during a conference tournament.

Teams That Could Shake Up Conference Tournament Week

Conference tournament week is always chaotic, and history shows that several surprise teams reach the NCAA Tournament every year. Cincinnati, UNLV, Stanford, Colorado State and Northwestern all have recent momentum or roster advantages that could make them dangerous in a single-elimination setting.

If even one of these teams catches the right matchups and continues its late-season form, the road to March Madness could suddenly look very different.