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.

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

My #1 Sleeper Pick — Because the Odds Payout Could Be Huge

With Cincinatti losing to (8 seed in the Big 12) UCF on Wednesday, only one more team is running away with my fantasies of super underdoggery.

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?

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

My #2 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?

Teams That Could Shake Up Conference Tournament Week

Prior to a championship week starting with very disappointing performances by the so-called bubble teams, ironically the two remaining bid stealers were from the Mountain West.

On this article, I had previously written how, “conference tournament week is always chaotic.”

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.