Betting odds have been surprisingly difficult to find for the 2011 Pac-10 Tournament as compared to other conferences. Thankfully I was finally able to come across some legit odds for the tournament courtesy of Scores and Odds. They don’t include everybody, but they hit on the favorites, which is better than nothing. As of today they have Arizona and UCLA as co-favorites at 2-to-1. Here are their full list of Pac-10 tournament odds:
Arizona: 2-1
UCLA: 2-1
Washington: 5-2
USC: 5-1
Cal: 10-1
Washington State: 10-1
Field (Any other team): 15-1
Avinash indicated that Arizona has the easier path to the championship based on some relatively favorable matchups along the way. UCLA should have little trouble getting past Arizona State or Oregon, but their potential semi-final date with Washington looms large as the Huskies swept the Bruins this season.
In looking at some of the longer shots, USC or Cal would be interesting wagers. The two teams play each other so you’d be looking at a pick ’em, but either one could surprise some folks. Cal played Arizona incredibly close this year with a pair of losses each by two points. They split with UCLA but were destroyed in both games against Washington so that might make things a little difficult.
USC at 5-to-1 might be the bet to make if you’re looking for a reasonable “long shot.” The Trojans have split with the top three teams and have a strong inside scorer in Nikola Vucevic. It will take some work to get past Cal and they’ll be underdogs the rest of the way (barring other upsets), but USC could be the upset special in the Pac-10.