How to handicap NCAA Tournament Cinderella Teams
As much as part of the NCAA Tournament as dynasty teams are, March Madness is all about the Cinderella teams. The teams that defy all the odds, pulling off the biggest upsets and dethroning college royalty along the way.
While for basketball fans this adds to the excitement of the tournament, for college basketball handicappers, Cinderella teams can create serious headaches, as they try to figure if these teams can continue to win, or if they have hit wall.
To help handicappers make the most out of their NCAA Tournament betting experience, we have put together five things to look at when trying to figure out if a Cinderella team is turning back into a pumpkin.
First, maybe a particular Cinderella team isn’t really that much of a surprise. What have they been doing all season long? Perhaps no one has been paying attention. They could be a very good team that simply has been overlooked. If that’s the case, maybe the upsets they have been able to pull off early in the tournament might continue.
Second, who are they beating? Maybe a so-called upset isn’t really an upset at all because the higher seeded team just isn’t very good, or at least isn’t as good as their seeding suggests.
Next, handicappers need to look at how the Cinderella team is winning.
Have they won because they were they better team, or did they exploit the favorite’s mistake of overlooking them and not preparing or taking them serious? If the later is the case, it may be harder for them to replicate their luck against the next opponent they face.
Which brings us to the question of who they play next.
A Cinderella’s success in the NCAA tournament often comes down to where they landed in the bracket to begin with. As the tournament progresses the teams that remain are the ones that are usually more talented and playing better, so it’s much harder to surprise teams.
Finally, can a particular Cinderella team handle the pressure?
It’s likely that these teams are not used to the attention, and the national media that they will receive the further they go in the tournament.
That’s why it is important for NCAA basketball bettors to assess how well the team might deal with it, looking at whether the school has been in a situation like this before and if the coach been in similar situations.
Experience and ages of the roster can also supply bettors with information that will help them make more winning NCAA Tournament picks, when going with or against a Cinderella team.
