March Madness Bracket Racket: Can Las Vegas Pick the Champion?

Capitalism is the ultimate arbiter of truth.

Want to see what people think of you or your product? Follow the money.

Want to figure out which teams in the Big Dance really have a shot to win it all? Glean some information from the folks that make predictions for a living.

Here are the 2010 odds to win the NCAA tournament. Keep in mind that a $100 bet nets you the number out to the right. A $100 bet on UNLV nets you $7,000 and an investigation from the United States Justice Department and perhaps a hot tub photo op with a wise guy. And possibly Greg Anthony .

The Kansas Jayhawks are the odds-on favorite to cut down the nets in Indy, while fellow No. 1 seed Kentucky is just behind. The Syracuse Orangemen and then the Duke Blue Devils round out the first four.

The +700 number for Syracuse tells you all you need to know about the health of Arinze Onuaku. Syracuse has the easiest route of any of the one seeds, yet the Orangemen rate to be twice the underdog to fellow No. 1 seed Kentucky and nearly three times the dog to Kansas, a team that is in the toughest region.

It also says a lot about what the wise guys think about the Jayhawks, considering they have to get through Maryland and the Georgetown vs. Ohio State winner. A Kansas Jayhawk championship wins you a pittance in terms of the true value of winning six games in a row against great competition.

At first blush I like the Buckeyes at +1800, Georgetown at +2000, and West Virginia at +1500. That’s real money for running the table.

The worst value on the board is Kentucky at +300 because they’ve yet to really step out of conference and beat a great team to justify such a low payout. They will have to beat at least three great teams for you to cash a Blue Grass ticket.

Kansas has little value at +250. But it goes to show you what the money thinks of the Jayhawks’ chances. They think pretty highly of KU for such a low payout in the context of the toughest bracket.

Just food for thought when you’re filling out brackets.

To win the NCAA Championship

KANSAS +250
OHIO STATE +1800
GEORGETOWN +2000
MARYLAND +7000
MICHIGAN STATE +5500
TENNESSEE +7000
OKLAHOMA STATE +7000
UNLV +7000
NORTHERN IOWA +7000
GEORGIA TECH +7000
SYRACUSE +700
KANSAS STATE +2000
PITTSBURGH +5000
VANDERBILT +5000
BUTLER +7000
XAVIER +6500
BYU +7000
GONZAGA +7000
FLORIDA STATE +7000
FLORIDA +7500
KENTUCKY +300
WEST VIRGINIA +1500
NEW MEXICO +7000
WISCONSIN +5000
TEMPLE +7500
MARQUETTE +8500
CLEMSON +8500
TEXAS +5000
WAKE FOREST +8500
MISSOURI +8500
DUKE +795
VILLANOVA +2000
BAYLOR +2500
PURDUE +9000
TEXAS A&M +7500
NOTRE DAME +7000
RICHMOND +9000
CALIFORNIA +7000
LOUISVILLE +7500
SAINT MARYS +9000
THE FIELD +5000

This article originally appeared on March To March

Follow Kevin Berger on Twitter: @MarchToMarch