In an effort to keep things exciting, sportsbooks and commentators alike are trying to convince us that college basketball has become more wide open then ever before. While many smaller schools in Division I are catching up to their heavyweight rivals, the reality is, that many of the top programs are the same as they ever were. While this isn’t your father’s Duke or North Carolina teams, both schools annually bring out the best rosters in the nation. Here is a sports betting look at some of the top college programs of all time.

Starting from the top, the Kentucky Wildcats have cemented their legacy as one of the strongest programs in the history of the NCAA under Head Coach John Calipari. Arriving at Kentucky in 2009, Calipari exchanged a program based on nostalgia, and turned it into the best program in the country. Since coming over from Memphis, Calipari is constantly leading the way in top recruiting classes, as everyone wants to play at Kentucky. In the past three seasons alone, Calipari went from John Wall, to Brandon Knight, to Marquis Teague as his three guards. Along with a slew of all-star worthy forwards, Calipari has built a dynasty in Kentucky.

Another school that will always make the top college programs of all time lists is the UCLA Bruins. Despite recent struggles, the Bruins are one of the most historic and iconic programs in National sports. The Bruins are often considered the New York Yankees of NCAAB because they lead in both championships and championship appearances. Under John Woodson, the Bruins went to 12 Championships, winning 10. In total, they have been to the Big Dance 17 teams, and have won 13 of a possible 17 Championships. With such aura, it is no wonder that every recruit wants to be a UCLA Bruin before jumping to the NBA.

As the college basketball off-season enters its second Kentucky Derby betting month, fans, media and bettors alike are all pondering whom the top coaches of all time are. While there are plenty of good coaches right now, the stars of the past are the true legends. With so many coaching changes going on, it can get confusing as to which coaches belong on the Mount Rushmore of sports betting basketball glory. Here is a look at two coaches that will always be considered the greatest of all time.

Mike Krzyzewski Duke Blue Devils – Starting out at West Point as an assistant to the legendary Bob Knight, Mike Krzyzewski started as the Duke Blue Devils head coach in 1980 and has been the head coach of the USA National team since 2006. During his tenure at Duke, Coach K has amassed over 903 wins, the most NCAA history. Through his tenure at Duke, Coach K has averaged 25 wins a season, and 75 victories in the March Madness tournament, including four National Championships, 11 final fours, 12 ACC regular season titles, and 13 ACC tournament championships. In other words, as the all time wins leader, it seems right that Mike Krzyzewski is on our best of all time list.

Bob Knight – Known as ‘the General’ Bob Knight led the NCAA in total coaching wins for several decades, as he held the record at 902. Knight, similar to Krzyzewski spent the majority of his career with one school. For Knight, he spent his time at Indiana, where he won three National Titles and 661 of his 902 victories. Love him or hate him, Bob Knight is on our best of all time list, because he always found a way to get the best out of his players. Knight is also on our NBA best of all time list, because of his outbursts, which exhibited the type of passion every coach should have.

The 2012-13 college basketball season at Bodog is still a ways away, but that doesn’t mean we can’t examine who some of the best players were. Annually throughout the offseason, fans, media and handicappers alike, try to look at the top stars within the history of college basketball, and how they compare to the current stars. Today, we will look at how some of the stars of years past, increased the odds and reputation of many teams across America. Here is a guide of a few players.

JJ Reddick G Duke – Despite a lackluster first few years in the association, JJ Reddick is still remembered for his masterful performances in many March Madness Tournaments, over his four years at Duke. The legendary Blue Devils guard is the leading three-point shooter of all time. Aside from leading the NCAA in three point shooting, Reddick is also the ACC top scorer of all time and was named player of the year twice. Why can’t Reddick perform to this level at the NBA, is what we would like to know.

John Wooden Purdue – Prior to being credited as the greatest college basketball coach of all time, John Wooden was an amazing basketball player for the Purdue Boilermakers. Though the majority of his exploits are as the coach of the UCLA Dynasty of the 1960s and 70s, Wooden, is also known as the ‘Indiana Rubber’ for his hustle and heart on the court. Defensively, you couldn’t find a better player then Wooden, as he guided the Boilermakers to playoff glory on multiple occasions. He would guide Purdue to a National Championship in 1932, a year after losing the title in heartbreaking fashion. Thus, it makes us wonder how Wooden would have faired as Bruins Head Coach, had he left Purdue after the lost Championship in 1931.

As we edge closer to the baseball betting season, fans, media and handicappers are all still talking about the 2012 March Madness Tournament. Known as the tournament that stars are made of, this year’s tournament, exemplified that good players deserve as much credit for a team’s success, as depth players getting a chance to play. Far too many times in a playoff tournament, will a guy who hardly shows up in the regular season receive praise. However, this year’s tournament painted a different story for fans to see here. Many players had an impact, but here is a look at a few that really stood out.

One of the best stories of the tournament was the emergence of Purdue Boilermakers star Robbie Hummel. After suffering a serious knee injury during the regular season, Hummel was able to make it back for the tournament, and carry the Boilermakers to within striking distance of a birth in the Elite Eight. When Purdue was defeated by Kansas, it wasn’t for a lack of effort by Hummel, who managed to go nine of 13 from the floor, to nearly pull off the upset. Look for Hummel to be a top 10 pick in the NBA draft, as he was this season’s Jimmer Fredette.

Another player that had an excellent tournament was North Carolina Tar Heels guard Kendall Marshall. While the frontcourt of Barnes, Zeller and Henson receives much of the praise around UNC, Marshall was literally the anchor, as he contributed to an average of 80 points a game for his club. When Marshall broke his wrist in his second game of the tournament, it was only a matter of time before UNC was eliminated. Like Hummel, despite being injured, Marshall should be a high draft choice in this year’s entry draft in June.

When it comes to handicapping the March Madness betting tournament, bettors and analysts alike look for trends to justify which teams they want to select to move on in the tournament. Issues such as the make up of the team, what conference they play in, who their opponents have been entering the tournament and coaching all make huge impacts on the sports betting lines. By going to www.betonline.com you can find all the latest trends for the remaining 16 teams, to make up the Sweet 16. Today, we will be taking a closer look at why coaching has such a significant impact on the March Madness Tournament.

For all intents and purposes, there are many schools on the importance of coaching in March Madness. On the one hand, Butler coach Brad Stevens and VCU coach Shaka Smart, were disregarded last season as having an impact on their team’s success, given that they had the depth to battle through adversity. It helped VCU as well, that they were able to qualify due to the play in game a year ago, and carry that momentum all the way to the Final Four. At the same time, eventual National Champion Connecticut saw the direct impact of having an experienced coach in 68-year-old Jim Calhoun. Calhoun, got the most out of a roster that many would argue only had one star in eventual NBA point guard Kemba Walker.

As we saw by the early departure of Connecticut in this year’s tournament, the absence of both Walker and especially Calhoun were felt through the program. In fact, who knows if Connecticut would have repeated as Champion, had Calhoun stayed with the program all season. For those unfamiliar, Calhoun was forced to leave Connecticut, due to health concerns in January. At the time Connecticut was 15 and one. They entered the tournament as a nine seed, and were a miserable 18 – 10. You can’t possibly believe that was not due to the coaching change midway through the year.

The March Madness betting tournament is right around the corner, and while the teams having success are taking up the spotlight, there are a ton that are struggling. As handicappers, our goal is to find any advantage over the sportsbook, to increase our odds at making a profit. College basketball betting is a genre of sport that has as much to do with streaks as it does with teams having strong programs. Today, we will examine why focusing on struggling teams can help you in the tournament.

One of the most important aspects of handicapping struggling teams is to examine the roster of sans struggling team. Several teams are struggling down the stretch, because they are really raw. Essentially, for every Kentucky Wildcats, there is an Appalachian State, filled with freshmen and sophomore still learning a new coaches style. For that reason, don’t just assume that a team has quit, because their record is 10 and 21. Those 10 wins may have been a huge accomplishment for that team. As a result, like adding a player at the NBA trade deadline, the bettors will see that the team wants to finish out the season strong. Meaning to say, you may want to take a struggling team as the underdog on the point spread, since they are playing for more then just pride.

At the same time, when you examine a roster look at the expectations of a team, as some may struggle due to a learning curve, while others may be struggling due to a lack of depth. Basically, if a team entered the season with expectations to win a conference crown, but then flopped out of the gate, such as UCLA, betting against them may turn you a profit. By handicapping a team’s lineup, you can look at the streaks, and where everything went wrong. For this reason, you can never be too sure of why a team is struggling.