What’s getting lost in the mix during the heart of football season and Thanksgiving week? The start of college hoops! I’ll have you covered with best bets articles throughout the season, but it’s also good to have something from the preseason as reference for early in the season to get a grasp on different teams and conferences. So I’m breaking down each of the Power 6 Conferences with some useful betting info from DraftKings Sportsbook.

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PAC-12

The Favorite

Oregon

The Ducks really jumped out to me here as a clear undervalued team, and my favorite in the conference. I’m not betting much in terms of futures, taking this unique season game by game, but Oregon at +435 to win the PAC-12 is just too much value, and worth playing. I’ll break down what I like about the team, but the Final Four odds kind of confirm this for us. UCLA is +260 to win the conference, but has the same +650 Final Four odds. Arizona State is right there as a near co-favorite at +265 to win the PAC-12, but all the way up at +900 to make the Final Four.

Payton Pritchard’s departure changes the entire dynamic of this team, but it should still be a very balanced Ducks attack. Will Richardson will step into the lead guard role, and should be more than capable of putting up big numbers. This team has three seniors transferring in, all of which averaged at least 13.8 points as their respective schools last season. Oregon also adds junior Eric Williams Jr., who averaged 14 points and eight boards at Duquesne last season. Maybe the experience playing together takes a little bit of time to come together, but this team has a lot of veteran talent.

Overvalued

UCLA

Chris Smith returning to school rather than entering the draft is a huge boost to the Bruins. That said, it’s not a big enough reason to make UCLA the conference favorite. I could see this team finishing anywhere in the top-five in the PAC-12, and in all likelihood in the top-three, but that doesn’t mean UCLA lives up to the hype.

Smith will be the only senior on the roster, and has some solid talent around him. With Smith back, this could even be a team to back some early in the season. I like the top-five teams in the PAC-12 for what they are — top 20 to top 40 squads that will beat up on each other. So if you’re telling me UCLA is significantly better than a team like Oregon, I want to be on the Ducks’ side of that one.

Undervalued

Arizona

The Wildcats seem to be the consensus fifth team in the conference, and the season’s already off to a tough start with some early COVID-19 cancellations. But this team will be exceeding expectations if it finishes better than Oregon, UCLA, Arizona State or Stanford, and I think it’s a possibility they do.

Arizona will piece together an experienced starting five that likely consists of three transfers, so it could take time to gel. Another reason Arizona is a team to wait on is the bench. It has a very good sophomore big in Christian Koloko, and the rest are freshman. I doubt I’ll be backing this team early, but once conference play gets going, the Wildcats should be ready to play.

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