Jeff Haney on some college teams that might be just the picks for bettors looking for a juicier payout

Friday, Nov. 24, 2006 | 7:05 a.m.

In predicting this season's college basketball champion, it requires no imagination to pick Florida, Kansas, North Carolina or Ohio State.

Those four powerhouse teams are projected to go deep into the NCAA Tournament, which winds up April 2 at the Georgia Dome in Atlanta, and their odds reflect their chances.

Florida is a 5-1 favorite to win the championship, followed by North Carolina (7-1), Kansas (10-1) and Ohio State (12-1), according to odds at the Las Vegas Hilton sports book.

Gamblers looking for a juicier payout on their investment, however, might consider three teams that have drawn some attention from early bettors yet still command attractive prices in the NCAA future book - Texas A&M, Wisconsin and Marquette.

Each looks like a live long shot.

Texas A&M: Bettors thought the opening Las Vegas line of about 60-1 on the Aggies to win the tournament was too high, as it was driven down to 40-1, according to Hilton odds. (As always, odds can and do change by the minute.) That's a solid price for a team that's ranked No. 11 in the Associated Press poll and figures to surpass last year's second-round exit from the tournament.

The Aggies are 4-0 straight-up and 3-0 against the spread , having trounced their overmatched early-season opponents.

The Blue Ribbon College Basketball Yearbook gives A&M a grade of A for its backcourt and intangibles, a B+ for its frontcourt and a B for bench/depth.

Wisconsin: After opening at 75-1 on the early Las Vegas line, the No. 7 Badgers (4-0) appear to be a good play at their current price of 40-1. In its only lined game so far, Wisconsin failed to cover an 18-point spread against Wisconsin-Green Bay, winning by 17.

Blue Ribbon gives Wisconsin a B+ for bench/depth and intangibles, an A- for frontcourt and a B for backcourt.

Marquette: The Golden Eagles' opening line of 75-1 to win the championship was bet down to 40-1 and is probably headed even lower after their 73-62 victory against Duke as a 5-point underdog Tuesday night.

No. 12 in Blue Ribbon's preseason rankings, and No. 13 with a bullet in the AP poll, Marquette is 6-0 straight-up and 4-1 against the spread. Marquette's biggest question mark figures to be inside scoring, according to Blue Ribbon, which gives it a B- for frontcourt, an A- for backcourt and intangibles and a B for bench/depth.

Contest updates

Professional gamblers Fezzik and Nick Bogdanovich both remain hot as their $50,000 winner-take-all head-to-head handicapping contest nears its conclusion.

Fezzik leads with a superb record of 40-19-7 against the point spread (68 percent); Bogdanovich is 41-23-2 (64 percent).

They meet again at 2 p.m. today at Fitzgeralds (KENO 1460-AM).

In the $100,000 Money Talks football handicapping contest sponsored by Leroy's sports books, "Doc" Moseman (4-3 against the point spread) advanced past Bill "Krackman" Krackomberger (2-5) in last week's regularly scheduled match, and Andy Iskoe (5-2) ousted "Sooner Adam" (3-4) in a tiebreaker.

Tonight at the Silverton (7 p.m. to 9 p.m., KSHP 1400-AM), Erin Rynning and Alf Musketa square off in the single-elimination, bracket-style event.

Correction

Last week's column listed the wrong site for the Dec. 15 finale of the Money Talks contest. It will be at the Silverton.