March Madness Betting: Louisville vs California Odds

A battle of excellent guards takes place tonight in March madness betting at 9:45pm EST as ninth-seeded Louisville battles eight-seeded California in the South Region of the NCAA Tournament on CBS. California is a 1-point favorite in college basketball odds with a total of 149 at online sportsbooks. The Bears are led by Pac-10 Player of the Year, Jerome Randle who averages 18.7 points per game. The Bears feature a three-guard lineup led by Randle who will shoot from anywhere. "If I see an opening, if I feel like that's sagging off, I'm pretty sure I can hit from there if I'm really on top of my game," he said.

"One thing I know is they're not going to give me a lot of open shots anyway, so I have to figure out another way to get my teammates involved or score with the basketball." California lost in the opening round of the NCAA Tournament last season in March Madness betting and they don’t want a repeat performance. "Last year, we came in not really knowing what to expect coming here to compete and play basketball," Patrick Christopher said. "But this year, we have another year under our belt ... so taking that into account I think we're pretty well prepared for something like this."

Louisville has a talented duo of guards as well. Edgar Sosa and Jerry Smith lead a Louisville team that knows how to win in the NCAA Tournament. "We've been to two straight Elite Eights, coming off a Big East championship the year before, so we have a lot of experience in the backcourt," head coach Rick Pitino said, "This is their fourth NCAA tournament appearance, our backcourt. So I think they know what it's all about." California will be without starting forward Omondi Amoke who was suspended for a violation of team rules.

"Well, just like life, things are going to be thrown at you, and the way you handle it, I think, defines you," Christopher said, "We can't really worry about things that we can't control. This is a situation that we can't control. We have to move forward with it, work with the guys and work with our chemistry that we have. I think we'll be fine." The Cardinals are 1-4 straight up in March Madness betting for their last 5 NCAA Tournament games. The Bears are 1-4 against the spread in college basketball odds for their last 5 NCAA Tournament games. The betting total has gone 5-2 in OVER's for the Bears last 7 NCAA Tournament games. Vegas odds at the MGM Mirage sportsbook have the California Bears -1 favorites against the Louisville Cardinals with a total of 149.5.