Now that the Euroleague field has been thinned, Ball in Europe takes a brief look back at how well esteemed the favorites of fall 2009 are looking now.
Similarly to the NBA situation going into 2009-10, the Euroleague field in October appeared to be a group of haves and have-nots with but a half-dozen favorites – Panathinaikos, FC Barcelona, Olympiacos, Real Madrid, CSKA Moscow and Montepaschi Siena – representing the former. This hasn’t changed, but after an eventful first round, the positioning at sportsbooks has shifted considerably.
Prior to Euroleague’s October tipoff, the top of the odds chart at Euroleague/Ball in Europe sponsor Sporting Bet looked like so:
Panathinaikos: 7/2
FC Barcelona: 4/1
Olympiacos: 9/2
Real Madrid: 9/2
CSKA Moscow: 17/2
Montepaschi Siena: 12/1
So who’s happiest today? Punters who took Barca, that’s who, and that goes double for those forward-looking enough to snatch up The Continent’s current top team in August. From August to October to today, Barcelona has seen the odds shrink from 6/1 to 4/1 to their current 2/1. And that number will only go lower. If you believe, cover them now.
Meanwhile, almost all other serious contenders are drawing longer odds as a result of Barcelona’s rise. A pair of notable exceptions do exist, however. Ever-elusive to gauge (what with a lack of huge name players and that wacky whole-is-greater-than-sum-of-parts thing they’ve got going on), Montepaschi has bounced from 10/1 to 12/1 at tipoff to just 8/1 today; it’ll be interesting to see what happens to that line – one way or the other – after that first Real Madrid game on February 11.
And who’s this sneaking into the “haves” category? Baskonia, now drawing the same odds as the previously inflated CSKA Moscow’s at 18/1; a reasonable draw into Group H shrunk this line to be sure, but so does the excellent patchwork game this seriously international roster has woven.
The full table of Euroleague 2009-10 outright winner odds offered by Sporting Bet follows.
FC Barcelona: 2/1
Panathinaikos: 7/2
Olympiacos: 11/2
Real Madrid: 11/2
Montepaschi Siena: 8/1
Caja Laboral Baskonia: 18/1
CSKA Moscow: 18/1
Maccabi Electra: 40/1
Unicaja: 50/1
BC Khimki: 80/1
Efes Pilsen: 125/1
Partizan Belgrade: 300/1
Cibona Zagreb: 500/1
Maroussi BC: 500/1
Zalgiris: 500/1
Asseco Prokom: 750/1
Sporting Bet has a number of bets and odds available for the Euroleague season and individual games. Please click on the logos or banner at right for more information. Good luck, everyone!
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