Early betting favors a strong start for USC

The good news for sixth-seeded USC, which plays Kansas State in a first-round Midwest Regional game tonight in Omaha, is that sixth-seeded teams have a long history of success since the NCAA tournament began seeding teams in 1979.

Six times, a sixth-seeded team has reached the Final Four and in 1983, No. 6-seeded North Carolina State upset Houston to win the championship.

But the bad news for Taj Gibson, O.J. Mayo and the Trojans is that the last time a No. 6 team advanced to a Final Four was 1992, when Michigan did it.

Early betting action has USC getting off to a strong start in the tournament.

The Trojans, listed as 2 1/2 - to 3 1/2 -point favorites over the Wildcats on various betting boards, are getting 61.8% (1,076-665) of the picks against the spread, according to Wagerline.com’s consensus board. And theSpread.com’s betting chart has USC getting 77% of the bets.

It should be noted that last year, two sixth-seeded teams (Duke and Notre Dame) lost first-round games and one sixth-seeded team that won (Louisville) was helped by playing an opening game close to campus, in Lexington, Ky.

For USC, it will be the opposite case against Kansas State, which is less than a three-hour drive from Omaha. The Trojans may be the higher-ranked team but are expected to be treated like a road team against the Wildcats, who were 15-2 at home this season.

The Trojans (21-11 overall) were a strong bet away from Galen Center. They were 11-6 overall in road or neutral-site games and had an 8-3 record against the point spread in games away from home.

Final note: UCLA opened as a 35-point favorite over Mississippi Valley State, but the line had dropped to 32 by Wednesday morning.

The Bruins are expected to roll over the Delta Devils in their first-round game tonight, but bettors are not convinced that they will cover the inflated point spread.

Although UCLA is 31-3 overall, covering the line has not been a strong point for the Bruins, who are 19-12-2 against the spread.

In games where UCLA has been favored by 20 or more points, the Bruins are 4-2-1 against the spread.

Pro football

The NFL draft is next month and Sportsbetting.com has a few interesting odds on the draft, including numbers on many of the top-rated players.

Here are some of the lines:

The number of quarterbacks selected in the first round over 2 (+220) or under 2 (-300); running backs selected in the first round over 4.5 (even) or under 4.5 (-130); wide receivers selected in the first round over 4.5 (+160) or under 4.5 (-200).

Also, what will Virginia’s Chris Long’s draft position be? Over 2.5 (+170) or under 2.5 (-220); what will Michigan’s Jake Long’s draft position be? Over 3.5 (-115) or under 3.5 (-115); what will Arkansas’ Darren McFadden’s draft position be? Over 3.5 (-115) or under 3.5 (-115), and which player will be drafted first? Louisiana State’s Glenn Dorsey (-115) or USC’s Sedrick Ellis (-115).

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lonnie.white@latimes.com