IMAC Fraud Rankings: Top 5 Most Fraudulent College Basketball Teams

There's nothing I love more than calling out a fraudulent team.

I'm a firm believer in that wins and losses aren't the best indicator of just how good a team actually is. Sure, as far as players and fans of the team goes, winning and losing is quite literally the only thing that matters. But, for us bettors, if we just bet on the team with the better record in every game, we'd be down a significant amount of money.

Instead, we should be using stats and analytics to truly determine just how good a team is.

As we head into college basketball conference tournament week, as well as March Madness just a couple of weeks away, it's important to point out which teams are fraudulent so you don't waste any money betting their futures.

Earlier today, I posed the question to my Twitter followers. Now it's time for me to give my answer.

Here are the top five most fraudulent college basketball teams, in my opinion, right now.

Most Fraudulent College Basketball Teams

5. Providence Friars

I'm not 100% ready to call them frauds myself, but they do deserve a spot on the list. They've been the most hotly debated team in college basketball this season, as they continue to win games despite everyone constantly underestimating them.

A big reason why people are calling them frauds is their "luck" factor, as per KenPom. They've been putting historic numbers up in that category, but who knows, maybe there's something more to their success than just that.

4. Alabama Crimson Tide

Alabama can trick you into thinking they're a legit contender when it catch fire from 3-point land, but don't let that fool you. This Alabama team is not nearly the team it was last year, and I expect an early exit from the Crimson Tide in the NCAA tournament.

They rank 230th in defensive efficiency, 228th in turnovers per possession, and despite being a three-point shooting team (14th highest 3-point shot rate), rank just 294th in 3-point field goal percentage. I'm out on Alabama.

3. Kansas Jayhawks

Don't get me wrong, Kansas isn't a bad team per say, but I'm not buying into the hype. The Jayhawks are+1200 at WynnBET to win the National Championship, and might be a No. 1 seed in the tournament, but I'd stay far away from any of their futures.

They're 158th in turnovers per possession, 81st in defensive efficiency, and 197th in opponent effective possession ratio. Sure, they're a very good shooting team at 18th in effective field goal percentage, but they're lacking in a few underlying statistics that will cost them this month.

For example, they're 206th in free throw percentage. That would make me nervous if they're in a situation where they need to close out a game at the line.

2. Texas Tech Red Raiders

Another Big 12 team that I truly don't believe in right now is the Texas Tech Red Raiders. Much like Kansas, they struggle in two key areas that is going to cost them at some point this month: free throw shooting and turnovers. They rank 208th and 282nd in those two statistics, respectively. It's going to be near impossible to beat several top contenders in a row when you're turning the ball over and not hitting your freebies.

Not to mention, they have a 20-point difference in average scoring margin at home compared to on the road. They're winning games by an average of 20.9 points at home, but their average scoring margin drops to -0.9 on the road. That would make me nervous as a Texas Tech backer once they start playing neutral site games in the tournament.

1. Wisconsin Badgers

This is the entire reason why I decided to write this article. I am officially declaring the Wisconsin Badgers the frauds of the college basketball world. I broke down why on today's episode of the BetSided Roundtable.

Here's where Wisconsin ranks in several key statistics:

• 247th in effective FG%
• 137th in opponent effective FG%
• 101st in offensive efficiency
• 101st in defensive efficiency
• 167th in rebounding rate

Do those numbers look like a team that's deserving of being ranked No. 10 in the country and currently the top team in the Big 10? Absolutely not. Congrats to them for a great regular season, but I would strongly advise betting on any of their futures. Frauds. Frauds. Frauds.