Final Four: Tar Heels alone at the top
The North Carolina Tar Heels are the clear-cut favorite to cut down the nets in Detroit for the Final Four.
UNC was previously the co-favorite with Louisville, but Rick Pintino's squad went down in shocking defeat to the Michigan State Spartans.
Odds-to-win the National Championship are just one of many futures and props at Sportsbook.com that are be available for Saturday night's Final Four.
We also have Final Four MVP, the Player to Score Most Points, the Highest Scoring Team and more.
Now, here's a look at the just released title odds for the remaining teams.
North Carolina is the heavy favorite at these odds and much of that has to do with their performance over the weekend. The Heels beat two solid teams in Gonzaga and Oklahoma by 21 and 12 points respectively. The Sooners' game wasn't even as close as the score indicates and the Heels covered the spread easily each time.
UNC has the best starting five left in the tournament with each of the players capable of carrying the scoring load. That puts a lot of pressure on the opposing defense as they can't afford to give much help any one player. The Heels are 7.5 point favorites over Villanova but only 36% are backing the chalk.
While North Carolina is the deserved favorite, UConn represents the most value at these odds. The Huskies showed they weren't going to be bothered by the recruitment violation story that was making the rounds last week.
Connecticut beat Purdue by 12 points and covered the spread, and then got another cover, albeit barely, over a very dangerous Missouri squad. UConn has opened up as four-point favorites over Michigan State and 83% of the public is backing the Huskies.
Michigan State pulled off the shocker of the weekend by beating powerful Louisville. That was after coming back against the defending champions, Kansas in the Sweet Sixteen. The Spartans beat Louisville the old fashioned way, by playing great defense and diffusing the Louisville press that really only works off made baskets.
The Spartans have previously won a national title under Coach Tom Izzo, who is considered one of the best tacticians in the game. They are also getting solid contributions from eight players as well as great leadership on the floor.
Villanova took down the other number one seed left in the tournament, Pittsburgh. That was after demolishing number two seed Duke on Thursday, in which the Wildcats clearly showed they are capable of winning a national title.
Villanova is very interesting at these odds, providing a little better value than Michigan State. The reason is, if Villanova can pull off the shocker with North Carolina, then they have a good chance of beating their Big East foe, Connecticut. Like Michigan State, this is a team playing very confident and with a physical presence on the floor.
