Even after all the upsets that busted brackets as early as the first round of NCAA Tournament betting, it’s four bluebloods that remain standing heading into the Final Four. The Kansas Jayhawks proved to be the lone No. 1 seed to punch a ticket to New Orleans after thrashing the Miami Hurricanes; this will be the program’s 16th time moving onto the national semifinals. They’ll square off against the No. 2 seed Villanova Wildcats who unfortunately will be forced to go without second leading scorer Justin Moore after tearing his Achilles against Houston. The Coach K “Farewell Tour” continues in N’awlens with the No. 2 Duke Blue Devils set to square off against the No. 8 seed North Carolina Tar Heels for the third time this season and first-ever meeting in the Big Dance; talk about drama! Online sportsbooks got their readjusted futures odds on the board, and I’m breaking them down in hopes of pin pointing the team that ultimately cuts the nets down.
The NCAA tournament picks back up with the Final Four on Saturday, April 2, 2022 from the Caesars Superdome in New Orleans, LA. BookMaker.eu will have NCAA basketball odds available for every game through the tourney’s conclusion.
Bet NCAA Tournament Odds at BookMaker.eu
Duke Blue Devils +155
Kansas Jayhakws +185
Villanova Wildcats +450
North Carolina Tar Heels +500
Duke Blue Devils +155
What a difference a week makes! Eight teams had shorter odds than the Dookies to win the NCAA tournament heading into Sweet 16 betting, but now Paulo Banchero and Co. are the running favorites entering the Final Four. No team looked more impressive this past weekend than Coach K’s who fought back from an early double-digit deficit to best the Texas Tech Red Raiders, and then followed it up with a wire-to-wire job against the Arkansas Razorbacks. The offense has gone for 78 or more points in all four of its tourney games, and now the defense looks to be coming around. Banchero, Mark Williams, Wendell Moore Jr., and Jeremy Roach are vibing with one another right now. You know they’ll be clamoring for the opportunity to avenge that loss to UNC in K’s final game coached in front of the “Cameron Crazies.” As such, it’s tough to not envision them reaching the finals. They’ll then square off against either the depleted Villanova Wildcats or a Kansas team that matches up tremendously well on paper. From 15-1 to the chalk - looks like oddsmakers have bought into the farewell tour! Regardless, it’s tough not to buy into the Blue Devils as solid a brand of ball the team is currently playing.
Kansas Jayhawks +185
I already recommended snagging a piece of the Jayhawks last week when they were offering up a near 5-1 return. Not because I felt they had an excellent shot to win the whole thing, but because of their path being made all the more easier due to Auburn, Wisconsin, Iowa, and USC being unable to make it through the first weekend. The team ultimately went on to get by Providence, and then utilized an enormous second half surge to steamroll a Miami team is actually trailed by six points at halftime. Bill Self’s kids won’t be allowed to get out to a slow start in either of its next two games. Jay Wright will have his kids ready to play even though Nova is without a major contributor in Moore. This is also a huge revenge spot for the Jayhawks who got chewed up and spit out by the Wildcats in the 2018 Final Four. They’re 1-3 SU and 0-4 versus the college basketball odds in the last four clashes with the Wildcats since 2016. Saturday won’t be a walk in the park for the crimson and blue, and I’m not sure I like how they matchup against surging Duke or North Carolina either!
Villanova Wildcats +450
The injury bug hasn’t been kind to the Wildcats the last few seasons. Last year, it took a bite out of Collin Gillespie at the tail end of the regular season. The team would go on to get bounced in the Sweet 16 by Baylor mostly due to his absence. After dominating Delaware, Ohio State, Michigan, and Houston (4-0 ATS) to punch another ticket to the Final Four, the team will now be forced to go at Kansas and whoever else without the services of Justin Moore whose double-digit scoring output will be sorely missed in both the Final Four and title game should the Cats continue their recent dominance of the Jayhawks. With Gillespie still running the attack, Nova will still be dangerous. That being said, it’s going to have major issues limiting any of their opponents down low now that arguably the heart and soul of the defense has been taken out of the equation. That could all go for naught should Nova catch fire from deep. Personally, I think Villanova should be the biggest underdog of the four remaining teams. That’s not to say they won’t be able to cover the point spread in both games should they reach the finals, I just don’t foresee them ultimately cutting down the nets.
North Carolina Tar Heels +500
A team that I fully believe can be the last team standing is Hubert Davis’ Heels. This squad has caught fire at the absolute best time of the season, and invades New Orleans playing arguably the most confident ball of the bunch. With the combo of Armando Bacot and Brady Manek down low paired with the slashing and hot-shooting guard tandem of Caleb Love and RJ Davis, UNC has been an exciting team to watch these last few weeks. Their destruction of Marquette followed up with the upset of Baylor has this team primed to see it all the way through. Ousting a rock-solid UCLA team in the Sweet 16 was very impressive. Their reward for doing as such was the exhausted St. Peter’s Peacocks whom they wasted little time putting away to punch the program’s 21st trip to the national semifinals. I get that Duke is playing some of its best ball of the season, but North Carolina matches up extremely well against them. My only concern would be that it puts too much into beating its hated rival and doesn’t have much left in the tank for Monday’s title game. Regardless, I’m willing to throw caution to the wind and take a stab. I just wish I had some shares at the pre-tourney offering of +17500 instead!
BookMaker offers play-by-play betting odds for live sporting events every day! The user-friendly wagering interface on your smartphone provides an easy way to place bets on the go. Mobile betting lines are updated by the minute, so click here to start gambling on thrilling live action at BookMaker Sportsbook!
