The North Carolina Tar Heels just sent the Duke Blue Devils home in arguably the program’s biggest win since cutting down the nets back in 2017. It will forever have one-upped the Dookies with it just so happening to be the final collegiate game Coach K will ever coach. After getting sky-high for that one and ultimately coming out on top, it comes to reason that they’ll have their hands full in Monday night’s National Championship Game against the Kansas Jayhawks with the adrenaline and excitement of that triumph destined to wear off. Linemakers at online sportsbooks didn’t come away impressed with that win like you’d think with Kansas opening multi-possession favorites to come out on top. Questionable betting lines that’ve made no sense to me this tourney almost always saw the skeptical side come in more times than not. As such, I’ll be laying the chalk in the title game with my beloved Kansas Jayhawks and look for Bill Self to log his second national championship while in Lawrence.
Wager on all National Championship Game betting odds at BookMaker.eu from the Caesars Superdome where North Carolina and Kansas will collide on Monday, April 4, 2022 at 9:20 p.m. ET.
National Championship Game Betting Odds at BookMaker.eu
North Carolina Tar Heels +4
Kansas Jayhawks -4
Total 152
Odds Analysis
The number to beat hit the board with the Jayhawks installed 4.5-point favorites and the total lined at 153. It marks only the second time in the last 60 years that Kansas has been tabbed the favorite to win the National Championship. Last time, they dropped an 81-78 decision to Syracuse back in 2003 as 5-point chalk in a game Carmelo Anthony went HAM. The number to beat has since gotten as high as -5 and as low as -3.5 before settling at -4. The Jayhawks have taken 54 percent of the bets and 63 percent of the money. UNC has been a bankroll builder in the underdog role of late having won outright each of the last five times with the triumphs logged against the Dookies twice, Virginia Tech, Baylor and UCLA. On the flipside, KU has won each of the last 10 times it went off the board favored to win and covered the closing college basketball odds in seven of those contests. When laying five or less points the last seven times, they’re 6-1 SU and ATS winning those games by an average of 16.2 points per game. The total has been bet down a full point to 152 even though a majority of the bets (65%) and money (75%) have come in on the over. UNC’s played to high scorers in three of five Big Dance matchups, while KU has cashed under tickets in three of its five played games.
North Carolina Tar Heels
With Duke taking a 37-34 lead into the break with both Mark Williams and Theo John both marred with foul trouble, things weren’t on the up-and-up for the Tar Heels entering the second half. That’s when Caleb Love took things into his own hands. After scoring just six first half points, the sophomore put the team on his back by hitting big shot after big shot which included the death blow 3-pointer that ultimately punched the team’s ticket to the title game with less than a minute remaining. When it was said and done, Love tallied a game-high 28 points on 11 of 20 shooting to keep his knack for showing out big in the second half intact. Armando Bacot also had a huge game ripping down 21 points and scoring 11 points. However, he suffered what looked to be a season-ending ankle injury with just over five minutes remaining. Though he ultimately returned, it’ll be interesting to see how that ankle reacts Monday night. If unable to be himself, UNC is going to have its hands full in the paint with both David McCormack and Mitch Lightfoot.
Kansas Jayhawks
I’ll be the first to admit it. I bet the under of Ochai Agbaji’s scoring prop on Saturday. I even got the best of the number at 16.5! None of it mattered after KU’s senior guard came out scorching hot draining each of his first five 3-point attempts. That makes it two big games in a row for KU’s senior guard, and you know darn well he’ll be looking to put a bow on his career in Lawrence with another big showing in the championship game. Right behind him in the Final Four was the aforementioned McCormack who went for a career-high 25 points on 10 of 12 shooting while coming a single board away from tallying the double-double. Jalen Wilson was also his dependable self with 11 points and 12 rebounds. Christian Braun was awfully quiet, but made some big shots when they mattered most; including the death knell 3-pointer that stymied any chance of Villanova pulling out a late run to make things interesting. The 81-65 win and cover as 4-point favorites came with welcome arms for Jayhawks Nation who watched helplessly as Jay Wright’s kids squashed them in the Final Four back in 2018.
North Carolina vs. Kansas Betting Prediction
If North Carolina seriously goes on to win a seventh all-time national championship, I’ll have no choice but to tip my cap in their general direction and applaud the effort. This wasn’t a team of championship caliber over the course of the regular season; not even close! It has however grown a great deal since the ACC tournament, and they’re playing an extremely confident brand of basketball right now. Kansas is however a horrible matchup and it won’t bode well for the Tar Heels should Bacot be unable to attack the glass like he’s accustomed to doing; especially at the offensive end of the court. Kansas rarely allows for any opposition to successfully get out in transition and score against its defense. That’s mainly what North Carolina lives off doing. If that aspect isn’t there, I simply don’t foresee the Tar Heels having enough both physically and schematically to do enough in the half court and compete in this one all the way through. While not the biggest fan of laying more than a possession in a title game scenario, I feel KU’s defensive and health advantages ultimately sees it lock down the fourth national championship in program history – Rock Chalk!!!!
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