But first, let’s see who the best online sportsbooks are favoring to win the entire tournament. As it stands, here’s how each team's betting odds are being pegged to cut down the nets:
Against The Spread: Villanova Wildcats vs. Kansas Jayhawks
The Kansas-Villanova spread changed drastically changed from Sunday to Monday. Jayhawks started at -1.5 but lengthened to -4.5 in a matter of hours. Why? Because the Wildcats were dealt bad news that its second-leading scorer, Justin Moore, tore his Achilles in the Elite 8 and is a no-go to play, obviously.
Replacing a player that averages 14.8 points and 4.8 rebounds per game won’t be easy for Villanova especially since it’s deployed a seven-man lineup most of the postseason. Of the players left in the mix, the Wildcats at least have tried-and-true experience in two graduate players, a redshirt senior, and another “regular” senior. It might need to take one, if not multiple of them, to take the game over.
But we just don’t see it happening. Not only will depth be an issue for Villanova, but so will a lack of size. Kansas has a length in the frontcourt with Jalen Wilson (six-foot-eight) and David McCormack (six-foot-ten). They used that size to body Miami in the Elite 8 with a 26-point whooping. It won’t be that easy against the Wildcats — who are scrappy despite its length issues — but the Jayhawks will prove to be too much and cover the spread.
Against The Spread: Duke Blue Devils vs. North Carolina Tar Heels
Mike Krzyzewski refuses to go quietly into the night. His pending retirement has vaunted Duke into a must-see matchup with its arch-nemesis, North Carolina. When evaluating the Blue Devils-Tar Heels spread, it may useful to understand how the two in-season meetings went between the programs. They were completely opposite results — Duke won the first by 20 before North Carolina returned the favor with a 13-point rout. The road team won each matchup too.
Given the seismic differences in the two games, it might just be better to evaluate how each team got here. For the Blue Devils, it’s been an offensive barrage. The Dukies is shooting close to 55 percent from the field during the Big Dance. Potential No. 1 overall NBA pick Paolo Banchero has led the way with an 18.5-point average, which has made him the favorite to win Most Outstanding Player at the top betting sites for NCAA Basketball. The talent has always been there for Banchero, but he’s finally become consistent.
North Carolina, on the other end, has used defense to turn their season around despite an eighth seeding. They’ve kept three of four tournament opponents under 70 points and held one-seeded Baylor to 45 points in the first 30 minutes before garbage time points started piling up for the Bears.
So think of this as a classic defense vs. offense matchup. I’m that scenario, we’re favoring the defense. Not only does “defense win championships” but so do streaky-hot teams. Since the middle of February, UNC has gone 10-1. The Tar Heels will end Coach K’s storied career come Saturday.
NCAA Championship Bonus Bet: Kansas Jayhawks vs. North Carolina Tar Heels
Alright, hypothetically speaking, if our two predictions above are “on the money”, who wins an NCAA title game between Kansas and North Carolina? Our moneyline bet would be on the Jayhawks. We’ve been on the Kansas bandwagon since the preseason and aren’t getting off now. This team is incredibly well-balanced and battle-tested after 13 games versus top-25 opponents this season.
However, we could see North Carolina taking them down to the wire. We’d have to wait to see what bookmakers set as the spread, but don’t think for one second the Tar Heels will just roll over in a title-game meeting. As we said before, this is the streakiest team in the nation and covering the spread in a close loss feels very plausible for UNC.
How To Watch And Bet On The 2022 NCAA Final Four?
If you’re in the United States, the only place to watch the 2022 NCAA Final Four is on TBS. The network will air the final three games remaining. Here are the tip-off times:
- Kentucky vs. Villanova — 6:09 pm EST
- Duke vs. North Carolina — 8:49 pm EST
- NCAA Championship Final — 9 pm EST on Monday. April 4
To bet on all three games — whether you’re taking our advice or not — then there’s no better option than one of the top-used sports betting sites below. Beyond spreads, these same sites will also carry wagers for the moneyline, over/under, and in-game props.
