The past two NCAA Tournaments – there wasn't one in 2020 – have had first-time champions in Baylor and Virginia, but that will not be the case Monday night from New Orleans with a blueblood Final Four of Duke vs. North Carolina in one half Saturday and Kansas vs. Villanova in the other. Since the 2007-08 season, those four schools have claimed seven of the 14 national championships in the sport. There are lookahead lines available for the title game.
< p>Let's be clear that these odds can/will change, especially if there is a major injury. For example, Kansas was projected as only a 1-point favorite against Villanova on Saturday if the Wildcats had Justin Moore, but he suffered a season-ending injury in the Elite Eight. Even if no injuries, how the two winners look in victories could shift Monday's spread.
Duke is the +155 favorite to cut down the nets Monday so as expected the Blue Devils are early favorites for both matchups: -1 vs. Kansas (although I have seen a few books at pick'em) and -4 vs. Villanova. Incidentally, Duke and Kansas will face off to start the 2022-23 season on Nov. 8 at the Champions Classic in Indianapolis.
A lot of key players on both teams currently will be in the NBA come November, including Blue Devils freshman star Paolo Banchero and Kansas leading scorer, All-American and Wooden Award finalist Ochai Agbaji. The CBS Sports Big Board ranks Banchero as the No. 4 overall prospec t for the 2022 NBA Draft and Agbaji No. 9. Duke and Kansas both opened the season at +1600 to win the national title and never got longer than that – both dropped immediately after their opening-night wins in the Champions Classic. KU is now +190.