Ladies and gentlemen, we have arrived at the peak of March Madness, and the NCAA Tournament National Championship game has arrived. The North Carolina Tar Heels will take on the Kansas Jayhawks. UNC secured a huge win over Duke to end Coach K’s career and come within 1 game of earning an unlikely championship, while Kansas has looked every bit deserving of being a #1 seed, having dismantled Villanova.
To celebrate the big game, we’ve asked Pickswise’s best college basketball experts to give their best bet for the National Championship. Let’s dive in!
Jared Smith: Kansas -4 (-115) over North Carolina
Both of these teams played outstanding on Saturday night but took very different routes to the title game. Kansas showed us their ceiling, going 13-24 from deep and scoring 1.398 points per possession, the highest mark against Villanova's defense in the last 5 seasons. Meanwhile, UNC was on the winning side of an instant classic against their most bitter rival in a game that featured 18 lead changes and 12 ties. I think it will be difficult for the Tar Heels to regroup emotionally in less than 48 hours and bring that same energy level against the Jayhawks, who seem to be peaking at the right time.
The backcourt matchup here is elite, with Ochai Agbaji and Caleb Love playing at a very high level. I give the slight edge to Agbaji, who is the best overall player on the floor and proved it on Saturday, going 6-7 from deep and improving his draft stock. In the paint, it was encouraging to see Armando Bacot return to the floor late in the game after tweaking his ankle but I'm betting on him being less than 100% on short rest. That should give the Kansas bigs a leg up in the paint. David McCormack and Jalen Wilson combined for 22 of the Jayhawks' 35 total rebounds against Nova, and also 36 of their 81 points. Kansas has raised their game in the Elite Eight and Final Four and I expect them to sprint through the finish line on Monday night.