NCAA Tournament Odds: Virginia, UNC Strong Favorites To Make Final Four
Sunday’s Elite Eight matchups will be an all-ACC affair, starting with the Virginia Cavaliers, who take on the Syracuse Orange in the Midwest region final as strong 8-point betting favorites at sportsbooks monitored by OddsShark.com.
No. 1 seed Virginia advanced to the Elite Eight for the first time since 1995 with an 84-71 victory over No. 4 Iowa State as six-point chalk in their Sweet Sixteen matchup Friday, improving its recent straight-up record in the NCAA tournament to 6-2 heading into Sunday’s Orange vs. Cavaliers betting matchup at the United Center.
The Cavaliers were pegged as a top seed after finishing with a 13-5 SU record in the ACC regular season standings, followed by a run to the ACC tournament final where they fell to North Carolina by a 61-57 score and failed to cover as 2 1/2-point underdogs.
The Orange, meanwhile, have emerged as this year’s Cinderella story.
However, deep March Madness runs are nothing new for No. 10 seed Syracuse, which has advanced to the Elite Eight or beyond in two of its past three NCAA Tournament appearances, including a Final Four berth three years ago.
Syracuse has exceeded expectations with its tournament performance, which comes on the heels of a dismal 1-5 SU run, 3-3 against the spread, that forced it to settle for a share of ninth place in the ACC standings, followed by an early ouster from the conference tournament at the hands of the Pittsburgh Panthers.
Virginia has dominated in three meetings since the Orange joined the ACC just three years ago, most recently handing Syracuse a 73-65 defeat in January, failing to cover as 9 1/2-point chalk according to the OddsShark College Basketball Database.
In Sunday’s other Elite Eight matchup, the top-seeded Tar Heels take on No. 6 seed Notre Dame in the East region final as 9 1/2-point betting favorites at the sportsbooks.
North Carolina secured its first Elite Eight berth since 2012 with a decisive 101-86 win over No. 5 seed Indiana on Friday, extending its current SU win streak to eight games, 6-2 ATS.
The Tar Heels also maintained their strong performance at the sportsbooks as narrow favorites, topping the Hoosiers as five-point chalk, improving to 7-0 SU and ATS in their last seven games while favored by eight or fewer points.
The Fighting Irish advanced to Sunday’s contest after topping No. 7 seed Wisconsin on Friday as narrow 1 1/2-point chalk.
Notre Dame now is 5-1 SU in its past six games, with its sole loss coming against UNC in the ACC tournament semifinal, ending a three-game SU and ATS winning streak against the Tar Heels.
Thumbnail photo via David Banks/USA TODAY Sports Images
