NCAA Tournament Odds: North Carolina, Gonzaga Final Four Betting Favorites

The North Carolina Tar Heels will look to advance to college basketball’s national championship game for a second straight year when they meet the Oregon Ducks in the Final Four on Saturday as five-point betting favorites at sportsbooks monitored by OddsShark.com.

Pegged as the South Region’s No. 1 seed in this year’s NCAA Tournament, North Carolina earned a trip to the Final Four with a 75-73 win over No. 2 seed Kentucky as two-point chalk in the Elite Eight, and has emerged as the favorite to claim this year’s national title going into Saturday night’s Ducks vs. Tar Heels betting matchup at University of Phoenix Stadium.

The Tar Heels steadily have climbed the national championship odds since opening the campaign at +1600, entering this year’s tournament alongside the Duke Blue Devils at +600.

Early tournament exits by Duke and powerhouses Kansas and Villanova have cleared the way for the Tar Heels to claim the top spot on the odds to win the NCAA Tournament at +140, followed by the Gonzaga Bulldogs at +180, while the Ducks and South Carolina trail at +550 and +750, respectively.

However, despite outscoring opponents by a combined margin of 60 points in four tournament wins, the Tar Heels have been a shaky bet, covering just twice in those outings and a middling 10 times in their past 21 overall contests.

No. 3 seed Oregon earned its first trip to the Final Four since 1939 with a 74-60 defeat of the top-seeded Jayhawks as 6 1/2-point underdogs in the Midwest Regional final, holding Kansas to its lowest point total since falling to Villanova in last year’s Elite Eight.

The Ducks now have won 12 of their last 13 games SU, and are unbeaten against the spread in three straight as underdogs, but have produced a mediocre 5-4-1 ATS record over their past 10.

In Saturday’s other Final Four matchup, No. 1 seed Gonzaga meets the Cinderella Gamecocks as strong 6 1/2-point betting favorites. The Bulldogs powered to a fifth straight West Coast Conference crown and their first-ever Final Four berth on the strength of a 36-1 SU record, including a crushing 83-59 Elite Eight win over No. 11 seed Xavier as 8 1/2-point chalk.

No. 7 seed South Carolina also makes its Final Four debut after confounding the naysayers with a third straight upset in the East Regional final, beating Florida 77-70 as three-point underdogs. The Gamecocks’ four straight ATS wins at this year’s tournament ends a 1-9 ATS run. However, they have been dismal Saturday performers, going 1-7 ATS in their past eight.

Thumbnail photo via Nelson Chenault/USA TODAY Sports Images