NCAA Tournament Odds: Villanova, Michigan Favored In Final Four Matchups
The Villanova Wildcats look to continue their drive towards a second national championship victory in three years when they take on the Kansas Jayhawks on Saturday as 5-point favorites on the March Madness odds at sportsbooks monitored by OddsShark.com.
Pegged as the top seed in the East Region, Villanova has rolled to four victories by double-digit margins in NCAA Tournament action and takes a nine-game straight-up win streak into Saturday night’s Wildcats vs. Jayhawks betting matchup at the Alamodome.
The Wildcats have held opponents to 61 or fewer points in three of four March Madness outings while averaging 82.25 points per game. That has resulted in four against-the-spread victories for the Big East Tournament champions, but has produced mixed results in totals betting, with the OVER/UNDER going 2-2-0.
Villanova’s steady performance also has bolstered its position atop the odds to win the NCAA Tournament, where they remain perched at a lofty -110. However, the Wildcats face their toughest challenge of the tournament in their matchup with Kansas.
The No. 1 seed in the Midwest Region in this year’s tournament, the Jayhawks have posted seven straight SU wins but have been less than dominant in their past three outings, each of which has been settled by four points.
Kansas has emerged as a reliable bet when pegged as a betting underdog, claiming outright wins in six of its past seven such outings including an 85-81 win over No. 2 Duke as a 3-point underdog in last Sunday’s Elite Eight matchup.
However, the Jayhawks are just 1-3 SU and ATS in their past four meetings with Villanova, including a 64-59 loss to the Wildcats as 2-point chalk in the Elite Eight two years ago, and lag at +350 on the national championship odds.
Earlier on Saturday, the No. 11 Loyola-Chicago Ramblers try to keep their national championship dream alive when they battle the No. 3 Michigan Wolverines as 5-point underdogs.
The Ramblers have emerged as the Cinderella story of this year’s tournament, which they entered as a lengthy +25000 wager. The Missouri Valley Conference champions electrified fans with buzzer-beating victories in their first three tournament outings and looked in championship form in Sunday’s 78-62 rout of Kansas State as 1.5-point underdogs.
Loyola-Chicago now sits as an intriguing +850 bet on the March Madness futures. However, the Ramblers must first get past a Wolverines squad that rides a 13-game SU win streak and is unbeaten SU and ATS in two previous meetings with No. 11 seeds.
