For the first time ever, all four Final Four teams enter having won multiple national championships. All four teams entered the year with 30-1 or shorter odds, with Villanova leading the way at 12-1, and North Carolina the biggest preseason longshot at 30-1.
North Carolina was a much bigger longshot entering the NCAA Tournament. The Tar Heels were 100-1 during the First Four. If they cut down the nets on Monday, they would be the biggest pre-tournament longshot to win it all in over 25 seasons according to SportsOddsHistory.com.
Duke and Kansas enter the Final Four as the two favorites, and historically, one of them will likely win the National Championship. In 16 of the last 17 Final Fours, one of the two favorites entering the Final Four went on to win it all according to SportsOddsHistory.com. The one exception was in 2014 when UConn won it all.
Last weekend, 11 of the 12 Sweet 16 and Elite 8 games went under the total. Historically, there aren’t significant trends to totals having different results in the Final Four. However, the last time the Final Four was held in New Orleans, all three games went under the total.
2 Villanova vs 1 Kansas (-4.5), Saturday at 6:09 ET
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Villanova is 4-0 ATS in the NCAA Tournament. Kansas is 2-2 ATS in the NCAA Tournament and 6-2 ATS in its last eight games.
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Since 2016, Villanova is 20-3 outright and 19-4 ATS in the NCAA Tournament.
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Villanova is 202-133-5 ATS over the last 10 seasons (60.3%), the best mark in Division I.
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Villanova is 27-17-2 ATS as an underdog in that span (2-3-1 ATS this season).
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Villanova is 8-3 ATS in neutral-site games this season and 50-27-2 ATS in such games since 2014-15.
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Villanova is also 52-26-3 ATS against ranked teams in the last 10 seasons and 21-10 ATS against top-10 teams. However, Villanova is 1-4 ATS against top-10 teams this season.
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Villanova has only been an underdog of four or more points twice in the last three seasons (0-2 ATS, both against Baylor).
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Jay Wright is 7-1 ATS against Bill Self, including 6-1 ATS and 4-3 outright as an underdog. Villanova has covered all four meetings in the last decade.
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Bill Self is 6-15 ATS against Big East schools as Kansas coach.
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Unders are 6-1 in Villanova’s last seven games and 7-3 in Kansas’ last 10 games.
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Since 1992, 1 seeds are 12-4 ATS against 2 seeds in the Final Four.
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Kansas (9-1) was the only team with odds shorter than 10-1 entering the tournament. Each of the last four national champions had single-digit odds entering the NCAA Tournament. The last exception was Villanova in 2016 (15-1).
8 North Carolina vs 2 Duke (-4), Saturday at 8:49 ET
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North Carolina is 20-16-1 ATS this season while Duke is 20-16-2 ATS this season. North Carolina games are 21-14-2 to the over, while Duke games are 21-16-1 to the over.
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North Carolina is 8-2 ATS against Duke in the last 10 meetings.
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The last six meetings have gone over the total.
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North Carolina is 7-1 ATS in its last eight games.
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North Carolina is 2-0 outright as an underdog in this tournament after going 0-5 ATS in the previous 20 NCAA Tournaments.
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Mike Krzyzewski is 13-8 ATS in Final Four games.
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Hubert Davis is making his first ever Final Four appearance. Coaches making their Final Four debuts are 7-1-1 ATS in the National Semifinals in the last 10 seasons.
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Overs are 8-2 in Duke’s last 10 games.
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Since 2000, teams seeded 8 or lower are 2-7-1 ATS in the Final Four against higher seeds.
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North Carolina was 100-1 entering the NCAA Tournament. North Carolina would be the biggest pre-tournament longshot to win the NCAA Tournament in over 25 years according to SportsOddsHistory.com. The current biggest longshot in that span is 2014 UConn (95-1).
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Mike Krzyzewski shares what it means for Duke to face rival North Carolina for the first time in the men’s NCAA tournament.