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Madness has truly come to March. For the first time ever, there are no No. 1 seeds remaining for the Elite Eight of the men’s NCAA tournament.
Pre-tournament favorites Alabama and Houston were bounced in the Sweet 16 on Friday night, by No. 5 seeds San Diego State and Miami, respectively. The other No. 1s, reigning champion Kansas and Purdue, didn’t even survive the first weekend.
So with all that carnage, who’s the favorite to win the national championship at the Final Four in Houston on April 3? Is it the only remaining No. 2 seed, Texas? Or what about UConn and Gonzaga, which have survived the ultra-tough West Region?
The answer is UConn, which comes in as a +300 favorite at Caesars Sportsbook. That’s slightly ahead of Texas at +360. Then come Creighton and Gonzaga, both +550.
Thing is, most of those favorites are on the same half of the bracket. One of either San Diego State, Creighton, Florida Atlantic or Kansas State will play for the national championship. Three of those teams had never even made the Elite Eight before; K-State has, but the Wildcats haven’t been to a Final Four since 1964.
So it’s wide open out there, with four of the remaining eight teams at +800 odds or better, and none worse than +1400 (Florida Atlantic).
Here are the complete national title odds at Caesars Sportsbook, as of Friday night:
UConn +300
Texas +360
Gonzaga +550
Creighton +550
Kansas State +800
San Diego State +900
Miami +1200
Florida Atlantic +1400
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