I will admit that I am partially -- OK, maybe mostly -- betting on Kansas because it was the team I had winning it all in my bracket. If the Jayhawks pull it off, it is only the ... uh, second time I have ever nailed the champion correct in an NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament. However, there are many on-court and on-paper reasons to believe KU will beat UNC. Stunningly, even though Kansas is a #1 Seed, it appears as though they have flown way under the radar. The narrative going into this Big Dance was probably split between "Can Gonzaga finally get over the hump?" and the spectacle over Duke Head Coach Mike Krzyzewski's Last Dance. And then St. Peter's took College Basketball Nation by storm. And then Coach K was shown off into the sunset by the Tar Heels, who also spoiled his last Game at Cameron Indoor Stadium.
All the while, Kansas has just kept beating teams. They had close calls against Creighton and Providence, but crushed Miami (Fla.) in the Elite Eight and Villanova in the Final Four. They have stars on the outside and inside, and I think they have the depth that North Carolina, for all its tenacity and resilience, simply doesn't have. Don't overlook the fact that Carolina blew a huge lead to Baylor in the Second Round before pulling off the victory, and had to hold off the Blue Devils in what appeared to be one hell of a matchup. (Duke's Mark Williams missing two Free Throws late in the Game, you have to admit, was a huge break for the Heels.)
If UNC big Armando Bacot avoids foul trouble and continues to take over down low (and that's assuming his ankle won't bother him), Kansas is in trouble. But I can see the Jayhawks peppering the Tar Heels from inside (with David McCormack) and outside (with Ochai Agbaji). If North Carolina takes away one aspect of Kansas' gameplan, I think they have the tools, the manpower and the strategy to score and get out to the lead another way. And I have to look at history. The lowest seed ever to win a championship was Villanova, as an 8-Seed, over Georgetown in 1985. The Wildcats were darn well near perfect from the field in the Second Half, and there wasn't a Three-Point Line then. So, I see Kansas doing to North Carolina what Carolina did to St. Peter's: Proving the seeds the NCAA gave these teams are correct.
1) Kansas -4 (I think that this championship bout is going to be a bit of a snoozer. Time eventually runs out on all Cinderellas, and the Jayhawks will comfortably stomp on the Tar Heels' glass slipper. Fingers crossed) $800
Good luck!
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