The Final Four is set, and the NCAA Tournament is three games from the finish line. Saturday features two national semifinals, one between Oklahoma and Villanova and the other between North Carolina and Syracuse. Both should be lots of fun, and you can get caught up with our printable bracket right here.
Printable NCAA bracket 2016: North Carolina is the Final Four favorite
Print out a bracket ahead of the Final Four.
It’s a tired truism that anything can happen in March Madness, but this year has proven that point obviously correct. With that in mind, North Carolina is the clear Final Four favorite, with Las Vegas oddsmakers slapping 1-to-1 odds on the Tar Heels to bring a national championship back to Chapel Hill in a few days. After the scratch favorite Heels, Villanova’s odds are 11-to-4, Oklahoma’s are 7-to-2 and Syracuse’s are 8-to-1.
It’s plenty reasonable for North Carolina to be the bettors’ favorite. The Heels don’t have an apparent weakness, and they haven’t had any real trouble with their first four tournament opponents. They beat Florida Gulf Coast, Providence, Indiana and Notre Dame by an average of 16 points, with the closest margin being 13. The Heels have five-star talent all over the place, and they’re absolutely at the top of their game right now.
If you’re playing the numbers, the best bet against North Carolina is Villanova. The Wildcats haven’t skipped a beat in the tournament, either, pounding UNC-Asheville, Iowa, Miami and top overall seed Kansas by an even more preposterous 19 points per game. If the Wildcats and Tar Heels both win, the national final on Monday sets up as an absolute epic.
There’s only one No. 1 seed (North Carolina) still hanging around in the Big Dance. Your bracket is more than likely toast, but so is everybody else’s, which means you probably have a real chance to win your bracket if your projected champion is still on the board. Even if not, it’s always fun to keep track.
* * *
Greatest Cinderella: Was it the NC State Wolfpack or Butler Bulldogs?
Be sure to subscribe to SB Nation’s YouTube channel for highlight videos, features, analysis and more
See More:
