The Kansas Jayhawks won the Big 12 championship and improved to 14-0 straight up and 11-3 against the spread in their last 14 games with Saturday's win over West Virginia. The dominant stretch run was enough to earn the Jayhawks the top seed in this year's NCAA Tournament bracket.
NCAA basketball tournament odds 2016: Kansas leads March Madness betting favorites
Kansas, Oregon, North Carolina and Virginia emerged as the one-seeds for the 2016 NCAA Tournament.
Denny Medley-USA TODAY Sports
Kansas opened as a 26-point favorite for their first-round matchup with Austin Peay at sportsbooks monitored by OddsShark.com. The Jayhawks have balanced scoring that comes from both inside and excellent shooting outside, and they enter the tournament red-hot and apparently in top form. This group looks to be the team to beat in March Madness.
Questions about North Carolina's toughness were answered resoundingly in the team's 61-57 win over the Virginia Cavaliers in the ACC Tournament final. North Carolina was forced to play out of its comfort zone due to the Cavaliers' smothering defense, but it found a way to win and passed the selection committee's eye test in the process.
The Tar Heels are 5-0 SU in their last five games with a 4-0 ATS record over their last four per the OddsShark College Basketball Database.
North Carolina will await the winner of Tuesday’s No. 16 play-in game between Florida Gulf Coast and Fairleigh Dickinson. Bettors will remember Florida Gulf Coast from its improbable run to the Sweet 16 as a No. 15 seed back in 2013. FGCU is a 6-point favorite on Tuesday.
The other play-in game on Tuesday features the Vanderbilt Commodores and the Wichita State Shockers. The Shockers were a consistent moneymaker for their backers down the stretch with a 19-3 SU and 16-5-1 over their last 22 games.
Wichita State is a 3-point favorite in this game, which will decide who goes on to play No. 6 Arizona as an 11-seed.
Wednesday's play-in games will wrap up the First Four as No. 11 Michigan and No. 11 Tulsa battle for a spot against No. 6 Notre Dame and No. 16 Holy Cross faces No.16 Southern to play into a matchup against the No. 1 Oregon Ducks. Michigan is going off as a three-point favorite against the Golden Hurricane.
