March Madness is one of the most exciting times of the year for sports and wagering fans gets underway on Thursday, as the NCAA Tournament begins in Houston, Phoenix, Detroit and Charlotte. The Florida Gators won their second straight national title last season by topping Ohio State in the final, but there will be a new champion as the Gators failed to make the “Big Dance”.
North Carolina is the No.1 overall seed after beginning the season as the top team in the country, and the Tar Heels were No.1 for 14 of 20 polls during this season. North Carolina have now won 11 consecutive games heading into the “Big Dance”, and a team this talented with that much momentum has to be considered the favorite to cut down the nets in San Antonio. Kansas had to come from behind twice in the Big 12 tournament, where they dropped Texas in the final to claim the conference championship and the No.1 seed in the Midwest.
There may not be a team as deep as the Jayhawks in the country, which will serve them well as they head towards a possible Final Four clash with the Tar Heels and their former coach, Roy Williams. UCLA scrapped to the Pac-10 postseason title with a tough win over Stanford, and the Bruins deserve the No.1 spot in the West as they were the class of the West Coast all season. Like the Tar Heels and Jayhawks, the Bruins are deep and versatile, and can play either a run-and-gun or half-court style of game. Memphis rounds out the top four after they rolled to the C-USA crown for the third time, as the Tigers crushed all who stood in their way. However, the Tigers' poor foul shooting could be their undoing.
Other contenders for the national title include the likes of Tennessee, who probably lost their chance at a No.1 seed when they lost to Arkansas in the SEC semifinals. But the Volunteers are resilient and well-coached, so they should bounce back for a good showing. Georgetown also fell, losing to Pittsburgh in the Big East final, but their spectacular defense will always give them a shot. Texas may have lost to Kansas in the Big 12, but the Longhorns should still be proud of their season so far as they have improved in the absence of first-round pick Kevin Durant.
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