Madness Props - Who's Going to Win it All

NCAA Basketball Futures Betting

Let's not waste time on darkhorses. Even though there isn't a clear-cut #1 team this year, there are still only a handful of teams who have a realistic possibility of taking home the crown in this year's NCAA Tournament.

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At the outset of the season, I figured NORTH CAROLINA (+300 at BetUS) to be the team that would literally walk away with the whole thing, laughing all the way. After all, the Tar Heels brought back four players (Tyler Hansbrough, Ty Lawson, Danny Green, Wayne Ellington) who could easily have declared for the NBA draft. They brought in some fab freshmen, and had more talented players like Deon Thompson and Marcus Ginyard coming back as well.

But the Tar Heels hit a few speed bumps along the way. Ginyard was lost to them, as was freshman Tyler Zeller (who has since returned, unproductively). After blowing out some good teams early, they lost some games they shouldn't have. In fact, there were three losses in the ACC regular season, and North Carolina didn't even win its conference tournament, dropping a decision to Florida State.

They still have the ability to take the crown, because they put together a very nice package - talent at all positions, three-point artistry, depth, coaching. At +300, though, I'm going to be shopping for another team. I don't have all the confidence in the world in their defensive ability, and I think they rely to much on running up and down the floor and just outscoring the other team. I also have the feeling they played their best ball at the beginning of the season.

There are other possibilities. One of them is Pittsburgh's DuJuan Blair. However, the loss of shooting guard Jerome Dyson, who was the team's second leading scorer at the time of his knee injury, makes a rather thin team that much thinner.

PITTSBURGH (+600 at BetUS) obviously has a great triumvirate of players, when you consider point guard Levance Fields, forward Sam Young and center Blair. They deserve quite a bit of consideration, and some pundits are pointing out the fact that they did not go far in the Big East tournament as a positive, because they won't be worn out as they were last season. Still, I think there's something missing here, and I can't quite put my finger on it.

Tennessee along the way. They have held the opposition to 36.9% field goals. They've allowed just 44 ppg over their last four contests. They put a lot of pressure on the opponent. They are better at the free throw line than they were last year, when they made it to the national finals. However, they are using a freshman at the point who is playing out of position, and have undergone too much roster transition to go all the way with this crew.

OKLAHOMA (+1800 at BetUS) has maybe the best player in the country in Blake Griffin (21.9 ppg, 14.3 rpg) but there is possible unrest in the backcourt and some of this has resulted in four losses in the last six games. GONZAGA (+2500 at BetUS) has talent, but is simply not good enough, and that was illustrated when Memphis took the Bulldogs and twisted them every which way.