It took a comeback for the ages, but the Jayhawks prevailed over North Carolina 72-69 on Monday night for the national championship.
Basketball
Former Oklahoma forward Brady Manek has made a major impact in his only season at North Carolina, helping the Tar Heels to the NCAA title game against Kansas.
North Carolina edged Duke in an NCAA Tournament Final Four semifinal that ended the coaching career of Mike Krzyzewski.
Longtime rival North Carolina is set to face Mike Krzyzewski and his Duke team in a second national semifinal on Saturday at the Caesars Superdome.
The Kansas Jayhawks are consensus 4½-point favorites over the Villanova Wildcats after the line opened as low as -3 at the South Point sportsbook.
Duke will face North Carolina for the first time ever in the NCAA Tournament, with the Blue Devils looking to send Mike Krzyzewski into retirement with a national title.
Iowa State opened -1 over Miami in Friday’s Sweet 16 game. But the favorite quickly flipped, as sharp bets on the Hurricanes at Las Vegas sportsbooks made them -2½.
The second week of the NCAA Tournament, with some startling upsets already highlighting the event, should bring more dramatic finishes.
“To have a 15, two 11s and a 10 left right now speaks volumes. That just shows the parity of college basketball,” Red Rock Resort sportsbook director Chuck Esposito said.
Bettors that slept in on the second day of the NCAA Tournament missed out on another fast start by favorites, who started 5-0 ATS for the second straight day.
The first day of the NCAA Tournament was a blessed one for Las Vegas sportsbooks, which won big when No. 15 seed Saint Peter’s knocked off No. 2 Kentucky.
Kentucky junior forward Dre’una Edwards hit the game-winning shot in the Wildcats’ upset of No. 1-ranked South Carolina in the championship game of the women’s SEC tournament.
I asked three professional sports bettors for tips on betting March Madness and one piece of advice from Cris Zeniuk is not to shy away from favorites.
Multiple Las Vegas sportsbooks took sharp money on Murray State, a 1-point favorite over San Francisco after it opened as a 1½-point underdog.
Liberty High basketball star Joshua Jefferson relishes the challenge of helping Saint Mary’s close the gap on national power Gonzaga in the West Coast Conference.
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