North Carolina Odds to Win the NCAA Tournament
Written March 26, 2009 by Jordan Haimowitz
The Tar heels once again were the favorite headed into the NCAA Tournament. The regular season ACC champs are as well balanced as any team in the land. Most would say without a shadow of a doubt this team has the best starting lineup in the nation. The Heels did have a sidebar this year that put their chances in a bit of a pickle. The health of ACC player of the year Ty Lawson. Their star point guard hurt his foot towards the end of the regular season and has yet to show he is the same player. Tyler Hansbrough was last years national player of the year. He is a unanimous selection for All-American and has been an All-Conference performer every year he has played. When you talk about the current UNC roster, you must mention scoring sensation Wayne Ellington who averages 16 points and 5 rebounds per game. Hansbrough collects 21 points and 8 rebounds while Lawson added 16 points and 6.5 assists per game. Deon Thompson is also a key contributor with 11 points and 6 rebounds per game and Danny Green collects 13 points and 5 rebounds per game. Ed Davis and Bobby Frazier are their only two bench players that could be important pieces to this teams success. The first round opponent for the Heels was the 16 seeded Radford Highlanders, that game was just not to close, UNC won by a margin of 43 points in a 101-58 pounding. Then came the second round where they ran into a team playing very well, regular season SEC champions The LSU Tigers. While the score shows an 84-70 win for North Carolina it most certainly was not that wide of a margin in terms of game play. LSU actually was tied late until the Heels pulled away (as they usually do). Those games have led UNC to their next opponent, a team that might not be such a walk over. Looking at the college basketball odds to win the tournament, the Tar Heels are the favorites at +275.
UNC will face the Gonzaga Bulldogs in the Sweet Sixteen Friday night. This is a Gonzaga team that feels their time is now. What makes The Bulldogs a dangerous match up for UNC is they have 3 or 4 guys that can be the main factor on any given night. Jeremy Pargo is a great point guard, Matt Bouldin is a G/F that is playing the best ball of his career, Austin Daye is supremely talented and very versatile while Micah Downs is a stone cold shooter from behind the arc. The guy who will have his hands full is Josh Heytvelt. He will be in charge of either guarding Hansbrough or Thompson, two guys who are much stronger and better then anybody he has bodied this year. I feel this game will be very close. I do see the Heels moving on however to face the Sooners in an Elite Eight Masterpiece of a game. That conversation though we will have on a different day though. UNC has all the talent in the world to make this a memorable tournament. Heck, President Obama picked them to win it all, they must be the favorites, right?
Coach Roy Williams loves his teams chances and why shouldn’t he. This team has all the pieces a championship team needs. To my surprise they are even starting to tighten it up on the defensive end. Now, while some people may think this will be a cake walk to the finals where Tyler “Psycho T” Hansbrough will cut down the nets and end his college career as a champion, I would recommend they re-sight the old saying, “Don’t put the cart in front of the horse”. Even if UNC gets by Gonzaga I expect an Oklahoma team to be waiting next in line to take a shot at knocking off the Heels. I do believe that they have a legitimate chance of winning this thing, however, when you are deciding on a team before the Sweet Sixteen starts to take, you must use the “Risk-Reward” process. UNC is currently the favorite to win the tournament at a measly +275. That is not nearly good enough odds on a pretty risky play. The bet is to win it all, a very difficult task. So I would recommend you lay off this wager. If you are a die hard fan that bleeds baby blue, take a game or two along the way. While yes, North Carolina can certainly take this down, the odds make it a very non attractive wager.
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If you liked this article, you may also be interested in:
- Radford vs North Carolina: NCAA Basketball Tournament Preview & Odds
- Gonzaga Odds to Win the NCAA Tournament
- Gonzaga vs North Carolina: Sweet 16 Predictions
- Final Four Betting Preview: North Carolina Tar Heels
- Michigan State vs North Carolina: NCAA Championship Preview & Predictions
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