Jeremy Conn: Favorites To Win In March Madness
Let's take a look at the top 2 seeds and look at the odds on them winning it all. Every team has flaws, so i'm going to poke a hole in a few of them...
In the South, you have the number one overall seed in Kansas and you have Villanova. Kansas is 5-1 to win the whole thing and Villanova is 18-1. Nova has been here before, everyone doubting them because of their size, but more importantly their history of not getting out of the first weekend. They have games looming after Day 1 with possibly Iowa, Miami, and Arizona. Kansas has been playing great, but they've been known to fall apart against inferior opponents.
In the West, we have the surprise 1 seed in Oregon and Oklahoma is the 2 seed. Oregon and Oklahoma are both 14-1 to win it all. Oregon went about a month without winning on the road and they like to play an up-tempo offense. If they face a team that can really slow it down and play a half court game we could see an upset. Baylor or Cincinnati could be that team if they should move on. Oklahoma has the same problem. They score a ton of points and shoot a ton of 3 pointers. Live by the 3 and die by the 3 in the tournament.
In the East we have UNC and Xavier. North Carolina is 7-1 and Xavier is 28-1 to win it all. UNC has as much or even more talent than every team in the Tournament. They struggle with their outside jump shot but Marcus Paige has been shooting it a lot better. They love to go up-tempo but have excellent interior defense. Xavier is very intriguing because I feel like a lot of fans haven't seen them play. They have 4 players that average in double figures and they have an excellent inside-out game. Can they handle the pressure of being a higher seed?
In the Midwest we have Virginia and Michigan State. Virginia is 12-1 and Michigan State is 5-1 to win it all. Virginia is arguably the best defensive team in the country and you will have to play their style of game to beat them. At times they can be offensively challenged and in my opinion rely too much on Marcus Brogdon. Michigan State is my favorite to win it all. They have everything you could want in a team. Senior leadership, outside shooters, a go to guy in Valentine and one of the best coaches in the country.