NCAA Tournament officials and the various broadcast networks can claim anything they want about no matter who wins the Big Dance, but without question the “most popular” and best-rated result this year is Duke of the National Championship last season with Hall of Fame coach Mike Krzyzewski on the bench. The Blue Devils are +1400 at Caesars Sportsbook to win everything and have an over / under of 2.5 wins at the event.
Unfortunately for the Duke, it is the second seed in the Western Region behind tournament betting favorites Gonzaga, even though the Blue Devils beat the Zags 84-81 the day after Thanksgiving in Las Vegas. Gonzaga suffered a 0-for-5 spin on the track and turned the ball over three times for the Duke to close out the game on a 13-9 run.
The Blue Devils take the most tickets to win everything at Caesars with nine percent followed by the Zags at eight percent. Pa money wagered, Gonzaga is number 1 at 17 percent and Duke second at 10 percent.
Coach K’s team is now a No. 1 or No. 2 seed in 20 of his last 24 NCAA Tournament appearances since 1997. It is Duke’s 44th NCAA Tournament appearance (fifth all time) and 36th under Coach K, breaks a force with Syracuse’s Jim Böheim for most of a coach’s appearances – the Orange did not make it this year. Coach K holds the record far with 97 NCAA tournament wins; Number 2 is retired North Carolina coach Roy Williams with 79.
The Under 2.5 win is the -180 bet favorite on this requisite, which really surprised me. Clearly, the Duke should handle 15th Cal State Fullerton on Friday and would either number 7 Michigan State (last Coach K matchup with Tom Izzo) or number 10 Davidson on Sunday in the round of 32. To get over 2.5 wins. (+150) probably means a sweet 16 win over number 3 Texas Tech.
The Duke makes the Sweet 16 is -270 with No at +200. The Blue Devils did not make it last year and there was no tournament in 2020. They have not lost in the second round since 2017. To reach the Elite Eight, Duke is +145 on a yes-only prop and for the Final Four is +400. The Duke was +1100 to win a national title until it was placed in the same region as Gonzaga.
There is also an appeal of which the number 2 seed is most advanced: Kentucky is the +110 favorite, followed by Duke at +285, Auburn at +300 and Villanova at +475. On a head-to-head winning prop, Duke is -115 and Villanova is -105.
Nova, the No. 2 in the South, opens with No. 15 Delaware and would then face either No. 7 Ohio State or No. 10 Loyola Chicago in Round 2. In Sweet 16 if Lime holds, it would be Villanova vs. No. 3 in SEC Tournament Champion Tennessee.
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