Kentucky Wildcats (15/4): The young Wildcats will lose Nerlens Noel and Archie Goodwin to the NBA, but, per usual, John Calipari has putting together another tremendous recruiting class, snagging eight players, including four of the nation’s top 10 prospects (Rivals) in Julius Randle (6′ 9″ forward), Aaron Harrison (6′ 5″ guard), Andrew Harrison (6′ 5″ guard), and Dakari Johnson (6′ 10″ center).

Kansas Jayhawks (15/2): The Jayhawks will look dramatically different this season with Ben McLemore, Jeff Withey, Elijah Johnson, and Travis Releford all moving on; however, Self has restocked the Kansas program with an abundance of high school talent, including the nation’s top recruit, 6′ 7″ forward Andrew Wiggins.

Louisville Cardinals (9/1): Rick Pitino loses big pieces from this year’s National Championship squad in Peyton Siva and Gorqui Dieng, but Russ Smith returns as does Wayne Blackshear and a number of other solid contributors. Louisville also welcomes a couple of big name recruits in Akoy Agau (center) and Anton Gill (guard).

2014 Men’s NCAA Basketball National Championship Odds: Provided by Bovada.lv

Kentucky 15/4
Kansas 15/2
Louisville 9/1
Michigan State 12/1
Arizona 16/1
Duke 16/1
North Carolina 16/1
Ohio State 18/1
Florida 20/1
Michigan 25/1
Syracuse 25/1
Connecticut 33/1
Indiana 33/1
Oklahoma State 33/1
Colorado 40/1
Memphis 40/1
UCLA 40/1
Baylor 50/1
Creighton 50/1
Georgetown 50/1
Gonzaga 50/1
Iowa 50/1
Marquette 50/1
Missouri 50/1
NC State 50/1
New Mexico 50/1
Pittsburgh 50/1
St. Louis 50/1
VCU 50/1
Wisconsin 50/1
Butler 66/1
Illinois 66/1
Minnesota 66/1
St. John’s 66/1
Tennessee 66/1
UNLV 66/1
Villanova 66/1
Virginia 66/1
Florida State 75/1
Notre Dame 75/1
Wichita State 75/1
Alabama 100/1
Arizona State 100/1
BYU 100/1
California 100/1
Cincinnati 100/1
Iowa State 100/1
Kansas State 100/1
Miami (FL) 100/1
Ole Miss 100/1
Oregon 100/1
Purdue 100/1
San Diego State 100/1
Stanford 100/1
Texas 100/1
Vanderbilt 100/1
West Virginia 100/1
Arkansas 150/1
Boise State 150/1
Colorado State 150/1
Dayton 150/1
LSU 150/1
St. Mary’s 150/1
Temple 150/1
USC 150/1
Georgia 200/1
Georgia Tech 200/1
Harvard 200/1
Maryland 200/1
Oklahoma 200/1
Texas A&M 200/1
Washington 200/1
Washington State 200/1
Xavier 200/1
Clemson 250/1
Davidson 250/1
South Carolina 250/1
St. Joe’s 250/1
Virginia Tech 250/1
Wake Forest 250/1
Boston College 500/1
Mississippi State 500/1
Northwestern 500/1

Like that Fab Five team in 1993, the Michigan Wolverines of 2013 are really young as a unit and entered the 68-team field as the youngest group overall. Over the past few weeks they have proven that experience isn’t all that it’s cracked up to be in the NCAA tournament, winning almost every way imaginable to get to this point. But the #1 overall team in Louisville will be the toughest test for Michigan and the Wolverines know it.

This title game is a classic “offense vs. defense” game as Michigan comes in ranked #1 in offensive efficiency while Louisville is #1 in defensive efficiency.  That itself is a matchup to watch every time the Wolverines bring the ball up the floor because no matter who comes out on top it will be fun to watch. Michigan’s backcourt may be young but they boast the best player in the country (Trey Burke) and have already dismantled a turnover-oriented defense in VCU this tournament (78-53). The Wolverines commit the least turnovers in the country and the Cardinals feast of them, turning over their opponents more than anyone else in college basketball; another thing to watch for this entire game.

Michigan (+3.5) vs. Louisville (-3.5) at CarbonSports.ag
Total set at 138

But while Michigan got out in front of VCU and never looked back, Louisville’s defense is light years better than what the Rams brought to the table. VCU loves to pressure opponents and force them into mistakes like Louisville, but think of the Cardinals defense as VCU’s on steroids. Louisville is quicker, faster, and more responsible and will frustrate Michigan all night. They will have much more success against this Wolverines team than VCU did and after not playing their best against Wichita State in the Final Four, I expect Louisville to come out extremely sharp.

In championship games you can’t forget about the old adage that “defense wins championships.” In a game that features the best offense and best defense, it’s tough not to like the defensive team; especially when they are ranked #1 in the country. Louisville has shown all year that they can dominate teams with their defense and haven’t lost two in a row ATS since winning by 14 against St John’s on Valentine’s Day as 17.5-point favorites. That game was also after the marathon OT game with Notre Dame so you can forget Louisville a bit for not having their legs and putting up a big win.

The Cardinals have avoided cutting the nets down at every possible step this year (Conference tournament, Regional championship) because they had their minds set on one goal and one goal only; win the national title. They did all that pageantry last year and fell short for the ultimate prize and that’s something I don’t think they will this time around. The shock of not having Kevin Ware is gone and Coach Pitino will have a solid plan for shutting down Trey Burke. They’ve been on the path to win this game all year and the Louisville Cardinals will let their defense guide them there.

2013 NCAA Men’s Basketball National Championship Pick: Lay the points with Louisville.

Michigan entered the 2013 NCAA Tournament in a bit of a funk, having posted a 3-3 record in its last six games, but it broke out of it in a big way once the madness started. The Wolverines earned easy wins over South Dakota State and VCU before slipping past the South Region’s top seed, Kansas, 87-85 in overtime. Following their come from behind win over the Jayhawks, the Wolverines, who played as the region’s four seed, destroyed the three seed Florida Gators 79-59 to punch their Final Four ticket.

On Saturday Michigan experienced its second close call of the tourney when it faced a red hot Syracuse team in the National Semifinal. Trey Burke and company dominated the first half of action, going into the break with a 36-25 lead, but the Orange battled back in the second frame.

A host of Wolverine mistakes down the stretch, including a ton of missed free throws, helped Syracuse close the gap and outscore Michigan 31-25 in the game’s final 20 minutes. Still, John Beilein’s troops hung on to win 61-56 and earn a crack at the nation’s most dangerous team, Louisville.

Louisville, which mowed through its first four NCAA Tournament opponents (North Carolina A&T, Colorado State, Oregon, Duke) by an average of 22 points per game, almost saw its national title hopes go down in the National Semifinal as well. Wichita State, which won the West Region as a nine seed, led most of the game, but it blew a big lead late thanks to the Cardinals vaunted press.

Louisville eventually moved past the Shockers and into the national championship game with a 72-68 win. The Cardinals got 20 points from reserve guard Luke Hancock and a team high 21 from Russ Smith. Smith is the current favorite to win 2013 NCAA Men’s Basketball National Championship Tournament MOP honors at -200 odds (risk $200 to win $100). Smith is averaging 25 points per game for the tournament.

Louisville, which rides a 15 game winning streak into tonight’s game, opened (following the seeding) as a +450 moneyline favorite to win the 2013 NCAA Tournament; Michigan was a +1800 moneyline selection ($100 returns $1800).

Michigan vs Louisville Odds 2013 NCAA Basketball National Championship: Provided by Sportsbook.ag

Michigan Wolverines +3.5 (-110), Over 138 (-110), +155 (Moneyline)

Louisville Cardinals -3.5 (-110), Under 138 (-110), -175 (Moneyline)

Wichita State vs Louisville starts at 6:10 PM EST in the first Semifinal match up. The Cardinals are -10 point favorites against the Shockers but this line opened at -10.5 points at CarbonSports.ag last Sunday. The Total is set at OVER/UNDER 133.5 points. The money lines are showing Louisville a hefty -575 odds while Wichita State is a +435 odds underdog. I think that Louisville gets the win straight up, but does not cover. I would stay away from the Cardinals money line however because its too pricey in my opinion. Try grabbing the Shockers +10.

Michigan vs Syracuse starts at 8:50 PM EST in the second Semifinal match up. The Wolverines are -1.5 point favorites against the Orange but this line opened -2.5 points at CarbonSports.ag last Sunday. The Total is set at OVER/UNDER 129.5 points. The money lines are showing Michigan -125 odds and Syracuse +105 odds. This is a tough game to handicap in my opinion. Both teams are playing great right now but I have to go with the dog in this one. I would stay away from the money line though and just grab the spread with Syracuse +1.5 points.

One thing I would suggest every sports bettor does immediately is to snag some futures odds on Syracuse at +400 odds and Michigan at +325 odds to win the NCAA Tournament. One of these teams will face Louisville and their odds will be much short in the Finals.

The winners of the Semifinals will take each other on Monday night for the 2013 Men’s NCAA Basketball National Championship.

The first Final Four game is Wichita State vs Louisville which tips off at 6:05 PM EST. The 9th seed Shockers did just that by winning the West Regional and getting to the Final Four. Wichita State beat the 1st seed Gonzaga Bulldogs in the third round, then took care of the 2nd seed Ohio State Buckeyes in the Elite 8 round. The 1st seed Cardinals cruised through the Midwest Regional and won an inspired Elite 8 game against the 2nd seed Duke Blue Devils after Louisville sophomore guard Kevin Ware broke his leg in the first half. Ware’s had successful surgery last night to repair the injury and will certainly be on the minds of his teammates for the rest of the tournament.

The Final Four odds makers have the Louisville Cardinals -10.5 point favorites against the Wichita State Shockers and the Total is set at OVER/UNDER 129.5 points.

The second Final Four game is Michigan vs Syracuse which tips off at 8:45 PM EST. The 4th seed Syracuse Orange took out the 1st seed Indiana Hoosiers in the Sweet 16 round and easily handled 3rd seed Marquette in the Elite 8 to represent the East Region in the Final Four. The 4th seed Wolverines upset the 1st seed Kansas Jayhawks 87-85 in OT to advance past the Sweet 16 round, then blew out the 3rd seed Florida Gators 79-59 in the Elite 8. Michigan is representing the South Region in the 2013 Final Four.

The Final Four odds makers have the Michigan Wolverines -2.5 point favorites against the Syracuse Orange and the Total is set at OVER/UNDER 131 points.

Bet on the 2013 Final Four at Bovada.lv

Michigan vs Florida will tip off at 2:20 PM EST at the Dallas Cowyboys Stadium in Arlington, Texas and will air live on CBS. The odds makers have Florida -2.5 point favorites and the Total is listed at OVER/UNDER 133 points. The Elite 8 odds on the money line show Florida -155 odds and Michigan +135 odds underdogs.

The Wolverines upset the 1st seed Kansas Jayhawks 87-85 on Friday night to make it past the Sweet 16. The Gators blew out tournament Cinderella Florida Gulf Coast 62-50. The winner of this match up will represent the South Region in the 2013 Final Four against Syracuse.

Louisville vs Duke will tip off at 5:05 PM in the Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis, Indiana and will air live on CBS. The odds makers have Louisville -4 point favorites and the Total is listed at OVER/UNDER 138 points. The Elite 8 odds on the money line show Louisville -195 odds and Duke +165 odds underdogs.

The Cardinals beat the 12th seed Oregon Ducks on Friday night 77-69 to advance past the Sweet 16. The Blue Devils handled the 3rd seed Michigan State Spartans 71-61 on Friday night to make it into the Elite 8. The winner in this match up will represent the Midwest Region in the 2013 Final Four against Wichita State.

Bet on the Elite 8 Odds at Bovada.lv

Syracuse vs Marquette will tip off at 4:30 PM EST at the Verizon Center in Washington DC and will air live on CBS. The odds makers have Syracuse -4 point favorites and the Total is listed at OVER/UNDER 128 points. The Elite 8 odds on the money line show Syracuse -200 odds and Marquette +170 odds underdogs.

The Orange upset the 1st seed Indiana Hoosiers 61-50 on Thursday night to make it past the Sweet 16. The Golden Eagles upset the 2nd seed Miami 71-61 ending the Hurricanes dream season. The winner of this match up will represent the East Region in the 2013 Final Four.

Wichita State vs Ohio State will tip off at 7:00 PM in the Staples Center in Los Angeles and will air live on CBS. The odds makers have Ohio State -5 point favorites and the Total is listed at OVER/UNDER 131 points. The Elite 8 odds on the money line show Ohio State -205 odds and Wichita State +175 odds underdogs.

The Buckeyes beat the 6th seed Arizona Wildcats on Thursday night 73-70 to advance past the Sweet 16. The Shockers blew out the 13th seed La Salle Explorers 72-58 on Thursday night to make it into the Elite 8. The winner in this match up will represent the West Region in the 2013 Final Four.

Bet on the Elite 8 Odds at Bovada.lv

Many have contended that this year’s Kansas squad is not as talented as some of the team’s Bill Self has had in the recent past, but that has not stopped it from playing at a high level. The Jayhawks won a share of the Big 12 regular season title and they cruised through the conference tournament, topping Texas Tech along with tournament qualifiers Iowa State and Kansas State to secure the postseason crown.

Kansas continued its run opposite Western Kentucky in its NCAA Tournament opener as it defeated a scrappy Hilltoppers squad 64-57 to earn a meeting with North Carolina and Roy Williams. The Jayhawks were slow out of the blocks against the Tar Heels and they trailed 30-21 at the break, but the second half was all Kansas.

Self’s troops, which held UNC to 30.1 percent field goal shooting (Kansas is the top ranked field goal percentage defense in the country), outscored the Tar Heels 49-28 in the second half. Senior Travis Releford led KU with 22 points, but center Jeff Withey had the biggest night as he notched 16 points to go along with 16 rebounds and five blocks.

Kansas vaunted defense will face a much bigger challenge against Michigan, though. The Trey Burke led Wolverines crushed South Dakota State 71-56 in their tourney opener and they put on, perhaps, the most impressive display of the tournament thus far when they spanked VCU 78-53.

Forward Mitch McGary led Michigan with 21 points and 14 rebounds against the Rams while Burke added 18 points and seven assists. The Wolverines, who out-rebounded VCU 36-21, shot 51.7 percent for the game while holding the Rams to 39.7 percent from the field and 18.8 percent from long range.

Should Michigan find its way past Kansas, it will make its first regional final appearance since 1994.

Michigan vs Kansas Odds 2013 Sweet 16: Provided by Sportsbook.ag

Michigan Wolverines +2 (-110), Over 136 (-110), +110 (Moneyline)

Kansas Jayhawks -2 (-110), Under 136 (-110), -130 (Moneyline)

No one had Oregon making it this far in the NCAA Tournament considering it needed to get past Oklahoma State and, in all probability, Saint Louis in order to secure its first regional semifinal appearance since 2007. After all, the Ducks, as evidenced by their 12th seed, barley even qualified for the Big Dance.

Oregon kicked dirt on its tournament expectations, though, and rode the momentum it generated during its run to the Pac-12 Tournament title past the Cowboys and Billikens. The Ducks hardly broke a sweat in doing so as they topped the favored Pokes 68-55 before handing fourth seeded Saint Louis a 74-57 loss.

Nonetheless, Oregon’s exploits did little to earn it any favor in tonight’s match-up. The Cardinals, who are on any even bigger roll than the Ducks (won 12 straight games), destroyed their first two opponents as well.

Louisville spanked 16 seed play-in winner North Carolina A&T 79-48 before moving on to face a tough Colorado State team in the third round. The Cardinals embarrassed the Rams in much the same fashion, scoring an easy 82-56 win to advance to their third regional semifinal since 2008.

Louisville, which fields one of the nation’s top defenses, held North Carolina A&T and Colorado State to 44.5 percent field goal shooting and it also forced 44 turnovers out of the two clubs.

Oregon vs Louisville Odds 2013 Sweet 16: Provided by Bovada.lv

Oregon Ducks +10.5 (-110), Over 130 (-110)

Louisville Cardinals -10.5 (-110), Under 130 (-110)

Florida Gulf Coast’s non-conference resume, as well as the team’s 15 seed, suggested its 2013 NCAA Tournament would be short lived. The Eagles suffered losses to VCU, Duke, St. John’s, Iowa State, and Maine and four of those losses were by 11 or more points.

All of that went out the window, though, when the Eagles shocked second seeded Georgetown 78-68 in their opening round game. Florida Gulf Coast connected on a less than stellar 42.9 percent from the field in beating the defensive minded Hoyas, but it earned an astounding 44 trips to the free throw line where it downed 30 of its 78 points.

The Eagles backed up its stunning performance against Georgetown with another big upset as they defeated a seven seed San Diego State 81-71. FGCU shot 55.9 percent in the win over the Aztecs and it forced San Diego State into 17 turnovers on the defensive end of the floor.

Florida, a defensive powerhouse in the mold of Georgetown, easily stymied its first two tournament opponents, eliminating Northwestern State 79-47 and Minnesota 78-64. The Gators held those two teams to 38 percent field goal shooting in advancing to their third consecutive regional semifinals appearance.

Florida Gulf Coast vs Florida Odds 2013 Sweet 16: Provided by BetOnline.com

Florida Gulf Coast Eagles +13 (-110), Over 135.5 (-110), +700 (Moneyline)

Florida Gators -13 (-110), Under 135.5 (-110), -1000 (Moneyline)