March Madness now goes to the first Monday of April, and we all know what that means: College basketball championship game odds are on the board.
While coach Mike Krzyzewski won’t get to end his 42-year Duke career with one more shining moment, it still should be a tremendous title tilt. A pair of bluebloods square off when No. 1 seed Kansas meets No. 8 seed North Carolina at the Superdome.
Props.com breaks down the massive matchup, with insights from multiple oddsmakers on NCAA championship game odds and action. Check back for updates through Monday night’s tipoff.
College Basketball Championship Game Odds
| Matchup | Time | Spread | Over/Under |
| No. 8 North Carolina vs No. 1 Kansas | 9:20 p.m. ET Monday | Kansas -4 (-115) | 151.5 (Over -115) |
Odds via FanDuel and updated as of 7:30 p.m. ET on April 4.
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No. 8 North Carolina vs No. 1 Kansas
UPDATE 7;30 P.M. ET MONDAY: Less than two hours pre-tip, TwinSpires Sportsbook has Kansas a steady 4-point favorite, where the Jayhawks opened late Saturday night. North Carolina is seeing the modest majority of tickets and money, at 59% and 57%, respectively. Further, the Tar Heels are taking the bulk of moneyline action, at 56% of tickets/62% of cash. Carolina is currently +160 on the moneyline, while Kansas is a -205 chalk.
“The public is siding with the Tar Heels. We’ll need Kansas in this one,” TwinSpires director of retail sports Zachary Lucas said. “Kansas is also the better result in the futures market.”
The total dropped from the 153 opener to 151.5, but in the past half-hour inched up to 152. The Under is taking 53% of tickets and 61% of cash.
UPDATE 5 P.M. ET MONDAY: Four-plus hours before game time, Kansas sits at -4 (-115) on FanDuel’s college basketball championship game odds board. The Jayhawks opened at 4 flat late Saturday night, rose to -4.5 within a half-hour, dipped to -4 (-115) Sunday afternoon and hasn’t moved since. Kansas is drawing 59% of spread bets and 58% of spread dollars. Moneyline opinion is split, with North Carolina (currently +158) seeing 69% of tickets, while 55% of cash is on Kansas (currently -192).
The total opened at 152.5, ticked up to 153 within a few minutes and reached 153.5 within an hour. Late Sunday morning, the number returned to 152.5 and by this morning bottomed out at 151.5 (Over -115), where it sits now. Contrary to the drop, tickets and money are running 2/1 on the Over.
UPDATE 12:30 P.M. ET MONDAY: On Saturday night, DraftKings pegged Kansas a 4-point favorite in the college basketball championship game odds market. Sunday morning, the number nudged to -4.5, but returned to -4 less than two hours later. The Jayhawks are seeing 62% of spread tickets and 56% of spread dollars. The total opened at 152, quickly popped up to 153, returned to 152 late Sunday morning and in the past hour dipped to 151.5. Still, tickets and money are in the 3/1 range on the Over.
UPDATE 9 P.M. ET SUNDAY: With tipoff 24 hours away, Kansas is a 4.5-point favorite at WynnBet, matching the opening line after spending a few hours early today at -5. Ticket count is 2/1 and money 6/1 on underdog North Carolina. The Tar Heels are also seeing the bulk of moneyline play, at 60% of tickets/82% of cash.
Regardless, the book is in a good position to both teams, even with some North Carolina championship futures bets at long odds pre-Tournament and earlier in the Tourney.
“We are just glad Gonzaga is not playing in this game,” WynnBet junior trader Andy Morrissey said. “We win pretty big to Kansas and to North Carolina, as well. They’ve been betting Carolina since the beginning of the Tournament.”
That said, it’s mostly small stuff at +7,500 or less, with the most noteworthy bet being $100 at 75/1, to win $7,500.
The total opened at 153 and inched down to 152.5 late this morning, although tickets are 2/1 and money 4/1 on the Over.
UPDATE 11:30 P.M ET SATURDAY: After spoiling Coach K’s storybook ending, North Carolina now hopes its surprising run to the NCAA championship game ends with a net-cutting ceremony Monday night. Regardless, with Kansas as the other participant, it’ll be a high-profile contest sure to draw a ton of action.
“It should be a well-bet game. The downside is that it’s only on the board for 46 hours,” SuperBook risk manager Neil Fitzroy said.
In a riveting Final Four battle Saturday night, the Tar Heels fended off No. 2 seed Duke 81-77 as a 4.5-point underdog. The Tar Heels are 11-1 SU/10-2 ATS in their last 12 games, including a pair of outright wins as an underdog against Duke.
Carolina stunned its archrival 94-81 catching 11 points at Duke in the March 5 regular-season finale. Saturday’s rematch was tight throughout, but the Tar Heels made their free throws late to land the victory.
North Carolina has cashed in all five of its Tournament games and is 9-1 ATS in its last 10 outings. The Tar Heels’ only on-court blemish since mid-February was a 72-59 loss to Virginia Tech as a 3-point favorite in the ACC tournament semifinals March 11. UNC also is on a 5-0 SU/ATS run as an underdog, which they will in the championship game.
Kansas was the only No. 1 seed to reach the Final Four and parlayed that into a spot in Monday night’s final. The Jayhawks (33-6, 20-18-1 ATS) got out quickly against No. 2 seed Villanova in Saturday’s first semifinal, building a 19-point first-half advantage and leading 40-29 at halftime.
The Wildcats got as close as six at 64-58 with about five minutes remaining, but the Jayhawks pulled away from there, cruising to an 81-65 victory as a 4-point favorite.
Kansas is riding a 10-game winning streak and is 7-2 ATS in its last nine outings, all as a favorite (2-0 ATS last two). Kansas is also 11-1 SU in neutral-site games this season. And although Bill Self’s troops are just 7-5 ATS in those dozen games, they’re on a 6-2 ATS neutral-court run this postseason.
The Kansas-Villanova game easily cleared the 133.5 total, ending a modest 3-1 Under stretch for the Jayhawks. North Carolina-Duke surpassed the 154 total, after the Tar Heels played to Unders in wins over St. Peter’s and UCLA in the Elite Eight and Sweet 16, respectively. The Over is 12-6 in Carolina’s last 18 games overall and 5-2 in its last seven NCAA Tourney contests.
Kansas opened as a 4.5-point favorite tonight in The SuperBook’s college basketball championship game odds market. The first move came literally within minutes, as early money on Carolina pushed the line down to Kansas -4.
“It was all UNC at +4.5,” Fitzroy said, while noting championship futures are the more notable concern at the moment. “We will be rooting for Kansas in the futures. It’s a significant swing for us if North Carolina pulls it out.”
The total opened at 153 and saw no movement this evening, with Fitzroy noting “not much action on the total.”
Strong Championship Pedigree
Kansas is 3-6 is in NCAA championship games, including losing its last title-game appearance to Kentucky in 2012 (67-59 as a 6-point ‘dog). The Jayhawks last cut down the nets in 2008, when they defeated Memphis 75-68 in overtime as a 2-point pup.
North Carolina will be making its 12th championship game appearance. The Tar Heels are 6-5 all time, most recently defeating Gonzaga 71-65 as a 1-point favorite in 2017, one year after falling to Villanova 77-74 as a 2-point chalk in the title game.
UNC has the third-most titles, trailing only UCLA (11) and Kentucky (8). Kansas ranks seventh in the championship standings, tied with Villanova.
The Tar Heels and Jayhawks haven’t faced one another since squaring off in the 2012 and 2013 NCAA Tournaments. Kansas won both games by double digits, rolling 80-67 as a 2-point chalk in the Elite Eight in 2012 and 70-58 as a 6.5-point favorite in the second round in 2013. The Jayhawks also whipped Carolina 84-66 as a 2-point underdog in the 2008 Final Four, on the way to their last title.
