Now that Selection Sunday has come and gone, basketball fans everywhere are filling out their brackets with their picks to win the NCAA tournament.
The four number one seeds are Louisville, Kentucky, Indiana, and Gonzaga. According to various Las Vegas casinos, the odds are currently favoring Louisville and Indiana with 19:4 and 5:1 respectively. The lowest ranking teams, all with 1000:1 odds, are James Madison, Liberty, LIU Brooklyn, and NC A&T.
Illinois, entering the tournament with a surprising No. 7 ranking, will begin their run at the title by playing No. 10 Colorado on March 22 at 3:30 p.m. Led by new head coach John Groce, the Fighting Illini went 22-12. Groce took over for former head coach Bruce Weber who was fired after Illinois missed getting into the NCAA tournament. This year, Weber is the head coach at Kansas State and is back in the tournament with a No. 4 ranking. Ironically, Kansas State had a better record over the season than Illinois did with a 27-7 mark. Illinois will have a tough time proving that they deserve to remain in the tournament, however, because a win against Colorado will most likely put them against No. 2 Miami in the next round.
Though there are many deserving teams in the NCAA tournament that will make strong runs at the title, as of now it appears like the final game of the NCAA season will be played between Louisville and Indiana. Don’t place bets or fill out brackets based only on the odds and records of a team, though. A lot can change between now and the championship game on April 8.