NCAA
North Carolina vs. Kansas: Who is favored to win March Madness?
The University of Kansas faces the University of North Carolina in the championship game of the NCAA tournament. Which team is favored to win the trophy?
University of Kansas goes head-to-head with University of North Carolina for the NCAA tournament championship on Monday night. Which team is expected to win the game?
Kansas and UNC's Final Four games
The Kansas Jayhawks earned the first championship slot when they roundly defeated the Villanova Wildcats 81-65 in the opening game of the Final Four.
Shooting guard Ochai Agbaji started the Kansas blitz early on in the match with a series of three-pointers, while center David McCormack delivered a solid performance and recorded 25 points.
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Meanwhile, the North Carolina Tar Heels fought off the Duke Blue Devils 81-77 in a thriller of a game. Point guard Caleb Love led the team to victory, scoring 22 of his 28 points in the second half.
Kansas favored to win
No. 1 seed Kansas is predicted to prevail over No. 8 seed UNC. The Tar Heels are only the fourth team with this seeding to reach the national championship game. Eight-seeds are 1-2 in the finals, with No. 3 Connecticut overwhelming No. 8 Butler in 2011 and No. 7 Connecticut defeating No. 8 Kentucky in 2014.
Villanova was the only one among them to capture the crown, and holds the title of lowest seed to ever win the NCAA trophy.
Kansas has statistics that are mostly superior to those of UNC. They are slightly ahead in points per game, 78.4 to 78.1, and also in assists, leading North Carolina 15.5 to 14.9 per game. The Tar Heels have recorded more rebounds, averaging 37.2 per game to the Jayhawks’ 35.2.
As the top seed, the pressure is on the Jayhawks, especially since their head coach Bill Self is 3-0 against UNC. With the way this year’s March Madness has been going, North Carolina can still pull off an upset, which would be a fitting end to this bracket-busting 2022 NCAA tournament.
The Kansas Jayhawks will face the North Carolina Tar Heels in the NCAA national championship on Monday, April 4 at Caesars Superdome, New Orleans. Tip-off is at 9:20 p.m. ET / 6:20 p.m. PT.