By Thomas Clarke
The 2018 NCAA Tournament is about a month away as March 11th brings us Selection Sunday. Right now, a number of teams are positioning themselves for seeding and and at-large bids. Predicting the eventual NCAA national champion is really hard once all the teams are set, but picking the winner in mid-February can be mission impossible because the brackets is going to change a lot everyday.
Still, some teams are highly likely to travel to San Antonio this year, so we will try to give you some facts, notes and predictions with the help of our betting and casino experts from Casino Guru website.
Here is the list of front runners in no particular order:
Virginia Cavaliers – The number 1 ranked team at the moment has as great a defense as we have seen in years. They are dominating opponents on that end of the floor, allowing just 52.7 points per game; and we all know that offense sells tickets and defense win championships- in any sport. At the start of the season they were priced at 31.00 and now the odds on them winning it all are 9.00.
Villanova Wildcats – They have a questionable defense, ranking only 48th in defensive efficiency, but they have two All-America candidates in Jalen Brunson and Mikal Bridges. Their offense is excellent and though the defense is suspect, they still the look like a reasonable choice. Odds on the Wildcats are set at 5.00.
Michigan State Spartans – The Spartans rank in the Top 20 in efficiency on both offense (9th) and defense (5th), so they are as nicely balanced as anyone this season. They have had some wins that were less than attractive at times this campaign, but they have a great interior game, depth on the front line, elite ball screen defenders and one of the best point guards in the NCAA in Cassius Winston. Odds on State winning their first national title since 2000 and third in school history are set to 5.00.
Xavier Musketeers – They are a long shot, but the Musketeers have been really consistent this season and will likely end up being this year’s “dark horse”. Their defense isn’t great, but they manage to win all the close ones (7-0 in games decided by 5 points or less), which suggests that they are mentally really very strong. The odds on Xavier winning the NCAA title this season are set to 41.00.