Many teams had at least one shining moment during the 2022 NCAA Men’s National Tournament. After a tournament that saw 68 teams compete to be the last one standing, Monday night will see two teams fight for the national championship.
How to Watch: The game will air on TBS, a unit of AT&T Inc. (NYSE:T) Monday night. Tip-off is scheduled for 9:20 p.m. EDT.
AT&T split coverage of the tournament games with Paramount Global (NASDAQ:PARA)(NASDAQ:PARA). TBS is the exclusive home of the Final Four and the Championship Game.
The Matchup: Monday’s game features No. 8 seed North Carolina against No. 1 seed Kansas.
North Carolina ties the record as the lowest seed to ever reach the championship game, a feat that has been accomplished twice.
Kansas was the only No. 1 seed to advance to the Final Four.
Kansas got to the championship game with wins of 83-56 over No. 16 seed Texas Southern, 79-72 over No. 9 seed Creighton, 66-61 over No. 4 seed Providence, 76-50 over No. 10 seed Miami and 81-65 over No. 2 seed Villanova.
North Carolina got to the championship game with wins of 95-63 over No. 9 seed Marquette, 93-86 over No. 1 seed Baylor, 73-66 over No. 4 seed UCLA, 69-49 over No. 15 seed Saint Peter’s and 81-77 over No. 2 seed Duke.
The one lingering question is whether Armando Bacot is 100% after suffering an injury in the win against Duke that saw him head to the locker room before returning. Without Bacot, North Carolina would miss its leading rebounder and have a smaller lineup.
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Bets to Watch: Kansas is a four-point favorite to win the game across most sportsbooks with the over/under for total points hovering in the 151 to 153 point range, as the game features two high-powered offenses. North Carolina pays out +160 on a win, while Kansas pays -190 as a straight-up favorite at Draftkings Inc (NASDAQ:DKNG).
Kansas could attempt to slow the pace down, while North Carolina will likely fight to control the tempo with a fast-powered scoring attack and race to 80 points.
The team totals of 74 for North Carolina and 78 for Kansas could both be in play, with a preference here for North Carolina, a team that has bested that total in three of the five games and missed it by one point in another match.
Several player props at DraftKings could offer strong value in a high-scoring affair.
Caleb Love over 5 three-pointers made: +175 (hit this total in two of the five tournament games).
Caleb Love over 25 points: +500 (hit the total in two of the five tournament games, nearly three).
Brady Manek over 16.5 points (totals in the tournament are 28, 26, 13, 19, 14).
Caleb Love over 17.5 points (totals in tournament are 23, 5, 30, 14, 28).
David McCormack over 11.5 points (totals in the tournament are 9, 7, 8, 15, 25), could be a stronger play if Bacot isn’t 100% or gets in foul trouble.
Remy Martin over 11.5 points (totals in the tournament are 15, 20, 23, 9, 3), had only one field goal made last game, could be relied on for a big role off the bench Monday.
Ochai Agbaji over 16.5 points (totals in the tournament are 11, 15, 5, 18, 21), favorite to win Most Outstanding Player (MOP) needs a big night for Kansas.
Manek over 2.5 three-pointers made: -150 (has hit in all five games).
Love over 2.5 three-pointers made: -160 (has hit in three of the five games).
DraftKings has Adbaji as the top option to win MOP at +120. Bettors who see a Kansas player stepping up such as McCormack (+600) or Martin (+1000) could get a big payout.
If North Carolina wins, MOP betting could hit hard with Bacot and Love both offered at +500 and Manek at +1000.
FanDuel, a unit of Flutter Entertainment ADR (OTC:PDYPY), is offering a prop on North Carolina +7.5 and a total of 150 points scored at +220. This could be a close game and many are expecting a high total, giving this boosted odds play some value.
FanDuel offers parlays on players to score 10 points or more that can add up in a hurry, but also need all legs to hit. A bet on Manek, Bacot, Love, Adbaji and Martin to each have 10 or more points pays +142.
FanDuel also offers odds of players scoring 15 points and their team to win. Bettors who think Kansas will win could bet on Agbaji 15 points and a win at +106. Bettors who think North Carolina will win could pair Love with 15 points and a win (+220) or Manek 15 points and a win (+210).
Bacot has averaged a double-double in each game in the tournament and given the injury that could be in jeopardy. A Bacot double-double and UNC win pays +175.
BetMGM, a joint venture from Entain and MGM Resorts International (NYSE:MGM), is offering Bacot over 15.5 points, while several books such as DraftKings don’t have individual player props for the star player.
Barstool Sportsbook, a platform from Penn National Gaming, Inc. (NASDAQ:PENN), is offering +112 odds on the over of 153.5.
Barstool also has the lowest point total on Bacot at 14.5 of several books checked. Bacot is also offered at an over/under of 13.5 rebounds, a total he had hit in each of the last four contests
Caesars Entertainment Inc (NASDAQ:CZR), which is known for huge promotional bets, is offering a $25 max bet on UNC to win and 144 points to be scored at +325. While UNC winning is no sure thing, a total of 144 might be the lowest around and this is a strong payout.
