SPORTS
There have been upsets in this year's edition of March Madness but No. 1 teams were the ones gracing the Final Four at the Alamodome.
When the top seeds from the four regions are the only teams left standing, there is always the chance that a favorite will go away empty handed and that was exactly the case.
The North Carolina Tar Heels were the odds-on favorite to take the entire tournament but not only failed to cover as a 3-point favorite in their Final Four game, they failed to pay out in March Madness futures betting when the Kansas Jayhawks beat them by a final of 84-66.
Unlike the Tar Heels, the Memphis Tigers covered as a 2-point favorite in its Final Four tilt against UCLA in a 78-63 win.
The two will battle for the 2008 NCAA Division I hoops title tonight.
Kansas Jayhawks vs. Memphis Tigers @ San Antonio, Texas
Line: Memphis -2 (Opening Memphis -1)
Total: 145½ (Opening -145)
Memphis Tigers: 3-2 ATS, 5 Overs, 0 Unders in March Madness
The top dog in the South, Memphis started March Madness off with two straight ATS losses but has recovered nicely in the latter stages of the tournament.
It seems like the smaller the line, the bigger margin of victory for Memphis.
The Tigers were favored by 25½ (Texas-Arlington) and 9½ (Mississippi St.) points in their first two matchups and blew both ATS and SU.
The latter three matchups saw them favored by 5½ (Michigan St.), 3½ (Texas), 2 (UCLA) points and the team won 92-74, 85-67 and, as mentioned, 78-63 respectively; Memphis has not dipped below the Total throughout the tournament.
And if the prevailing trend continues, Memphis might be worth a wager ATS and on the Over in the championship game as the Tigers are favored by 2-points against Kansas and the Total is set at 145½.
Kansas Jayhawks: 4-1 ATS, 0 Overs, 5 Unders in March Madness
With the exception of an untimely ATS loss to this year’s Cinderella team, Davidson—where Kansas failed to cover a 9½-point spread in a 59-57 victory in the Elite Eight—the Jayhawks have been flawless ATS this tournament beating and covering against Portland St., UNLV, Villanova, Davidson and of course, North Carolina.
Unlike its title game opponent, Kansas has gone Under in all of its March Madness contests.
The Jayhawks took down favored UNC in the semifinal, will they beat favored Memphis in the title game?