Auburn, Florida, Houston and Duke proved better than their peers throughout the regular season. They earned uncontroversial No. 1 seeds. Once March Madness begins, it operates under no duty to respect regular-season results. This became one of those rare tournaments, though, in which the nation’s four best teams turned back Cinderella, tamed the madness and supplied a Final Four that will be a two-round showcase of the nation's elite. All four No. 1 seeds advanced to the Final Four for just the second time in tournament history. With apology to the defeated underdogs, I relish these matchups that offer the foundation for an epic Final Four, following a somewhat mundane tournament – at least by March Madness’ riveting standards.
Duke heads to a men's Final Four made up of all No. 1 seeds as the favorite to win the national championship. The Blue Devils were +105 to win the title at ESPN BET after the Final Four was set on Sunday. Florida is the second favorite at +275, followed by Houston (+450) and Auburn (+500). Duke opened as a 4.5-point favorite over Houston in their semifinal matchup Saturday in San Antonio. The Gators opened as 2.5-point favorites over Auburn in Saturday's other semifinal.
The betting public loves to play favorites, and that strategy has paid off in a big way in the NCAA Tournament. Favorites won all 12 games in the Sweet 16 and Elite Eight over the weekend after winning 36 of 48 games in the first two rounds to help bettors cash countless favorite money-line parlays. Duke is a consensus 4½-point favorite over Houston in the national semifinals Saturday night at the Alamodome in San Antonio. Florida is a 2½-point favorite over Auburn in the other Final Four matchup. “Obviously, Houston and Auburn can beat anybody. It’s no slam dunk,” Andrews said. “But I think Duke and Florida are well-deserved favorites.”
