March Madness 2017: Who Will Win The NCAA Tournament? Duke, North Carolina Favored

College basketball’s national championship game has involved either Duke or North Carolina in four of the last eight years, and it wouldn’t be surprising for at least one of the schools to be back in the title game this season. The ACC rivals enter March Madness 2017 as the two favorites to win the NCAA Tournament.

Duke is not one of the four No.1 seeds, but the No.2 seeded Blue Devils were given the best championship odds in Las Vegas when the field of 68 was announced on Selection Sunday. By Monday morning, North Carolina and Duke were tied for the best odds at Bovada.lv.

Read: College basketball experts make their Final Four predictions

The Blue Devils had what could be characterized as an underwhelming regular season, going 11-7 in the conference and finishing in fifth place in the ACC standings. Defeating Louisville, North Carolina and Notre Dame on their way to an ACC title, the Blue Devils went from a No.4 seed to a No.2 seed.

North Carolina has been defeated by Duke two times in three meetings this season, and some experts are predicting the two teams to meet for a fourth time in the national championship game. The Tar Heels went 14-4 in the ACC, which led all conferences with nine bids in the tournament.

Just behind North Carolina and Duke are Kansas and Villanova, who have the exact same championship betting odds. Villanova is the No.1 overall seed in March Madness, and they won last year’s national title on a buzzer-beater against North Carolina. Kansas has won 13 straight Big 12 regular-season titles, though they have just one national championship during that time.

Gonzaga has the worst odds of any No.1 seed. Playing in the WCC, they have just one loss on the season. The Bulldogs have never reached the Final Four, despite this being their 19th straight tournament appearance. When Gonzaga was a No.1 seed in 2013, they were ousted in the Round of 32.

UCLA has the best championship odds of any team that isn’t a No.1 or a No.2 seed. Led by Lonzo Ball, who could be selected at the top of the 2017 NBA Draft, the Bruins could challenge North Carolina in the South.

No team seeded lower than No.8 has ever won the national title. No.10 Wichita State has been given better title odds than three No.6 seeds, and they are six-point favorites in their first-round game.

NCAA Championship Odds

Duke 13/2

North Carolina 13/2

Kansas 15/2

Villanova 15/2

Gonzaga 17/2

Arizona 9/1

Kentucky 10/1

UCLA 12/1

Louisville 16/1

Oregon 22/1

Purdue 22/1

Michigan 25/1

West Virginia 25/1

Baylor 28/1

Florida 33/1

Florida State 33/1

Virginia 33/1

Iowa State 40/1

Notre Dame 40/1

SMU 40/1

Butler 66/1

Wichita State 66/1

Wisconsin 66/1

St. Mary's 75/1

Cincinnati 100/1

Maryland 100/1

Michigan State 100/1

Minnesota 100/1

Oklahoma State 100/1

Creighton 150/1

South Carolina 150/1

Northwestern 200/1

Rhode Island 200/1

Virginia Tech 200/1

Arkansas 250/1

Kansas State 250/1

Miami Florida 250/1

Middle Tennessee St. 250/1

Providence 250/1

Seton Hall 250/1

USC 250/1

VCU 250/1

Vanderbilt 250/1

Wake Forest 250/1

Xavier 250/1

Dayton 300/1

Marquette 300/1

Nevada 500/1

Princeton 500/1

Bucknell 1000/1

East Tennessee State 1000/1

Florida Gulf Coast 1000/1

Iona 1000/1

Jacksonville State 1000/1

Kent State 1000/1

Mount St. Mary's 1000/1

NC Central 1000/1

NC Wilmington 1000/1

New Mexico State 1000/1

New Orleans 1000/1

North Dakota 1000/1

Northern Kentucky 1000/1

South Dakota State 1000/1

Texas Southern 1000/1

Troy 1000/1

UC Davis 1000/1

Vermont 1000/1

Winthrop 1000/1