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