Ron's College Basketball NCAA Championship Play

I am going to take Kansas on the money line in this Championship contest. This is more juice than I would normally lay in a game like this, as you will rarely see me take anything over -150, but I do think this is a smart selection for a few reasons. In the history of the NCAA tournament, we have only seen one eight seed ever win the championship and that was in an adjustment year as it was the first 64-field tourney in 1985. You have to give credit to UNC and Hubert Davis, but there is a reason that this team was given an eight seed going into the tournament. There are some holes on this team, especially on the defensive side of the ball. UNC is ranked outside the top-35 in adjusted defensive efficiency, which has usually been the kiss of death in terms of a potential championship contender. It is rare for teams to make it to the Final Four with a defense outside of the top 25, it is even rarer and almost unheard of for a team to win the tournament with that defense as well. Kansas is ranked 17th in adjusted defensive efficiency and is firmly in the top-20. Kansas is also a top-10 offense in the nation currently, while UNC is a bit further back at 18. There are not many teams that have done what UNC has done and you have to tip your cap to the Tar Heels, but I have to think that the run ends here facing the better team. The reason I am not on KU -4 is that although I do think it is very possible for the Jayhawks to cover the number, it is a lot of lumber to lay in a championship game. The reason why I don't just take UNC +4 is that I do not think the Tar Heels have much of a chance at winning this game, so I would only be giving myself 3 points of wiggle room in the case of a 1-3-point UNC loss (or four for a push). To me, this game is very similar to the Super Bowl in which those who were taking the Bengals liked the ML and those who were on the Rams liked the -3.5. Both of those bets were losers in the end, and I think by taking Kansas on the Moneyline here we give ourselves the best chance at winning on Monday night. It has been another exciting college basketball season with so many great games and moments, I want to thank all of you for riding with me this college hoops season. Let's end the year with a bang!