Gonzaga Favored to Win National Championship Heading into NCAA Tournament

• Undefeated and No. 1 overall seed Gonzaga is the betting favorite to win its first NCAA Tournament championship
• Four Big Ten teams — Illinois, Michigan, Ohio State, Iowa — are among the top eight tournament seeds
• Check out the road ahead for the top title contenders

Unbeaten and No. 1-overall seed Gonzaga was installed as a +200 favorite in the NCAA Tournament odds at FanDuel. The NCAA selection committee also acknowledged what became apparent as the season progressed, that the Big Ten has the most abundant group of title contenders.

Big Ten regular-season champion Michigan and Big Ten tournament champion Illinois joined Baylor as the other three No. 1 seeds, while Ohio State and Iowa are No. 2 seeds.

SEC regular-season and tournament champion Alabama and American Athletic tournament champion Houston are the other No. 2s.

Gonzaga Favored to Win National Title

Odds from FanDuel on March 14.

Gonzaga (26-0) is the seventh undefeated team entering the NCAA Tournament since 1976, when both Indiana and Rutgers took perfect seasons in the tourney. The Hoosiers are the only team one of the seven that won it all.

The Road More Easily Traveled

Gonzaga appears to have the easiest road to the Final Four in a West Region that includes Iowa, Kansas, and Virginia as the 2-3-4 seeds. If the bracket holds, the Bulldogs would play two teams they already have beaten by double digits in neutral-site games in Iowa and Kansas.

Iowa has the shortest odds of any No. 2 seed to win the NCAA Tournament, but it has been vulnerable to top opposition even with Big Ten Player of the Year Luka Garza.

COVID-19 issues complicate things for Kansas and Virginia. After playing one game, both were forced to pull out of their conference  tournaments because of positive tests among Tier I personnel.

Baylor and the Loaded South

Baylor, which lost to Oklahoma State in the Big 12 semifinals, faces a stacked region that includes Big Ten teams Ohio State and Purdue and No. 3 seed Arkansas. No. 8 seed North Carolina, playing better, lurks as a possible second-round matchup.

No. 2 seed Ohio State played as well as anyone in the physical Big Ten tournament, beating Michigan and Purdue before taking Illinois to overtime in the championship game. The Buckeyes played the final two games without 6’9 starting forward Kyle Young (8.6 points, 5.5 rebounds) who suffered a concussion against Purdue. He has had two concussions in the last month, and his condition must be monitored.

No. 6 seed Texas Tech is always a live dog, inasmuch as Chris Beard’s teams play solid, physical help defense.

Michigan’s Injury Issue

Michigan enters a tough East Regional faced with the loss of 6’7 forward Isaiah Livers, who re-aggravated a stress fracture in his right foot in the Wolverines’ 79-66 victory over Maryland in the Big Ten quarterfinals on Friday. Livers (13.1 points. 6.0 rebounds) appears certain to miss at least the first weekend of the NCAA Tournament.

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No. 2 seed Alabama is led by SEC Player of the Year and SEC Defensive Player of the Year Herb Jones, and it plays an active, attacking small-ball game that can be tough to handle.

No. 3 seed Texas has a pair of potential NBA first-round draft picks in Greg Brown and Kai Jones and No. 4 Florida State brings NBA-type Scottie Barnes and a history of playing well  in the tournament. No. 8 seed LSU made the SEC finals and can score with anyone.

Illinois Faces a Challenge

The Midwest Region is loaded. No 1 seed Illinois may have the best 1-2 inside-out punch in the tournament in All-Big Ten players Ayo Dosunmu and Kofi Cockburn, but …

Houston, West Virginia and Oklahoma State are the 2-4 seeds, and all of the top-four seeds are among the 11 teams with the shortest odds to win the tournament.

Under-seeded Oklahoma State could be the Illini’s biggest obstacle. The Cowboys beat Baylor in the Big 12 semis and took Texas to the wire win the Big 12 tournament. They are led by dynamic one-and-done guard Cade Cunningham, who had 25 points against Baylor and 29 against Texas.