North Carolina vs. Kansas 2022 National Championship Odds and Preview

By Hank Blaine • April 4, 2022

The 2021-22 college basketball season comes to an end Monday when eighth-seeded North Carolina takes on No. 1 seed Kansas from New Orleans. The Jayhawks are favored to win their first title since 2008.

Before all else, Nitrobetting takes a peek at important game details that help you lock in on the best picks. Below, you can find event information, team and player stats, and the latest College Basketball odds. We also have timely betting trends and predictions at your disposal.

North Carolina vs. Kansas 2022 National Championship Game Information

When: Monday, April 4 at 9:20 pm ET
Where: Caesars Superdome, New Orleans, LA
TV: TBS
Radio: 97.9 The Hill WCHL (North Carolina) / Z-96.3 The Lake (Kansas)
Live Stream: March Madness Live
NCAAB Betting Odds: North Carolina (+4) / Kansas (-4)

Why Bet on the North Carolina?

UNC (29-9) upset Duke 81-77 in the Final Four in the first-ever NCAA Tournament meeting between the bitter rivals and it send Blue Devils coach Mike Krzyzewski into retirement. Almost impossibly, that game lived up to all the hype. An 8-seed, the Tar Heels are tied for the lowest-seeded team to reach the final since seeding began in 1979.

“Our belief all year was strong that we can get to this point,” junior center Armando Bacot said. “I don’t know if it was belief or if it was just us being delusional. I mean, at every point of the season, we knew if we came together as a team that we could get to the championship. And that’s what we did.”

Bacot has been one of the best players in college basketball this season and had his 30th double-double, an ACC record, with 11 points and 21 rebounds. He did leave for a bit with a sprained ankle but X-rays on Sunday were negative so he’ll play Monday. Whether he’s 100 percent is another matter.

“We don’t have another big man,” Bacot said, “so I don’t have a choice.”

The options that the Tar Heels have behind Bacot aren’t appealing. They could move 6-foot-9 forward Brady Manek to the 5-spot, which he played frequently against Kansas while at Oklahoma. That would create a difficult mismatch inside for UNC against Kansas’ David McCormack, who is coming off a season-high 25 points against Villanova.

North Carolina’s 12 title-game appearances match Kentucky for the second most in men’s NCAA tournament history. UCLA is first with 13. Hubert Davis is the first head coach since Bill Guthridge (at North Carolina in 1998) to lead his team to a Final Four in his first year.

Why Bet on the Kansas Jayhawks?

Kansas (33-6) beat Villanova 81-65 in a relative Final Four snoozer. As noted, McCormack had 25 points and All-American Ochai Agbaji went 6 for 7 from beyond the arc to finish with 21 points. Kansas hit 13 of 24 from 3 and scored 16 more points in the paint, offsetting a solid 3-point shooting night by Villanova. The Wildcats went 13 for 31 from long range, including 5 of 8 by Collin Gillespie, who had 17 points in his final collegiate game. Villanova was without one of its better players in guard Justin Moore, who was hurt in the Elite Eight.

Agbaji and McCormack were part of Bill Self’s heralded 2018 recruiting class — fifth nationally— but were far from the headliners. The marquee names in that group were Quentin Grimes and Devon Dotson. While those two moved on, Agbaji and McCormack remained in Lawrence, honing their games and their confidence to put the Jayhawks on the doorstep of their first national championship since 2008.

KU’s Bill Self is making his fourth appearance in the Final Four as a coach, all of them coming with the Jayhawks. He won it all on his first visit in 2008, finished as a runner-up to Kentucky in 2012 and was eliminated from the national semifinals by eventual champion Villanova in 2018.

Kansas and North Carolina have met several times before in the Final Four, including in the 1957 national championship game (won by UNC), the 1991 national semifinal, the 1993 national semifinal and the 2008 national semifinal.

KU will be familiar with one of UNC’s best players in Brady Manek because he’s a transfer from Big 1`2 school Oklahoma.

North Carolina vs. Kansas Betting Trends

Tar Heels are 5-0 ATS in the last 5 NCAA Tournament games.
Tar Heels are 5-0 ATS in the last 5 games vs. a team with a winning % above .600.
The total went in 12 of North Carolina’s last 18 games.
Jayhawks are 5-1 ATS in the last 6 games following a ATS win.
Jayhawks are 7-2 ATS in the last 9 games overall.
The total went in 16 of Kansas’ last 20 games played on a Monday when at home.

North Carolina vs. Kansas Expert Betting Predictions

Heels cover but KU wins

This is just one of the many sports betting guides that you can read here at Nitrobetting news. Stay tuned for more NCAAB game previews and articles and don’t forget to check out the latest Basketball betting odds on the sportsbook.

*All odds stated are subject to change without prior notice.