NCAA tournament 2017 preview: South regional


The top-seeded Tar Heels are betting favorites, but look for John Calipari’s reloaded roster to carry Kentucky to the program’s 18th Final Four appearance

North Carolina. The No1 seed in the South is the favorite to win it all if Duke goes down, getting 6-1 odds to their rival’s 5-1 from the Westgate Sportsbook in Las Vegas. Kentucky, the No2 seed in the region, has the third-best odds at 8-1. FiveThirtyEight has Kentucky’s title chances slightly higher than Carolina’s. The official pick of this column is: Kentucky. John Calipari’s latest NBA draft lottery incubator is peaking at the right time, entering the tournament on an 11-game win streak.

Related: NCAA tournament bracket 2017: make your March Madness picks

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