LAS VEGAS -- The Kansas Jayhawks are the No. 1 overall seed in the NCAA tournament, but the NCAA Vegas Rankings have another team atop the mountain -- the North Carolina Tar Heels.
North Carolina enters the Big Dance as the top-rated team thanks to four straight point spread covers, en route to its ACC tournament championship, while Kansas won the Big 12 title but didn't do as well covering the spread.
The Michigan State Spartans, a team that won the Big Ten title and who many feel was snubbed from being a No. 1 seed, has the third-highest power rating in the NCAA Vegas Rankings -- 1.5 points better than Virginia, the No. 1 seed in the Midwest Regional. Oregon, the West's No. 1 seed, is only the ninth-highest rated team.
The NCAA Vegas Ranks are compiled from the power ratings of handicapper Dave Tuley, with input from other ESPN Chalk handicappers. They're used to compare the relative strength of the teams, and can be used for comparison to current point spreads. They can also be used as a basis to compute your own power ratings, by using them as a base to be adjusted where you believe the panel has teams over or underrated.
Here are the ratings for the 64 NCAA tournament teams, with a detailed explanation for everyone falling into the top 30.
1) North Carolina Tar Heels (66)
The Tar Heels are only 16-17-1 ATS (48.5 percent) this season, but they covered their last four including a rout of Duke in their regular-season finale and a sweep through the ACC tournament to grab the title -- which also gave North Carolina our overall top spot.