LAS VEGAS -- North Carolina is now the 4-5 favorite to win the NCAA tournament at the Westgate Las Vegas SuperBook, as the Tar Heels are the last No. 1 seed standing in the Final Four.
Of course, the NCAA Vegas Rankings had North Carolina as our top-rated team before the Big Dance started and entering the Sweet 16 last week.
The NCAA Vegas Ranks are compiled from my power ratings, with input from other ESPN Chalk handicappers. They're used to compare the relative strength of the teams (on a neutral floor) and can be used to compare to the current point spreads.
After going just 15-16 against the spread in the first round (Providence was rated 2.5 points better than Southern California and that was the closing line, so that's not included), we fared better in the second round at 8-5 ATS (with the Notre Dame, Oklahoma and Texas A&M games being no-plays).
Over this past weekend, the NCAA Vegas Ranks went 4-3 ATS in the Sweet 16 (Oregon-Duke was the no-play) and then was 3-1 ATS in the Elite Eight, as our numbers sided with Oklahoma pick-em over Oregon, Syracuse +6.5 vs. Virginia when the line was 8 and North Carolina -10.5 over Notre Dame when the line was 9.5.