Who is the favorite to win it all?
Notre Dame is the only team that enters the NCAA tournament with a perfect record. Two draws besmirch UCLA’s record, but the Bruins enter the NCAA tournament as the No. 1 team in the latest Ratings Percentage Index. The outlook for the next four weeks is murkier than the foggy nightscape of Dickensian London. The four No. 1 seeds bring a combined one loss to the fray. And that doesn’t even include 16-1-0 Portland, which found itself bumped to a No. 2 seed. Further clouding the crystal ball is the Under-20 World Cup in Chile later this month, which will deprive six of the top eight seeds of key players. Only No. 1 Stanford and No. 2 Florida will not lose any players. Portland, North Carolina and Florida State will have multiple representatives in Chile. So clearly the favorite to win the tournament is North Carolina. For one thing, it never pays to bet against Anson Dorrance in his own backyard — as much as the U-20 World Cup hurts his team, playing the College Cup in Cary, N.C. helps
