What If Tournament: Kansas, Villanova favored in Final Four

The Final Four semifinal matchups in the Review-Journal’s What If Tournament appear to be competitive on paper.

Vinny Magliulo, a longtime Las Vegas oddsmaker who works for VSiN, set numbers on Saturday’s hypothetical games.

Villanova would be a 1-point favorite over Oregon and Kansas a 2½-point favorite over Michigan State.

Magliulo said he thinks those would have been two solid matchups for sportsbooks.

“They would definitely generate plenty of betting action,” he said.

That could be particularly true of the prop betting action with some intriguing players on the floor.

Oregon’s Payton Pritchard has been the breakout star of the tournament and would figure to be the subject of props on his points, rebounds and assists. Pritchard erupted for 42 points in a game earlier in the tournament.

Pritchard would have plenty of competition in Kansas center Udoka Azubuike, who also would generate plenty of interest in the prop market.

The winner of the matchup between Kansas, the tournament favorite, and Michigan State should determine the favorite for the title game. The Jayhawks are the No. 1 team in the nation, according to KenPom.com, and the Spartans are No. 7. Oregon (No. 17) and Villanova (No. 18) complete a Final Four of all top 20 teams in the computer rankings.

Contact Adam Hill at ahill@reviewjournal.com. Follow @AdamHillLVRJ on Twitter.