Tuesday, March 19, 2013
Louisville the popular pick to win it all?
By Joe Kaiser
In a season where there is no heavy favorite to win it all, Louisville has emerged as the popular choice among oddsmakers and college basketball experts.
SportsBook.com lists Louisville at 11/2 to take home the national championship, giving them the best odds of any team. Behind the Cardinals are Miami and Indiana at 8/1, Kansas at 9/1 and Florida, Duke and Gonzaga at 10/1.
ESPN's team of experts also favors Rick Pitino's defensive-minded squad. Jay Bilas, John Gasaway, Seth Greenberg and Joe Lunardi all are on record with Louisville as their pick to win it all. And trusted stats cruncher Ken Pomeroy has the Cardinals losing to Florida in the championship game.
We wrote way last March that the Cardinals would be a team to watch out for in 2013, and they've done nothing to disprove that. The question now becomes whether they can live up to the hype once the tournament starts. At this point, it's safe to say anything less than a championship would be a major disappointment for Louisville and its rabid fan base.
