UNC vs. Villanova: Game Time, Prop Odds and Predictions for NCAA Championship

After a thrilling regional final weekend in the 2016 NCAA tournament, the Final Four came and went with two wholly uncompetitive games in the national semifinal. 

Villanova thoroughly dominated Oklahoma, holding star scorer Buddy Hield to just nine points. Hield, one of the nation's best shooters, made just one of his eight three-point attempts and four of his 12 shots overall. As a team, the Sooners shot just 31.7 percent from the field and 22.2 percent from three.

The Wildcats, meanwhile, scorched the nets all night. Josh Hart led a balanced Villanova scoring attack with 23 points on 10-of-12 shooting from the floor. There has been a lot of talk about past shooting struggles for teams at NRG Stadium, but Villanova was having none of that.

The Wildcats shot 71.4 percent from the field. 

Let that sink in for a minute. Villanova made 35 of its 49 shots and 11 of its 18 threes. The Wildcats were totally unaffected by the cavernous stadium. As ESPN College Basketball noted on Twitter, Villanova was outclassed by only one other team in terms of shooting:

"

Villanova shot 71.4% FG.
The only team to shoot better? Nova in its 1985 Championship win. pic.twitter.com/PJajumRXTz

— ESPN College BBall (@ESPNCBB) April 3, 2016"

In Saturday's nightcap, North Carolina outmuscled Syracuse in the paint and on the glass and left NRG Stadium with a comfortable 83-66 win. The Tar Heels outrebounded the Orange 43-31.

Shooting only 4-of-17 from deep, North Carolina did most of its damage in the paint, as ESPN Stats and Info pointed out:

North Carolina and Villanova will square off for all the marbles Monday night at 9:19 p.m. ET. You can catch the game on TBS.

As of this writing, Odds Shark doesn't yet have odds for Monday's game. But let's have a look at some of the prop bets from the beginning of the tournament that have a chance to come through.

Anyone who took the plus-120 odds on a No. 1 seed winning the tournament has to feel pretty confident, as North Carolina looks like a complete team that is poised to cut down the nets. However, Villanova has also looked impressive all tournament, so those who took the minus-160 odds that a No. 1 seed wouldn't win it all may not be sweating too much.

Additionally, if anyone took the plus-250 odds for a No. 2 seed to win, they might be feeling pretty good about their chances as well.

If anyone was fully confident in the Tar Heels and took them over the field to win it all, they are probably licking their chops over the plus-600 odds. Odds Shark didn't list odds for Villanova. 

Monday's title game is shaping up to be a doozy either way. North Carolina looks like the best team and has talent all over the floor and depth to boot. But Villanova has been playing like a well-oiled machine all tournament, so few would be surprised if the Wildcats came out on top.

North Carolina looks like a locomotive that can't be stopped. Between Brice Johnson, Marcus Paige, Kennedy Meeks and the rest of the Tar Heels squad, head coach Roy Williams seems to have all the talent. Villanova will make a game of it, but look for North Carolina to come away with the win.

Prediction: UNC 82, Villanova 75