Arizona, Michigan co-favorites as bettors back UConn - ESPN

Arizona and Michigan will head into the Final Four deadlocked as the favorites to win the NCAA men's basketball tournament and at nearly a pick 'em for their head-to-head showdown, with Illinois and UConn battling it out as the underdogs.

The Wildcats and Wolverines are both +175 to take home the national championship, while Illinois (+400) and UConn (+550) trail right behind, according to DraftKings odds. Michigan had the second-best odds going into the tournament at +370 and Arizona had the third best at +380; the Fighting Illini and Huskies were outside the favorite tiers going in at 22-1 and 25-1, respectively.

All of those teams were chasing Duke, which came into the tournament favored to win it all at +360. The Blue Devils were upset on a thrilling last-second 3-pointer by UConn, which was 16-1 to win the game as its longest point. The comeback was so improbable that FanDuel Sportsbook actually posted lines for a Duke-Illinois Final Four game.

One bettor with Caesars Sportsbook in New Jersey sweated out a $300,000 pregame wager on UConn at +205 odds… a net of $615,000 after the Huskies completed the comeback.

UConn has been bet on the futures market both before and throughout the tournament, with BetMGM senior trader Michael Ranftle calling Dan Hurley's squad the sportsbook's only remaining liability. The book took a $25,000 wager earlier in the season at +900 odds, as well as a $50,000 wager on Arizona at +450 odds, which would each net $225,000 if successful. At FanDuel, the Huskies have attracted the most bets to win the national championship overall, as well as the most within the past 24 hours by tickets and handle.

BetMGM mentions that its best result would be Michigan winning the national championship,