Oddsmakers like the Tar Heels

The NCAA men's basketball tournament became a nationwide craze 20 years ago because the 64-team field included teams from nearly every spot in the country.

And because compelling upsets dotted the landscape during the first weekend.

Sad to say, that old tradition seems to be going the way of high-top sneakers.

Just one year after every No. 1 seed reached the Final Four for the first time ever, the tournament has had another such "first."

Last weekend, for the first time, the top three seeds in every region advanced.

No. 12 Arizona (reputed to have been the last team selected on March 15) is the lowest seed left. Other than that, it's No. 5 Purdue.

So who, among this constellation of superpowers, is going to win it?

The oddsmakers say North Carolina.

With point guard Ty Lawson back in the lineup, the Tar Heels are 2-1 to win the championship, according to Las Vegas Sports Consultants, which advises Nevada sports books on betting lines.

Xavier is the longest shot of the 16 remaining teams, with odds of 75-1.

Louisville is the second choice at 7-2, followed by Pittsburgh at 4-1 and Connecticut at 5-1.

Memphis and Duke are 8-1 to win the title on April 6 in Detroit, according to Las Vegas Sports Consultants.

Defending champion Kansas is 15-1 to win the title, as are Michigan State, Oklahoma and Villanova.

Missouri, Gonzaga and Purdue are at 25-1, followed by Arizona at 50-1 and Xavier.

Trophy winners. There are seven coaches left in the field who have won NCAA titles: Duke's Mike Krzyzewski has won three; UConn's Jim Calhoun and Syracuse's Jim Boeheim have won two; and Carolina's Roy Williams, Kansas' Bill Self, Michigan State's Tom Izzo and Louisville's Pitino have won one.

Pitino won at Kentucky in 1996 and could be the first coach ever to win Division I championships at different schools.