We’ve seen some shocking things transpire during this latest installment of March Madness, none more than the Kevin Ware injury, Florida Gulf Coast’s run to the Sweet 16, and Wichita State’s journey to the Final Four. Will midnight finally strike on the last Cinderella? With a Louisville juggernaut looming large and picking up steam by the minute, the answer appears to be “yes”.

(Odds provided by Sportsbook.ag).

NCAA Championship

Louisville (-150) – Ever since the last 16 minutes of the Big East Championship against Syracuse, the Cardinals have been by far the best team in the nation. They cruised through their first three NCAA Tournament games then humiliated Duke by 22 points after a second-half run that evoked memories of what they did to the Orange. Now, after what happened to Ware, Louisville is the sentimental favorite as well.

Michigan (+325) – Unless you’re clearly superior to every other team like Louisville is, you usually need a borderline miracle moment at some point along the way to an NCAA title. Michigan got it against Kansas, when Trey Burke nailed a 28-footer with five seconds left to complete a 10-point comeback in the last 2:18 and send the game into overtime. With a new lease on life, the Wolverines promptly delivered one of their two best performances of the season — a 20-point thrashing of Florida.

Syracuse (+400) –Ten years after his first and last triumph with Syracuse, Jim Boeheim is looking for a second National Championship. The Orange won’t get caught looking ahead to a possible rematch with Louisville, but it does bode well that Boeheim is 9-0 lifetime in games against Michigan head coach John Beilein (only one while Beilein has been at Michigan, in the fall of 2010). ‘Cuse has won seven of its last eight games overall; the only loss, of course, coming to Louisville.

Wichita State (+1200) – If you take a “what have you done for me lately” approach, taking the Shockers to cut the nets down in shocking fashion may not be a bad play. So far in the Big Dance they have eased past Pittsburgh and La Salle while upsetting Gonzaga and Ohio State. Wichita’s only setback in its last seven was thriller against Creighton in the Missouri Valley Championship. Still, losses to Evansville (twice), Northern Iowa, Indiana State, and an awful Southern Illinois team are hard to overlook.

NCAA Tournament MOP

Russ Smith (-125) – Smith’s NCAA Tournament stats should not come as a big surprise given that he is an expert at getting to the basket and arguably the best finisher in college basketball. He is averaging 26 points in four games while shooting 54 percent from the floor. In his last three outings he has been to the free-throw line 36 times, converting 30 of those attempts.

Peyton Siva (+300) –Siva did not do much during regional action until a 16-point performance against Duke. Still, he is the floor leader of the best team in the nation and he could take home MOP honors with two stellar showings in Atlanta.

Trey Burke (+300) – If Michigan ends up winning this thing, Burke will almost certainly be the reason. He has not shot the ball particularly well, but he scored 18 in a rout of VCU and 23 in the stunner against Kansas (while playing 44 minutes).

C.J. Fair (+800) – Fair is averaging 13.8 points and six rebounds during the NCAA Tournament. One of the most active defenders in Syracuse’s vaunted 2-3 zone, he has five blocks and five steals in his last two outings.

American League East

Toronto Blue Jays (+180) –Toronto has not looked so fierce on paper since the early 1990s. The Blue Jays purged the Marlins this offseason, which may seem like a bad thing given how bad Miami was in 2012. Still, there’s a lot more to these Jays than just ex-Fish.

Tampa Bay Rays (+240) –The Price wasn’t right in Tampa’s season opener against Baltimore on Tuesday, but it wasn’t as wrong as the bullpen. David Price allowed two runs in six innings before relievers opened the floodgates for the Orioles.

New York Yankees (+350) –Not often are the Bronx Bombers the third “favorite” to win the AL East going into a season…especially not when the two foes ahead of them are Toronto and Tampa Bay. Injuries are already a problem, which can be expected for a club that is old and getting older.

Boston Red Sox (+500)–One game does not a season make, but signs were encouraging for the Sox in an 8-2 rout of the Yankees. Jackie Bradley Jr. was a spark plug at the bottom of the order for an offense that pounded out 13 hits while Jon Lester fanned seven in five innings for the win.

Valero Texas Open

Rory McIlroy (+900) – Tiger Woods told McIlroy via text message to get his finger out of his ass and win Houston. Instead, McIlroy scrambled to make the cut right on the number and finished T-45. This is his last chance to gain some momentum heading into Augusta.

Charl Schwartzel (+900) – The 2011 Masters champion has two Top-4 finishes on the European Tour this season and a pair of Top-10s on the PGA Tour. Schwartzel is clearly in fine form as he visits San Antonio with preparation for a second green jacket on his mind.

Matt Kuchar (+1200) – Kuchar won the Match Play Championship, but aside from that he has been his usual solid, unspectacular self in 2013. He has made all seven of his cuts and has two Top-10s, but those came in his first two tournaments of the year back in January.

Fredrik Jacobson(+1500) – Jacobson finished runner-up at this event in 2010 and another strong showing can be expected. Wielding a lethal short stick, he has five Top-25s this season, including three Top-10s.

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