In Final Four betting, two contradictory statements are almost always true for any team with the privilege of making it there: (a) You can’t make it to the Final Four odds on the strength of one player and (b) You still need a reliable, go-to guy to help lead you to a national championship. In other words, you need depth but a special player can often help put you over the top or pick your team up when it’s down. Let’s look at the key contributors for the Tar Heels and Wildcats entering the North Carolina vs Villanova line.

North Carolina

For all the talk of guard Ty Lawson’s toe injury entering March Madness betting, he sure has silenced the critics at the sportsbook. In fact, he’s probably been UNC’s best and most consistent player this postseason. In 100 minutes of play, he has an amazingly low two turnovers compared to 20 assists. He’s also 20 for 35 from the field and is averaging over 20 points per game. He has been the rock Tar Heels fans hoped he’d be. TylerHansbrough has been a strong contributor too, but his eight points in UNC’s online betting triumph over Oklahoma shows he’s been inconsistent.

Villanova

Senior forward Dante Cunningham has been a consistent force for Villanova leading up to the Final Four odds. He has been a presence in the paint, eclipsing 10 boards against UCLA and Duke. He’s scored 14 or more points in every tournament game this season and has a pair of double-doubles. He has, however, gotten into foul trouble, with three or more fouls in three straight games. He’ll have to stay on the court if Villanova wants to pull off the sportsbook upset.