NCAA Final Four predictions: Louisville to cut down the nets

Experts believe the tournament's No. 1 overall seed, Louisville, will be crowned national champions on Monday night.

By Jeff Briggs Apr 3, 2013, 9:43pm CDT

In an NCAA Tournament and basketball season filled with upsets, the experts believe that the No. 1 overall seed, Louisville, will win the National Championship and cut down the nets on Monday night.

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Beginning with Saturday's games, they experts all pick Louisville to end the Cinderella run of Wichita State. All four CBS Sports experts predict that Louisville will not only win, but also cover the 10.5-point spread. At OddsShark, they have things a bit closer, but like the Cardinals to advance with a 82-75 victory. Professional prognosticator Nate Silver of the New York Times blog FiveThirtyEight gives Louisville a 84.6 percent chance of advancing past the Shockers.

The experts are unanimous when it comes to the second semifinal as well, with all of them picking the Michigan Wolverines to beat the Syracuse Orange. All four CBS Sports experts agree and believe the Wolverines will cover their 2.5-point spread, but OddsShark projects a thriller, with Michigan coming out on top, 80-79. Silver also has this game a lot closer, giving the Wolverines a 51.9 percent advantage.

Overall, Silver likes the Cardinals, putting Louisville's chances to cut down the nets at 55 percent compared to 21.2 percent for Michigan, 19 percent for Syracuse, and 4.7 percent for Wichita State. OddsShark also believes it will be Louisville left standing in the end, citing the success of favorites in past Final Fours.