Monday, March 31, 1997 | 11:59 a.m.
It's rare that I give away a sure winner in print, but even the stingiest bettor can take solace in this bit of premonition -- the Wildcats will win the NCAA Tournament tonight.
OK, so it's the easy way out, in that Kentucky and Arizona share the same nickname. Rick Pitino's Wildcats, however, are favored to repeat as national champions.
Kentucky opened a seven-point favorite in most books and as high as eight points in a few. Within the first 24 hours, strong Arizona money has stabilized the spread at 6 1/2 points.
The total points wager has fallen gradually to 159 from an opening number of 161. On the money line, Kentucky is a --280 favorite at the Stardust, with Arizona a +240.
"I think we'll get some Kentucky money late," said D. Wayne Mauldin, sports book supervisor at the Stardust. "Arizona has been popular early. Look at the teams they have beaten, and you can see why bettors are confident with Arizona. It should be a fast-paced game, and the team that can stay out of foul trouble will probably be the champs."
The Stardust also is offering several title game propositions, including odds of different margins of victory, and individual scoring propositions on Arizona's Mike Bibby and Miles Simon and Kentucky's Anthony Epps.
Local oddsmaker Jackie Dell, who has been setting lines for sports events since 1952 and has written for 16 publications, also favors Kentucky but by a lesser margin.
"I like Kentucky by four," Dell said. "Kentucky's tournament experience and tenacious pressing defense and their quality coach in Pitino will make Kentucky prevail.
"The young Arizona team will be baffled by a swarming defense, despite the fact that Arizona has played the role of a giant killer," Dell said, referring to upsets over top seeds Kansas and North Carolina. "(Ron) Mercer and Epps are just too much."
Masters line
Bettors are already laying down the green on who they think will win the green jacket.
Greg Norman, still suffering from rope burns around his neck caused by last year's final-round choke, is one of three co-favorites to win the The Masters golf championship April 10-13 at Augusta National Golf Club.
The Shark opened 8-1 and has been bet down to 7-1, joining phenomenal Tiger Woods and Tom Lehman as the bettors' top choices. Phil Mickelson, who opened 16-1 on the Imperial Palace board, is 8-1 and perennial Masters threat Nick Faldo is 9-1.
Fred Couples and Nick Price are 10-1 propositions and Ernie Els and Mark O'Meara are at 15-1. For you nostalgists, Jack Nicklaus is 100-1.
The Imperial Palace also has some intriguing head-to-head propositions, including: Lehman (--130) vs. Woods (+110); Price (--130) vs. Els (+110); Faldo vs. Norman (each --110); and Mickelson (--115) vs. Couples (--105).
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