From hundreds of teams that started the season with a dream, now we’re down to the Final Four. March Madness has been awesome, as usual, and we’re pumped for the Final Four weekend before the National Championship game on Monday night.
Bovada’s Final Four odds and props are ready for you now, giving you the best seat in the house! Let’s take a look at the matchups and Final Four insights…
Alabama (#4) vs Connecticut (#1)
Oddsmakers are heavily favoring the Connecticut Huskies here, with a very high -750 to win and a spread of +12.
As returning champs, they would be the first team to repeat since Florida back in 2006-07. The Huskies have also made it to the Final Four seven times, winning five titles in the process.
Compare that to Alabama, a school that’s making its first-ever appearance in the Final Four!
Do the Crimson Tide (+500) even have a shot? For starters, it’s March Madness, so anything can (and often does) happen. The other Final Four matchup features a team that started the tournament as the 11th seed, which tells us that any team can get hot and do some serious damage.
The Tide also made the Sweet Sixteen in three out of the past four years, so they know what it’s like to be on the big stage.
For the regular season, Alabama had a modest 25-11 record. But they led all Division I Men’s Basketball in scoring, with 90.6 points per game. And they have Mark Sears. Sears averaged 21.5 points per game this year, and when he gets hot he can carry ‘Bama on his back.
Connecticut, meanwhile, has been a force all season long and was on many Final Four preview lists to repeat for the title before the opening tip last autumn.
They rolled through the regular season with a 35-3 record. Even scarier for Final Four opponents, their average margin of victory was 27.8 points in their games leading to this upcoming game versus Alabama. “Roll Tide” might have a new meaning after Saturday.
For a number 1 team, UConn surprisingly doesn’t have a superstar. They have big-time talent in players like Tristen Newton (First Team All-America) and Donovan Clingan. Their only weakness is their 3-point shooting, which was only 69th in the nation this season. If Alabama wants to score the upset in this game, they’ll need to push the Huskies away from the rim.
The Over/Under for the game is set at a high 160. If you think the Huskies will just use their top-10 defense to shut down Sears and company, the Under might be a tempting move here.
NC State (#11) vs Purdue (#1)
The lowest seed heading into the Final Four is the North Carolina State Wolfpack, this year’s March Madness Cinderella team. But Purdue’s Zach Edey is Frankenstein for opposing teams.
Ok, we’ll move away from fairy tales and get into the Final Four insights
NC State comes into the game with a 26-14 regular season record and an old-school Final Four pedigree: they won two titles, in 1974 (before March Madness was March Madness) and 1983.
Will the ghosts of those long ago titles help them? The people making the Final Four odds don’t seem to think so, with the Boilermakers heavily favored at -460.
The Wolfpack (+340) joins only a few other teams as the lowest seed ever to make it to a Final Four. If they want to have a chance against Purdue, DJ Burns Jr., who’s been the star of the tournament for NC State, will have to continue his red-hot shooting. He’s been close to 70% from the floor with an average of 18.3 points per game since the tournament started.
NC State’s defense could also rise up here, and that may be why oddsmakers expect this Final Four game to be a lower-scoring affair than the UConn-Alabama game, with the O/U at 146. The Wolfpack have kept their last six opponents to less than 40% shooting from the field too.
Purdue and their massive man in the middle Edey have been boiling hot all season.
They were 33-4 during the regular season, and Edey played a huge role all along. He was the first player since 1979 (Larry Bird) to score more than 900 points and grab more than 450 rebounds. He’s also coming a monster game in the Elite Eight, with 40 points and 16 boards in Purdue’s win over Tennessee.
The spread is currently at +9 in favor of Purdue. If you think Cinderella hits the wall well before midnight in this game, Purdue might be tempted to win by double digits.
FINAL FOUR PROPS
Bovada is the top of the props when it comes to Final Four betting. Hundreds of different prop bets are available – enough to tide bettors over from the final college basketball weekend until next fall.
Looking for an edge? Our Player Performance Props have tons of players and combinations. With Edey looking so dominant lately, his 16+ points and Purdue to win looks good at +147. Similarly, as soon as Edey passes the 31-point mark in scoring, his odds go into the plus range. If you like his dominance to continue, there might be some good value there.
If you like to go big or go home with your Final Four bets, there are several props to look at. Mark Sears, as we mentioned, has been a force this season. If you think ‘Bama leans heavily on him this game, he’s a tempting +2900 to go for at least 25 points, 6 assists and 7 rebounds. With one more assist, that jumps to a massive +4300.
Tune in Saturday for all the action with all of Bovada’s leading sportsbook options at your fingertips and get ready for the National Championship Game coming up on Monday too!