Final Four Preview, Predictions, Odds

The Final Four Betting Preview

The field of 68 for this year’s NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament has been reduced to the Final Four as we are just three games away from crowning a new national champion. This upcoming Saturday from Reliant Field in Houston, VCU will try and continue its magical run when they take on another surprising entry, Butler in one semifinal and two prominent basketball programs; Kentucky and Connecticut will square-off in the other.

Here is a brief look at both matchups along with their current pointspread and total line as provided by Sportsbook.com.

Saturday, April 2 – 6:05 P.M. (ET) on CBS

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VCU Rams vs. Butler Bulldogs (-2.5) Over/Under 133.5

VCU’s improbable five-game run through this tournament started with a first round play-in game against USC just to earn a spot in the Southwest Region bracket as the No.11 seed. From there, the Rams proved they belonged with a 74-56 rout of No.6 seed Georgetown as a 5 ½-point underdog followed by a 94-76 rout of No.3 seed Purdue as a 9 ½-point underdog in their next two games. They opened some more eyes with a 72-71 OT win over No.10 Florida State in the Sweet 16 as a 4 ½-point underdog and became the stuff of legends with a 71-61 upset of No.1 seed Kansas in the Elite Eight as an 11-point underdog.

One of the main reasons that VCU has been able pull-off upset after upset is its proficiency from beyond the arc. It has shot 43.8 percent from three-point range in the last five games after shooting just 37 percent in the regular season. Bradford Burgess went 6-for-7 against Florida State and Jamie Skeen knocked-in four key three-pointers against Kansas. Point guard Joey Rodriguez has done an outstanding job directing the offense with an average of 7.6 assists a game.

The Final Four is familiar territory for No.8 seed Butler after reaching the title game last year. The Bulldogs started this year’s tournament with a narrow 60-58 win over Old Dominion as a one-point underdog in the second round. From there they stepped things up in a big way with a 71-70 victory over No.1 Pittsburgh in the third round as an eight point underdog, followed by a 61-54 win over No.4 seed Wisconsin as a 4 ½-point underdog in the Sweet 16. Butler put itself in position for another title shot with a 74-71 OT win over No.2 seed Florida as a four-point underdog in the Southeast Region final.

Matt Howard and Shelvin Mack are the two main holdovers from last year’s team and have been the guiding force through this year’s run. Howard is averaging 16.3 points and seven rebounds a game, while Mack is averaging 21.3 points. He put up 30 points in the win against Pitt and 27 against Florida.

Take the Bulldogs to grind out the win, but stick with VCU and the 2 ½ points as neither team will go down without a fight; one that should last all the way to the final buzzer.

Saturday, April 2 – 8:45 P.M. (ET) on CBS

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Connecticut Huskies vs. Kentucky Wildcats (-2) Over/Under 140.5

Connecticut started the postseason with a five game run to the Big East Tournament Championship and just kept going from there. The Huskies came into this tournament as the No.3 seed in the West Region and started things off with victories over Bucknell and Cincinnati. They knocked-off No.2 seed San Diego State 74-67 in the Sweet 16 as a two-point underdog and outlasted No.4 seed Arizona 65-63 as a 3 ½-point favorite in the Elite Eight.

Kemba Walker has been the key figure in Connecticut’s nine-game winning streak. He is averaging 26.8 points a game in this tournament, including a game-high 36 points in the win over the Aztecs and a team-high 20 points against the Wildcats. Freshman guard/forward Jeremy Lamb has also been a key contributor with 24 points against San Diego State and 19 against Arizona.

Many people thought Kentucky would not be able to make a deep run in the NCAA Tournament until next season given how young this team is. The Wildcats came close to making an early exit with a 59-57 squeaker over No.15 seed Princeton as a 12 ½-point favorite, but got into gear with a 71-63 win over No.5 seed West Virginia as a 3 ½-point favorite. The biggest win of all was a 62-60 shocker over No.1 seed Ohio State in the Sweet 16 as a 5 ½ -point underdog. Kentucky then scraped and scratched its way to the Final Four with a 76-69 win over No.2 seed North Carolina as a 1 ½-point favorite in the East Region final.

Brandon Knight, one of three freshman starters, has already played beyond his years in this tournament. He hit a 15-foot jumper against the Buckeyes to seal that win and scored a team-high 22 points in the win against the Tar Heels. DeAndre Liggens and Josh Harrelson have also come up big during this run, including putting up a combined 33 points in the win over the Ohio State.

These two teams played each other in late November and the Huskies cruised to an 84-67 win as a 4 ½-point road underdog. This time, things will not be nearly as easy, but keep riding Walker’s hot hand as Connecticut finds a way to squeeze out a win.

Check out the latest March Madness Final Four Odds here.

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