March Madness Betting Preview: The Final Four
And then there were four! We are entering into the business end of March Madness now with just two more rounds left to decide who will be the NCAA’s champion of 2022, and the March Madness betting is really hotting up.
During the Elite Eight, most of the predicted favourites came out on top, making it the least surprising round of all. Now that the Final Four is here, nothing looks the way most fans had predicted before March Madness began, if it ever does.
With just a few days to go before the Final Four matches decide who we’ll be cheering on in the National Championship game, here at Bodog Sportsbook, we’ve laid down the March Madness odds for each of the remaining teams and put together our Final Four betting picks for your betting benefit.
Duke (+160)
Despite having won the tournament five times, the Duke Blue Devils had been perceived almost as outsiders coming into this year’s competition. That tag didn’t last for long, and their March Madness betting odds shortened from over +1000 to +350 as the tournament progressed. We’re now looking to the Blue Devils as the favourite going into the Final Four with odds of +160.
In each of their games so far, the Blue Devils have had a pretty easy ride. That included a 17-point victory over the Cal State Fullerton Titans, and an 85-76 win over the Michigan State Spartans, a game during which we witnessed Duke score, just in the second half, a snappy 46 points.
The narrowest margin of victory came when Duke took on the Texas Tech Red Raiders in the Sweet Sixteen, but a whopping second-half points haul of 49 saw them sail through to the Elite Eight 78-73.
In every game of the tournament so far, at least four Duke players have broken into double digits, giving fans – and themselves – the reassurance that they have enough talent to bear down upon their on-court opponents. It’s a trait that will serve them well physically and mentally in their Final Four game against North Carolina, a team which, on paper at least, should be fairly easy to subdue.
Kansas (+180)
The Kansas Jayhawks became the outright favourites in our March Madness betting odds after the Gonzaga Bulldogs were sent packing by the Arkansas Razorbacks in the Sweet Sixteen. They’ve since lost that crown to Duke, but odds of +180 show they are a very strong contender.
Their journey to the Final Four has been a smooth one. In the First Round, they demolished the Texas Southern Tigers 83-56.
Their Second-Round game against the Creighton Bluejays wasn’t quite as one-sided, but a strong second half helped Kansas stretch out a seven-point lead by the end. When it came to the Sweet Sixteen, things got even tighter, with the Providence Friars mounting a second-half resurgence to finish within five points of the Jayhawks.
In each of their games, Ochai Agbaji has looked strong, consistently achieving double-digit point hauls, but he’s also not out there on his own. David McCormack and Christian Braun have been up there with him in every game.
Kansas appear to be able to turn games around when they’re not going their way, an important trait in a competition like March Madness. This could serve them well against Villanova on Saturday.
Villanova (+450)
The Villanova Wildcats are another team that, until recently, didn’t have much standing in the March Madness betting odds. Right from the get-go, they grabbed everyone’s attention by beating the Delaware Fightin’ Blue Hens by 20 points, one of the widest margins of the entire tournament.
This dominance continued when the Wildcats came up against the Ohio State Buckeyes, with the team finishing 10 points in the clear. In the Sweet Sixteen, things weren’t quite as one-sided, though an eight-point margin of victory was still above average for this year’s NCAA tournament.
In the Elite Eight, Villanova took on the Houston Cougars. They went into the game as underdogs, albeit with fairly close odds, but emerged victorious. This slogfest actually resulted in one of the lowest-scoring games of the tournament so far, yielding a paltry 50-44.
In their first three games, Villanova had three of their players score more than 20 points apiece, with several others breaking into double digits. So while clearly they bring with them a strong roster, Houston proved to be their biggest challenge of the tournament so far, and perhaps did the Bluejays’ work for them by prodding at their edges.
All of which makes the Final Four game against Kansas much more of a challenge for the Wildcats, and that’s why the Blue Jays have been given March Madness odds of -200, quite a long way from Villanova’s +170.
North Carolina (+500)
North Carolina were the last team to make it into the Final Four with their 69-49 victory over the Saint Peter’s Peacocks, a team that had been punching well above its weight to get to the Elite Eight. The Tar Heels are also the last in our list of the four contenders, making them the long-shot option with March Madness betting odds at +500.
The team made an explosive start to the tournament by completely dominating the Marquette Golden Eagles 95-63 in the first round. Brady Manek and Caleb Love both netted more than 20 points each, while Armando Bacot and Puff Johnson also scored points in the double figures.
The next challenge seemed a foregone conclusion before it began: a game against the Baylor Bears would see North Carolina going home. But the Tar Heels had other ideas, and came out swinging. Brady Manek was in fine form again, and RJ Davis topped the score sheet with 30 points. Even after the Bears outscored NC in the second half, 51-38, the play was strong enough for the Tars to clinch a surprise victory with a 93-86 finish, sending one of the top-seeds packing.
The Sweet Sixteen was a bit tighter, but still a comfortable win for North Carolina. Bacot stood out with 20 points and 22 rebounds, notably dunking on a possession that followed an attempted windmill by Peacock’s Daryl Banks III; and Manek was still a superb asset with his 19-point effort, and once again, the Tars had the momentum to steamroll the Peacocks in the Elite Eight.
North Carolina will face Duke in the Final Four, with the Blue Devils the clear favourite at -200. But it’s no time for certainty! The Tar Heels have shown the world that that they don’t much care what the stats say, they do their own thing.
The Final Four games tip off this Saturday, promising some intense battles. This is no time to blink, so give us your best predictions and make your picks at Bodog for the best odds ahead of the round.
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