Final Four Betting Information

We are down to the nitty-gritty having to wait until Saturday afternoon to see who might be playing for the national championship. Though two of the teams that made the Final Four were expected, two others were mild surprises. Here is a breakdown of various elements to consider about all four participants that will be making their way to Detroit. Odds courtesy of Bookmaker.com.

North Carolina -180 to win title

Take a quick trip back to Jan. 11 when North Carolina stood at 0-2 in the ACC and make your determination how far this talented team has come. Tyler Hansbrough and Ty Lawson are the two most important players on the Tar Heels roster; however the contributions of Danny Green and Wayne Ellington should not be understated. Their has been and will be more talk about the North Carolina players like Hansbrough, Green and Ellington to a lesser degree wanting to comeback to win a national championship. Once they found out they were unlikely to be taken in the first round of last year’s draft, they made the decision to return to Chapel Hill with sights on winning title, not before that.

There are a number of reasons why North Carolina is better than even money to give Roy Williams his second title in four years. Though Villanova has a wonderfully diverse backcourt, nobody has a player like Lawson. Ellington and Green are better players when he’s on the court. The Tar Heels have three players that shoot over 40 percent beyond the arc and they have a vast assortment of frontcourt players that can score and rebound. North Carolina is not a possession by possession defensive team like Michigan State; nevertheless, they can make four stops in a row and score on the other end each time to make short runs that open up games. This group of players was expected to be here and now their mission is to finish the deal, they are 8-1 ATS in last nine NCAA contests.

Connecticut +275 to win title

Though the path to the Final Four has been come thru the West Region before for Connecticut, their next game will be played in front of what should be at least 30,000 Michigan State fans. With the Huskies, you know Hasheem Thabeet, Jeff Adrien and A.J. Price are going to be solid performers. What secured Connecticut’s ability to get to Motown was the continued emergence of Stanley Robison and the growing before our eyes play of freshman Kemba Walker.
Thabeet is the biggest game-changing big man in the Final Four since Houston's Hakeem Olajuwon and Georgetown's Patrick Ewing played in the 1984 event. While his presence has a dramatic impact on how opponents go into the lane, his ability to stay out of foul trouble is of equal importance. UConn is a smart team and doesn’t give away points at the free throw line, committing very few fouls in spite of excellent on-ball defense. Higher seeds like Connecticut with a differential of at least two spots in the Final Four are 8-3 SU and ATS.

Michigan State +655 to win title

This is the most unlikely team to be in Detroit, even though they are just 75 miles away. If Tom Izzo’s name wasn’t in the conversation about best coaches in college basketball, that stops today. His Michigan State team was better prepared and outplayed a better Louisville team. Though not many will mention this, Izzo DID out-coached Rick Pitino.

Statistically, the Spartans aren’t going to overwhelm any of the four teams at Ford Field, not being an impressive team offensively or defensively. What they do is stay in front of their man on defense, offer enough help on dribble penetration and get a hand in your face. It’s often talked about most teams don’t like to play defense for 35 seconds, the same often holds true for teams running offenses. With how Michigan State guards, players become trigger-happy after 25-30 seconds, especially after a few empty trips.

Point guard Kalin Lucas makes the offense go, but when Goran Suton and Durrell Summers are dropping shots, this team adds a completely different dimension. Michigan State will have a football-like advantage as far as crowd noise and must keep there composure from being to “geeked” to play. Though teams off upsets cover just 40 percent of the time in the Final Four, nobody has had a few of the edges the Spartans will.

Villanova +700 to win title

Jay Wright is the only coach among the four, who has not won a national championship. With a couple more upsets, he and Villanova could change all that. After a walk-thru first half against American, the Wildcats were as impressive as any team in the tournament in almost literally taking apart UCLA and Duke. After Pittsburgh had wallowed thru three games, they returned to being Pittsburgh and for the final 30 minutes of that Elite Eight contest, all both teams did was make one big play after another.

What’s memorable about Villanova is the strength and diversification they have at guard. Be it Scottie Reynolds, Reggie Redding or the Corey’s, Stokes and Fisher, each brings something and invariably two or more plays well. Every coach would love to have a Dante Cunningham, who worked hard each year to be what he is today and fellow seniors Dwayne Anderson and Shane Clark are making plays on both sides of the court.

Just like in 1985 when Villanova last made the Final Four, this squad is not given a chance and has the advantage of zero expectations, other than fulfilling their own. Though underdogs off two straight tournament upsets are 2-7 ATS in this round, these ‘Cats are a dangerous defensive dog.