Your bracket is busted, and the winner of your pool might already be determined. You’re not a fan of Syracuse, North Carolina, Villanova or Oklahoma. So what’s driving you to tonight’s Final Four games other than a little betting action?
We’ve compiled betting information for each of tonight’s NCAA Tournament games, with Villanova and Oklahoma tipping first, shortly after 6 p.m. ET on TBS. UNC and Syracuse will follow in the second game, and the winners will meet Monday night for the national title.
MORE: College basketball live odds | UNC-Cuse | Nova-Oklahoma
Here’s some betting information that will help you make your selections on Saturday night’s Final Four games.
NRG Stadium is a shooter’s nightmare, so games have gone UNDER
There have been 13 basketball games played at NRG Stadium since 2008, and the UNDER is 8-4-1, including a run of six straight. Both totals in Saturday’s Final Four games have been bet down — about five points in the Villanova-Oklahoma game.
The reason is 3-pointers — teams shoot significantly worse than their season averages in the Houston Texans’ home, though it’s a small sample size. It’s possible there is some randomness to this, but at least a few teams have acknowledged it’s different shooting in this domed football stadium.
Oklahoma vs. Villanova (-2.5, 144) preview and pick
6:05 p.m. ET, TBS
Villanova has been, in some eyes, the most impressive team in this tournament. The Wildcats rolled through the first weekend, stomped Miami in the Sweet 16 despite an excellent shooting performance from the Hurricanes and outlasted Kansas in a slugfest in the Elite Eight.
Oklahoma has looked strong as well, other than a close call in the second round against VCU. The Sooners also have the best player remaining in this tournament and the Sporting News National Player of the Year, Buddy Hield.
Syracuse vs. North Carolina (-9.5, 144.5) preview and pick
8:45 p.m. ET, TBS
Some thought Syracuse shouldn’t have even made the tournament, but the Orange have proved critics wrong. Sure, avoiding Michigan State in the second round helped, but Cuse still knocked off a surging Gonzaga and No. 1 seed Virginia.
North Carolina, though, looks great. The Heels haven’t been a favorite of under five points in the NCAA Tournament so far, and covered as 9.5-point favorites against conference foe Notre Dame in the Elite Eight after demolishing Indiana as 6-point favorites in the Sweet 16. They’re 3-1 ATS in the tournament, while Syracuse is 4-0 ATS.
UNC beat Syracuse twice during the regular season — 84-73 as 7.5-point road favorites on Jan. 9 and 75-70 as 13-point home favorites on Feb. 29. So the teams split against the spread and on the total, with the second game just going under 146.5.
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