The six days between the conclusion of the Elite Eight and the start of the Final Four generally feels like an eternity, and this year is no exception. That said, it gives bettors all the time in the world to make up their mind about who to back in the two biggest games of the college hoops season, and live movement is often interesting to watch.
Villanova Wildcats vs. Oklahoma Sooners
The Wildcats were always the favorites in the first of the Final Four matchups, and the number really only has risen from there. Jay Wright's squad opened up at -1 last Saturday and has since moved to a flat -2.
It's not a tremendous move, but it is a testament to just how well this team has already played in the tournament. The Wildcats have a history of failing this time of year, but the fact that they broke through against Miami in a big time way in the Sweet 16 and followed that up by taking down Kansas is proof enough for bettors that one of the most upperclassmen-laden teams in the land amongst the serious contenders really deserves to be favored against an Oklahoma team which was the No. 1 team in the country for quite a while this year.
The other interesting trend to follow is this total. These Final Four games often start out a little slow as the two teams feel each other out, and you can almost see bettors recognizing that in the drop of this total.
Thanks to the presence of Buddy Hield, no under is ever safe, because he can go on a ridiculous run pretty much all by himself. Still, the total took a slight swing upwards after opening at 149.5 as high as 151 at some books. Now though, with three days to go until the games actually tip, the number has dropped as low as 145 at some sportsbooks.
We do expect to see some rebounding to that number as time goes by, though seeing the total settle in around 146 or so feels about right.
Syracuse Orange vs. North Carolina Tar Heels
We hate NCAA Tournament games which are rematches from the regular season, and we hate it even more when they're actually rematches from two regular season games. In this case, Syracuse was +7.5 against UNC at home in the regular season and +13 on the road, so it does feel about right to think that it's +9.5 in this game on a neutral court.
Most of the books who put up odds on Saturday night as soon as North Carolina dismissed Notre Dame from the Elite Eight hung the Heels at -9, but those who were late to the party already saw that number rise a bit to -9.5. Clearly, this is where this number is going to finish without some late action, as it's stayed hovering between -9 and -9.5 for the whole week.
Just as we've seen the total dip in the first semifinal, it's dropped in this one as well. The total opened originally at 147 and has since come down to 145.5. The falling total isn't nearly as drastic in this game as it is for Villanova and Oklahoma, and it's a sign that bettors think this one is going to end up close to the 145 total points the two teams played to in February in Chapel Hill.
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Don’t miss out on getting paid because you couldn’t bet. Click here and deposit at BookMaker now! The Final Four games will tip on Saturday, April 2, 2016 at 6:09 p.m. ET and 8:49 p.m. ET at NRG Stadium. The games will be televised live on TBS.
