2024 NCAA Tournament National Championship Game Betting
The Connecticut Huskies are building a dynasty in college basketball history. They won last year’s National Championship Game as they routed San Diego State and the Huskies are favored to beat the Purdue Boilermakers in the 2024 NCAA Basketball Championship Game on Monday night. The Huskies already have won five national titles in the last quarter century and that is more than Duke, North Carolina, or any of the other blue bloods. UConn is one of just six programs with at least five national championships. The Huskies were the top overall seed in the 2024 Tournament before it started and the overall betting favorite. They have won their last 11 NCAA Tournament games and none of them have been close, as the Huskies have won those games by an average of 22 points per game. Connecticut is a 6.5-point favorite against Purdue in the 2024 NCAA Basketball Championship game on Monday, April 8.
Check the latest NCAA Basketball Betting Lines today!
2024 NCAA Tournament Championship Game
Date: Monday, April 8, 2024
Time: 9:00 PM ET
Location: State Farm Stadium, Glendale, Arizona
Purdue Boilermakers +6.5
Connecticut Huskies -6.5
Total: 146
Money Line: Purdue +234, Connecticut -285
The Huskies got a bit of a test from Alabama in the Final Four but then pulled away to win by double-digits. Alabama was able to score, but they were a flawed team, as they relied almost exclusively on 3-point shooting. San Diego State relied too much on defense, so they couldn’t score with UConn. The Huskies lost three times during the regular season and all three teams made a lot of shots. Creighton hit 55% of their shots in a win over the Huskies, Seton Hall hit 52% and Kansas was also above 50%. No other team shot above 50% and Connecticut won all 36 of those games. Purdue was able to hit at least 50% of their shots a total of 16 times this season. They will have to do so again on Monday if they are to have a chance for the upset.
Purdue has the most dominant player in college basketball in Zach Edey, but Connecticut has an excellent big man of their own in Donovan Clingan. Edey will likely find the going tougher on Monday than he has in previous games. Edey is the tallest player in college basketball at 7’4” but Clingan is 7’2” so it won’t be easy for Edey on Monday. Edey is very good about drawing fouls, as he has averaged 11.2 free-throw attempts in the NCAA Tournament. If Clingan gets into foul trouble the Huskies could be in trouble.
While Edey and Clingan will get the spotlight, other players will have an impact. Purdue needs Braden Smith, who was their second-leading scorer this season to heat up. He is averaging just 8.4 points per game in the tournament. Connecticut also needs their supporting cast to play well. Tristen Newton led the team in scoring in the regular season but he had just five points in the Elite Eight and 12 in the Final Four. Stephon Castle picked up the slack with 21 points in the win over Alabama.
NCAA Tournament National Championship Format
The Final Four is comprised of the remaining teams from the original 68-team field of the NCAA Tournament. After the First Four, the field is divided into four mini-brackets of 16 teams apiece, and the winner of each bracket goes on to reach the Final Four. The NCAA Selection Committee tries to reward the best teams with games closer to home, so that plays a part in the seeding. The brackets are broken up into the East Regional, the Midwest Regional, the South Regional, and the West Regional.
NCAA Championship Game Results (2000)
| YEAR |
CHAMPION |
RUNNER-UP |
SCORE |
| 2024 |
UConn (6) |
Purdue |
75-60 |
| 2023 |
UConn (5) |
San Diego State |
76-59 |
| 2022 |
Kansas (4) |
North Carolina |
72-69 |
| 2021 |
Baylor |
Gonzaga |
86-70 |
| 2019 |
Virginia |
Texas Tech |
85-77 |
| 2018 |
Villanova (3) |
Michigan |
79-62 |
| 2017 |
North Carolina (6) |
Gonzaga |
71-65 |
| 2016 |
Villanova (2) |
North Carolina |
77-74 |
| 2015 |
Duke (5) |
Wisconsin |
68-63 |
| 2014 |
UConn (4) |
Kentucky |
60-54 |
| 2013 |
Louisville (3) |
Michigan |
82-76 |
| 2012 |
Kentucky (8) |
Kansas |
67-59 |
| 2011 |
UConn (3) |
Butler |
53-41 |
| 2010 |
Duke (4) |
Butler |
61-59 |
| 2009 |
North Carolina (5) |
Michigan State |
89-72 |
| 2008 |
Kansas (3) |
Memphis |
75-68 |
| 2007 |
Florida (2) |
Ohio State |
84-75 |
| 2006 |
Florida |
UCLA |
73-57 |
| 2005 |
North Carolina (4) |
Illinois |
75-70 |
| 2004 |
UConn (2) |
Georgia Tech |
82-73 |
| 2003 |
Syracuse |
Kansas |
81-78 |
| 2002 |
Maryland |
Indiana |
64-52 |
| 2001 |
Duke (3) |
Arizona |
82-72 |
| 2000 |
Michigan State (2) |
Florida |
89-76 |
NCAA Championships
| SCHOOL |
TITLES |
YEARS |
| UCLA |
11 |
1964, 1965, 1967, 1968, 1969, 1970, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1995 |
| Kentucky |
8 |
1948, 1949, 1951, 1958, 1978, 1996, 1998, 2012 |
| UConn |
6 |
1999, 2004, 2011, 2014, 2023, 2024 |
| North Carolina |
6 |
1957, 1982, 1993, 2005, 2009, 2017 |
| Duke |
5 |
1991, 1992, 2001, 2010, 2015 |
| Indiana |
5 |
1940, 1953, 1976, 1981, 1987 |
| Kansas |
4 |
1952, 1988, 2008, 2022 |
| Villanova |
3 |
1985, 2016, 2018 |
| Cincinnati |
2 |
2006, 2007 |
| Michigan State |
2 |
1979, 2000 |
| Florida |
2 |
1980, 1986 |
| NC State |
2 |
1974, 1983 |
| Louisville |
2 |
1961, 1962 |
| San Francisco |
2 |
1955, 1956 |
| Oklahoma State |
2 |
1945, 1946 |
The impact of John Wooden looms large to this very day. The great UCLA coach won ten national championships from 1962 through 1975. Since then, UCLA has struggled to live up to those impossible standards. That has allowed blue bloods like Kentucky, North Carolina, Duke, and Kansas to close the gap a little bit. UCLA has won just one title since 1975.
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