Final Four Odds: Duke vs. Houston Betting Prediction on the Road to the Championship

While the first Final Four game on Saturday from San Antonio is a very good matchup between No. 1 seeds in Florida and Auburn, it doesn’t have the national appeal of the second game. Bet Duke vs. Houston, with the Blue Devils favored on the NCAAB odds, even though the game isn’t far from the UH campus.

On the look ahead lines for Monday’s national title game, Duke is -4.5 vs. Florida and -5.5 vs. Auburn. Houston is -1 against the Tigers but +1.5 vs. the Gators.

How to Bet Duke vs. Houston Final Four: MyBookie March Madness & TV Info

Madness Lines subject to change: Houston +192 / Duke -265
When: Saturday, 8:49 PM ET
Where: Alamodome, San Antonio
TV: CBS
Stream: Paramount+

In the 2024 NCAA Tournament’s Sweet 16, No. 4 Duke upset No. 1 Houston 54-51, but lacked superstar freshman Cooper Flagg. Kyle Filipowski led with 16 points and nine rebounds, while Jeremy Roach scored all 14 points in the second half. Both players have since moved on.

Houston played the final 26 minutes of the game without All-America point guard Jamal Shead after he turned his right ankle. Shead is now in the NBA. L.J. Cryer scored 15 points for Houston, and J’Wan Roberts had 13. They are both still there.

Saturday’s showdown will feature the most efficient offense in the KenPom era (since 1996-97) belonging to Duke against the nation’s best defense in Houston.

But this is one of the best defensive teams ever at Duke. The Blue Devils can switch everything and are able to run good shooters off the 3-point line, with big man Khaman Maluach in the paint to protect the rim.

Duke does not give opposing teams space to get comfortable in the post.

Cougars Haven’t Lost In 2 Months

Houston (34-4) achieved its 17th consecutive victory in the Elite Eight, overpowering No. 2 seed Tennessee 69-50 with a stellar defensive performance.

The Cougars restricted the Vols to just 15 points in the first half, marking the lowest for an Elite Eight game since 1979, while Tennessee’s leading scorers struggled significantly.

LJ Cryer

Guard Cryer contributed 17 points for Houston, with Emanuel Sharp scoring 14 of his 16 points post-halftime, earning the region’s Most Outstanding Player honor. Coach Kelvin Sampson’s team aims for the program’s first national title after past Sweet 16 eliminations.

Joseph Tugler

Sophomore forward Tugler leads the UH defense, earning Big 12 Defensive Player of the Year and the Lefty Driesell Award. He averages 2.8 blocked shots (third in Big 12, 28th nationally) and 5.9 rebounds per game, with one block in nearly every game and multiple blocks in 18 games.

Houston’s victory against Tennessee was their 23rd instance in two seasons of allowing 50 points or fewer, surpassing other Division I teams. This was also Houston’s 11th game this season with such defensive performance.

Blue Devils Have 1 Loss Since November

Duke (35-3) secured its 15th consecutive win in the Elite Eight, defeating No. 2 seed Alabama 85-65. Leading 65-58, the Blue Devils launched a dominant 13-point run, extending their lead to 20 points. This marked Duke’s 39th scoring run of 10 or more unanswered points this season.

Duke’s defense restricted Alabama to 65 points, 26.4 below their average, allowing only a .354 shooting percentage. Duke shot .536, marking their fourth straight game with over 50-percent shooting efficiency.

Kon Knueppel

Knueppel led the team with 21 points and added five assists. Khaman Maluach and Cooper Flagg paced Duke on the glass with nine rebounds each. Tyrese Proctor scored 17 points on 7-of-10 (.700) from the field.

The junior also grabbed five rebounds, his eighth game this season with at least five boards. Maluach rounded out Duke’s double-digit scoring, with 14, on 6-of-7 (.857) from the field. Five of his six made shots came via slam dunks, and also led the team in blocks with two.

Cooper Flagg

Flagg was named East Region Most Outstanding Player and was joined on the All-Region team by his freshman classmates Knueppel and Maluach. The Blue Devils have won 31 of their last 32 games since late November, including the nation’s second-longest current win streak nationally.

Jon Scheyer’s 89 victories have tied Brad Underwood and Brad Stevens for the most wins in the first three seasons as a Division I men’s basketball head coach.

March Madness Final Four: Duke vs. Houston Expert Prediction

Houston reaches its seventh Final Four, joining UConn and Duke as one of three schools with multiple appearances in the last five seasons. Duke, in its 18th Final Four, holds a tournament-best .754 winning percentage.

Houston boasts the top scoring defense in the nation, restricting March Madness opponents to 10 points below their average. This year’s team may be Coach Kelvin Sampson’s finest, excelling in deep shooting. The Cougars lead the nation, hitting nearly 40% of 3-pointers, averaging nine made 3s per game.

But Duke already has had success against a good 3-point shooting team in this tournament. Against an Alabama squad that made 25 3-pointers in the Sweet 16, the Blue Devils forced the Crimson Tide into awkward, off-balance shots in an Elite Eight win.

Houston enjoys one of the nation’s leading 3-point and free-throw shooting backcourts. Cryer (3.0, 42.4%) and Sharp (2.3, 41.6%) are among the Big 12 leaders in 3-point field goals per game and 3-point field goal percentage. In addition, both Cougars also shoot over 87.0 percent from the free throw line.

UH is great at attacking the glass for offensive rebounds, averaging 11 boards per game, 37th in the country. Through the first four games of the tournament, the Cougars have 42 offensive rebounds, resulting in 74 second-chance points. Houston 66, Duke 65.

FINAL FOUR ODDS

Florida (-2.5) vs Auburn
Houston vs Duke (-5)

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