2024 Final Four Odds for the First March Madness Game: NC State vs Purdue

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The second-seeded Oklahoma Sooners will look to All-American shooting guard Buddy Hield to help them overcome a well-balanced Villanova Wildcats ball club that will be looking for revenge en route to what they hope is an appearance in the national championship. Thanks to this expert Final Four odds preview on Saturday’s intriguing match up between these title hopefuls, you’re going to be able to maximize your wager on this March Madness semifinal showdown. Okay, let’s get started.

How To Bet the Villanova vs. Oklahoma March Madness Final 4 Odds, TV & Game Info

What: Villanova Wildcats (33-5) at Oklahoma Sooners (29-7)
When: Saturday, April 02, 2016
Start Time: 6:09 PM ET
Where: Houston, Texas
Stadium: NRG Stadium
Spread: Villanova -2
Moneyline: Villanova -115
Game Total: 149.5
Watch: TBS

Why bet on the Oklahoma Sooners

The Sooners (29-7 SU, 14-20 ATS) won the West Region as a No. 2 seed by knocking taking out No. 15 Cal State Bakersfield 82-68 in the first round, No. 10 VCU 85-81 in the second round, No. 3 Texas A&M 77-63 in the Sweet 16 and No. 1 Oregon 80-68 in the Elite Eight.

Oklahoma’s Strengths

It all starts with All-American shooting guard Buddy Hield for Oklahoma. The athletic scorer is averaging a stellar 25.4 points per game this season, but he’s raised his level of play in the NCAA Tournament by putting up 29.5 points per contest, including two performances of at least 36 points. Oklahoma also has two other very solid backcourt performers in guards Jordan Woodward (13.0 ppg) and Isaiah Cousins (12.8 ppg) and a sweet-shooting forward in Ryan Spangler (10.3 ppg).

The Sooners ranked second in the nation in three-point shooting percentage (42.8%) and have played some really solid defense in limiting three of their four tourney opponents to 68 points or less.

Oklahoma’s Weaknesses

The Sooners are basically a jump shooting team that doesn’t have any consistent low post scoring threat or much athleticism in the frontcourt as a whole. No frontcourt player outside of Spangler averages double figures in scoring and no big man gets more than Spangler’s 9.2 boards per contest. The Sooners also lack depth with just two bench players averaging double digits in minutes played. Last but not least, the Sooners can often get careless with the basketball and that could also be a problem against Villanova’s heady backcourt players.

By The Numbers

The Sooners average 80.5 points per game (21st) while shooting 46.1 percent from the field (65th) and 72.3 percent from the free throw line (82nd). Defensively, the Sooners allow 70.4 points per game (136th), but limit the opposition to just 40.5 percent shooting from the field (41st).

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Why Bet on the Villanova Wildcats

The second-seeded Wildcats won the South Region by beating No. 15 UNC Asheville 86-56 in the first round, No. 7 Iowa 87-68 in the second round, No. 3 Miami 92-69 in the Sweet 16 and No. 1 Kansas 64-59 in the Elite Eight.

Villanova’s Strengths

Villanova (33-5 SU, 19-17 ATS) is a well-balanced ballclub that gets double-digit scoring from four players. Better yet, two of the Cat’s top four scorers are backcourt mates Josh Hart (15.3 ppg) and Ryan Arcidiacono (12.3 ppg) while the other two are frontcourt starters Kris Jenkins (13.5 ppg) and Daniel Ochefu (10.1 ppg). More importantly, Villanova has depth that can’t be matched by most teams as a whopping eight players average double digits in minutes played.

Villanova’s Weaknesses

The Wildcats don’t have many weaknesses at all if you ask me. Villanova could use more size up front, but at least in this contest, they’ll still have the best big man on the floor in Ochefu.

By The Numbers

The Wildcats average 77.5 points per game (65th) while draining an impressive 47.6 percent of their field goal attempts (31st) and a blistering 78.4 percent of their free throw attempts (78.4%). Villanova has been even better defensively, ranking 15th in the nation in points allowed (63.6 ppg) and 39th in defensive field goal percentage (40.5%).

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Are you ready for some Final Four basketball? The top-seeded North Carolina Tar Heels will look to take down upstart Syracuse en route to their first national championship appearance since winning it all back in 2009. Conversely, the Orange will look to pull of another upset as they try to take the next step toward winning their first national title since Carmelo Anthony led them to the 2003 national championship. More importantly, this look at both ball clubs will give you the expert March Madness betting insight you’ll need in order to make a wise wager on the Final Four showdown between the Tar Heels and Orange when they square off on Saturday, April 2.

How To Bet the Syracuse vs. North Carolina March Madness Final Four Odds, TV & Game Info

What: Syracuse Orange (23-13) at North Carolina Tar Heels (32-6)
When: Saturday, April 02, 2016
Start Time: 8:49 PM ET
Where: Houston, Texas
Stadium: NRG Stadium
Spread: North Carolina -10
Moneyline: North Carolina -625
Game Total: 149
Watch: TBS

North Carolina

The Tar Heels (32-6 SU, 19-18-1 ATS) are the only No. 1 seed to reach the Final Four this year. Carolina beat No. 16 Florida Gulf Coast 83-67 in the first round, No. 9 Providence 85-66 in the second round, No. 5 Indiana 101-86 in the Sweet 16 and No. 6 Notre Dame, 88-74 in the Elite Eight.

Through four games, North Carolina is averaging a stellar 89.2 points per game while limiting their opponents to an average of just 73.2 points per game.

North Carolina’s Strengths

North Carolina has a slew of athletic high school All-Americans that gives them quality depth that most teams just can’t match. While it all starts with All-American forward Brice Johnson (17.1 ppg), North Carolina also has two heady guards in Marcus Paige (12.3 ppg) and Joel Berry II (12.7 ppg) and a trio of freakishly athletic forwards in Isaiah Hicks (9.1 ppg), Justin Jackson (12.2 ppg) and Kennedy Meeks (9.2 ppg) that all provide consistent contributions.

With his ability to make shots facing up out to about 18-feet, Johnson has proven to be almost unstoppable on most nights and dominated Notre Dame in the second half of Carolina’s Elite Eight win on Sunday. The Heels up-tempo style and waves of players they can substitute without losing anything performance-wise, is Carolina’s greatest strength and one that most teams just can’t match.

North Carolina’s Weaknesses

North Carolina can often play ‘clueless’ basketball while showing their inexperience and youth, though I have to admit that the Heels haven’t played that kind of poor basketball in quite some time, seeing as how they’ve won nine straight heading in the Final Four.

By The Numbers

North Carolina ranked 10th in the nation in scoring this season (83.0 ppg) while also finishing 16th in field goal shooting (48.2 %) and 27th in free throw shooting (74.7 percent). Carolina has given up an average of 69.9 points per game (126th) while limiting their opponents to just 41.3 percent shooting from the field (66th).

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Why Bet on Syracuse

Tons of college basketball prognosticators were up in arms that Syracuse (23-13 SU, 20-15 ATS) got selected to participate in the National Championship tournament, but they’ve proven to be a lot more resilient that anyone could have ever imagined.

Syracuse won the Midwest region by beating No. 7 Dayton 70-51 in first round, No. 15 Middle Tennessee 75-50 in second round, No. 11 Gonzaga 63-60 in the Sweet 16 and No. 1 Virginia 68-62 in the Elite Eight. More importantly, the Orange have shown an innate ability to come back from second half deficits that looked virtually impossible to overcome.

Syracuse’s Strengths

Syracuse is one of the few teams that can virtually match North Carolina in length and athleticism. Syracuse has a pair of outstanding players in leading scorer Michael Gbinije (17.6 ppg) and Malachi Richardson (13.3 ppg) and a heady point guard in Trevor Cooney (12.7 ppg) that seemingly makes the right play every time the ball is in his capable hands.

The Orange also have a pair of 6-8 forwards in Tyler Roberson and Tyler Roberson and a 6-9 center in Dajuan Coleman that all provide consistent contributions both on the glass and in the low post.

yracuse’s greatest strength however is its stupendous defense. Syracuse plays a great brand of zone defense and can turn up the pressure whenever they want by extending their defense or simply switching to man-to-man. Syracuse has given up just 55.7 points per game in the tournament and could give the Heels trouble.

Syracuse’s Weaknesses

Jim Boeheim doesn’t have much depth as all five starters average at least 30 minutes per game and only Coleman and backup guard Coleman Howard average double digits in minutes off the bench.

Gbinije, Cooney and Richardson all average at least 36 minutes per game, so if any of them get in foul trouble, they’ll be at a decided disadvantage against the Tar Heels.

By The Numbers

Offensively, Syracuse averages a modest 70.1 points per game (253rd) and shoots just 42.6 percent from the field (249th) and 36.1 percent from beyond the arc (117th). Again, defense is what the Orange are all about. Syracuse ranked 25th in the nation in points allowed (64.6 ppg) while also ranking 47h in defensive field goal percentage (40.8%) and a stellar 18th in three-point field goal defense (30.8%).

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