After all of the upsets that have taken place so far during this year's NCAA Tournament will bettors want to follow these Final Four trends?
Madness has been the best way to describe this year's NCAA Tournament. Upsets have been the order of the day. The Virginia Commonwealth Rams posted five of them all by themselves during their amazing run to the Final Four. [ Kemba Walker total points, 25.5 points tonight - see the latest line, visit Sportsbook ]
But just because the results have been out of whack so far doesn't mean bettors should abandon Final Four trends completely.
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There aren't a whole lot of trends for bettors to fall back on for this year's Final Four, but there are still some worth knowing. Totals bettors, for example, might want to know about how Final Four scoring has affected betting in recent years. In the last six tournaments the UNDER is 8-4 during the Final Four.
This year's Final Four teams are a combined 11-5-1 UNDER in the tournament so far, so the UNDER may be the smart bet in both games this weekend. [ Butler vs VCU matchup trends ]
Higher seeds have typically been the way to go for bettors during the tournament in the past, but that may not be the case this year with a No. 11 and an No. 8 seed still standing. In the last 20 Final Four matchups the higher seed has won nine times and lost seven times - equally-seeded teams met up in four of those 20 games.
The higher seed winning more often could throw a wrench into the Connecticut vs. Kentucky game for some bettors. UConn is the higher seed as a No. 3 to the Wildcats' No. 4, but Kentucky is favored in that game at -2 at Sportsbook. So if the higher seed wins in that game they would do it as the underdog.
Connecticut needs to break the curse that's hung over the Big East lately, too. The Big East is a lame 0-4 ATS in their last four Final Four games. That being said, UConn may be the ones to do it, as they are 14-4 ATS in their last 18 games as the underdog.
There are more than a couple appetizing trends in the VCU vs. Butler matchup. Not only have the Rams been awesome in the tournament, but they've been hard to beat on the road for awhile now with a 13-5 ATS record away from home in their last 18 games.
In their last 19 games in the month of March over the past two years the Rams are 15-4 ATS. We know Saturday's games are being played in April, but in this context March and April are basically the same thing – tournament time.
Butler, which is a 2.5-point favorite against VCU at Sportsbook, has won its last eight SU when favored. They've also won 12 in a row SU in the month of March, during which time they're 10-2 ATS.
Odds to Win National Championship at Sportsbook
Kentucky 7/5 (+140)
Connecticut 9/4 (+225)
Butler 13/4 (+325)
VCU 9/2 (+450)
Odds to win the 2011 NCAA Men's Basketball Championship Tournament MOP
Brandon Knight (Kentucky) 2/1
Kemba Walker (Connecticut) 2/1
Shelvin Mack (Butler) 13/2
Jamie Skeen (VCU) 10/1
Josh Harrellson (Kentucky) 10/1
Jeremy Lamb (Connecticut) 10/1
Terrence Jones (Kentucky) 10/1
Joey Rodriguez (VCU) 12/1
Matt Howard (Butler) 12/1
Brandon Rozzell (VCU) 18/1
Alex Oriakhi (Connecticut) 18/1
Bradford Burgess (VCU) 20/1
Deandre Liggins (Kentucky) 20/1
2011 NCAA Men’s Basketball Championship Game - Exact Matchup
Kentucky vs. Butler 19/10 (+190)
Kentucky vs. VCU 11/4 (+275)
Connecticut vs. Butler 11/4 (+275)
Connecticut vs. VCU 4/1 (+400)
2011 NCAA Men’s Basketball Championship Game - Championship Game Result
Kentucky over Butler 13/4 (+325)
Kentucky over VCU 17/4 (+425)
Connecticut over Butler 9/2 (+450)
Connecticut over VCU 6/1 (+600)
Butler over Kentucky 7/1 (+700)
Butler over Connecticut 15/2 (+750)
VCU over Kentucky 9/1 (+900)
VCU over Connecticut 10/1 (+1000)
Which will be the highest scoring team in the 2011 NCAA Men’s Basketball Final Four Round?
Kentucky 9/5 (+180)
Connecticut 12/5 (+240)
Butler 3/1 (+300)
VCU 4/1 (+400)
Which will be the lowest scoring team in the 2011 NCAA Men’s Basketball Final Four Round?
VCU 8/5 (+160)
Butler 13/5 (+260)
Connecticut 3/1 (+300)
Kentucky 4/1 (+400)
Will Either Final 4 Game or the Championship Game go to Overtime?
Yes +300
No -450
Will Both Final 4 Games get to a Double Digit Margin During the Contest?
Yes -150
No +110
Will Either Final 4 Game or the Championship Game Be Decided by a Buzzer Beater?
Yes 12/1
Who will score the most points in the Final Four Round?
Kemba Walker 4/5 (-125)
Brandon Knight 5/2 (+250)
Shelvin Mack 3/1 (+300)
Jamie Skeen 7/2 (+350)
Will Brad Stevens be the Coach for Butler for Game 1 of the 2011-2012 Regular Season?
Yes -300
No +200
Will Shaka Smart be the Coach for VCU for Game 1 of the 2011-2012 Regular Season?
Yes -600
No +400
Will Brandon Knight enter the 2011 NBA Draft?
Yes -1000
No +600
Will Terrence Jones enter the 2011 NBA Draft?
Yes -600
No +400
Point Spread at Sportsbook
Kentucky -2
Connecticut +2
Over/Under 140 Points
Brandon Knight - Total Points
Over/Under 18
Brandon Knight - Total Assists
Over/Under 4.5
Brandon Knight - Total 3 Point Shots Made Over/Under 2
Terrence Jones - Total Points
Over/Under 13.5
Terrence Jones - Total Rebounds
Over/Under 8
Josh Harrellson - Total Points
Over/Under 12.5
Josh Harrellson - Total Rebounds
Over/Under 9.5
Darius Miller - Total Points
Over/Under 10.5
Deandre Liggins - Total Points & Rebounds Over/Under 13
Kemba Walker - Total Points
Over/Under 25.5
Kemba Walker - Total Assists
Over/Under 5
Kemba Walker - Total Rebounds
Over/Under 5
Kemba Walker - Total 3 Point Shots Made
Over/Under 2
Alex Oriakhi - Total Points
Over/Under 9
Alex Oriakhi - Total Rebounds
Over/Under 8
Jeremy Lamb - Total Points
Over/Under 14.5
Point Spread at Sportsbook VCU +2.5
Butler -2.5
Over/Under 133.5 Points
Jamie Skeen - Total Points
Over/Under 16
Jamie Skeen - Total Rebounds
Over/Under 7.5
Joey Rodriguez - Total Points
Over/Under 10
Joey Rodriguez - Total Assists
Over/Under 5.5
Bradford Burgess - Total Points & Rebounds Over/Under 20.5
Brandon Rozzell - Total 3 Point Shots Made Over/Under 2
Shelvin Mack - Total Points
Over/Under 17.5
Shelvin Mack - Total 3 Point Shots Made
Over/Under 2.5
Matt Howard - Total Points
Over/Under 15.5
Matt Howard - Total Rebounds
Over/Under 7.5
