Final Four Betting Preview: Take Florida and Duke to Advance
All four No. 1 seeds will do battle in San Antonio on Saturday, April 5th, in the Final Four. Florida clashes with Auburn at 6:09 Eastern, while Houston will take on Duke in the nightcap at 8:49. All four of these squads have legitimate shots of winning a national championship.
Dive into our Final Four betting preview to see why we’re picking both Florida and Duke to advance to the title game. Best of luck with all of your action this weekend. Enjoy the games, folks!
1 Florida vs 1 Auburn
Top Pick: Florida Gators -150
Todd Golden and the Gators have won a handful of close games over the last month en route to playing in their biggest game as a program since they lost to the eventual champion UConn Huskies in 2014 in this exact spot. This Florida team is ready to leap into the championship game, though. Golden is a fantastic, modern coach whose offensive system has allowed the Gators to score the 3rd highest PPG in the country this season (85.4 PPG).
The SEC powerhouse beat Alabama twice and Auburn once, two of the top SEC teams this season. In that game against Auburn, we saw the playmaking Walter Clayton come alive, with nine dimes and 19 points on an efficient 6 of 11 from the field. Ultimately, the Gators have more firepower on the offensive end and the potential to get a second and third ‘banana’ outside of Clayton Jr. Thomas Haugh, Alex Condon, Will Richard, and Alijah Martin (who didn’t play in that Auburn game) are real threats on both ends of the floor.
As for Auburn, Broome will be the key factor in this game, but there is a real chance the Gators win this game because of their secondary stars, while Auburn struggles to find any scoring and playmaking outside of Broome and the budding superstar in freshman Tahaad Pettiford.
1 Houston vs 1 Duke
Top Pick: Duke Blue Devils -255
Duke and Jon Scheyer haven’t lost a game since February 8th. I had the pleasure, or the lack thereof, to watch Flagg and company in Syracuse on February 5th, where my Orange were so badly decimated in the first half that Flagg played just 22 minutes, and after 22 minutes of game-time, I was headed to the bar.
This team is the deepest squad left in the field. Kon Knueppel, Kaman Maluach, and Cooper Flagg are lottery selections, while the unsung heroes are two veteran guards. Tyrese Proctor has completely transformed his game into one of the best point guards in the nation and has been extremely consistent on both ends when Duke needs him the most. Same as Sion James, who plays with extreme energy on both ends of the floor.
Yes, Kelvin Sampson is bringing the best Houston team he’s coached into the Final 4. Unfortunately, he’s run into one of the best Duke teams… of all time. Duke will score 80 points, and I’m unsure if Houston can put up 80 points in San Antonio on Saturday night. Take the Blue Devils to advance to the championship game for the first time since the 2014-15 season.
Jaden Vann
Sports Betting Contributor
Jaden Vann is a Sport Management and Creative Writing student at Syracuse University. Originally from Los Angeles, he covers sports betting and daily fantasy sports with a focus on the NBA, College Basketball, NFL, and College Football.
