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The NCAA Tournament is the single greatest betting event perennially. With the thrills, chills and heavy favorite spills, the Madness always delivers. What Final Four wager has the attention of The Gaming Juice’s Brad Evans?
No. 1 Houston (34-4) vs. No. 1 Duke (35-3)
Date: Saturday, April 5
Time: 8:49 p.m. ET
TV: CBS
The pick — SGP: Duke ML, Houston +12.5 (+110, Caesars)
According to a recent study referenced by the New York Times, researchers found 25% of people are “hangover resistant.”
Yes, those fortunate bastards truly exist.
If only this tequila enthusiast lived in that minority. A cash on the profitable Final Four play above is sure to lead to a celebratory pour or six.
For smooth libations to flow, Houston must dictate tempo. One of the slowest teams at No. 360 in adjusted tempo, Kelvin Sampson’s crew should apply the brake, limit transition opportunities and establish itself in the half court.
Ceaseless in their defensive efforts, the Cougars contest very shot, raising the degree of difficulty with each opponent's wrist flick. It’s why they rank No. 2 in adjusted defensive efficiency over their last 10 games having allowed a mere 0.856 points per possession. Suffocating.
It’s understandable why Duke is the market front-runner to cut down the nets with a national title (-110, BetMGM). Cooper Flagg is an all-world producer who’s slashed ridiculous numbers in almost every imaginable category. He’s a supreme multidimensional scorer, rebounder, facilitator and defender.
Speaking to the latter, Flagg has recorded seven blocks during this NCAA Tournament run. Back up the truck, NBA GMs.
As the Blue Devils have proven, they’re an elite team outside of their superstar. Khaman Maluach is arguably the best rim protector in the college game. Kon Knueppel and Sion James are wonderfully toolsy. And Tyrese Proctor is one of the finest 3-point archers in the nation.
Duke is also unbending defensively. It slots inside the top 30 in effective field goal percentage D over the last month, surrendering only 43.2% shooting on 2-pointers and 31.6% on 3s.
The Blue Devils have shown they are comfortable playing various styles. In what’s sure to be a bare-knuckle brawl, they likely will grind out a victory in a presumed nip-and-tuck affair.
Here’s to the inevitable morning headache, win or lose.
Get it done, Duke.
Season record: 33-35, -3.58 units