The “Big Dance” is finally here, and it’s time to dive into which teams could get hot and surprisingly make a Final Four run with the Round of 64 kicking off Thursday. Below, we look at 4 teams with decent value and their NCAA Tournament Final Four futures odds and make our expert college basketball picks, predictions and bets.
The last week of college basketball has been thrilling. With teams like Virginia Tech making runs to win its conference championship, fans have already been given a plethora of upsets.
However, nothing compares to that Cinderella story that may commence its run in just a few short days. Let’s dive into which teams have a chance to make their Final Four dreams a reality.
Final Four long-shot predictions
Odds provided by Tipico Sportsbook; access USA TODAY Sports Scores and Sports Betting Odds hub for a full list. Lines last updated Tuesday, March 15 at 10:53 a.m. ET.
Virginia Tech Hokies (+2000)
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The No. 24 nationally-ranked Hokies are one of the hottest teams in the nation, and sometimes, that’s all you need.
As fans saw against Duke, the Hokies have versatile big men mixed with elite sharpshooters. Their Kenpom ranking is 23. The only higher double-digit seed is San Francisco.
Tech may actually have to go through San Fran to reach the final four, but its region has the bubble No. 1 seed and then a No. 2 seed that’s reluctant to shoot threes.
VT has an adjusted offensive efficiency that ranks 18th in the nation per Kenpom. If they stay hot, watch out. The Hokies will play No. 6-seeded Texas Longhorns in the Round of 64.
Rankings courtesy of the Ferris Mowers Coaches Poll powered by USA TODAY Sports.
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North Carolina (+2000)
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North Carolina, like Tech, has defeated No. 2 Duke recently. UNC is the No. 8 seed in the same region — the East. The Tar Heels will have Marquette in the first round. UNC beat Duke and Virginia Tech late in the season.
One key for UNC is its size. Led by 6-foot-10 C Armando Bacot so it’ll be able to hang with teams like Kentucky in the paint and also a tandem of quick guards in Caleb Love and Leaky Black.
UNC is Kenpom’s 29th-best team with a top-65 offense and defense. It has the talent, size, and shooting to make a run.
South Dakota State (+10000)
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Sure, it was in the Summit, but SDSU won every single conference game (18-0) and then its conference tourney en route to a 30-4 record.
SDSU is a 13 seed and will take on No. 4-seeded Providence. Providence is favored by just 1.5 points which sounds absurd for a 4 vs. 13 seed.
SDSU comes in at No. 71 on the Kenpom rankings, and the impressive part about its game is that it sits No. 12 in adjusted offensive efficiency. The Jackrabbits are going to be able to score at a high rate.
F Douglas Wilson has averaged over 16 points per game for three straight seasons. He’s the real deal and has shot 57.4% from the floor for the season.
The road is difficult with Iowa, Providence, Kansas and Wisconsin or Auburn in the way, but the value here is impeccable for a team as dominant and experienced as SDSU.
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