Final Four odd top seeds have done pretty well throughout NCAA Tournament history In the last 17 years the team ranked #1 before the tournament started won the title 7 times. The team ranked #1 in the 2008 Final Four Odd rankings before the tournament began was North Carolina.
Final Four odd handicapping begins by looking at offense. It is sometimes mistakenly thought that defense wins in big games and in other sports that is true. It does not hold up as well in college hoops though. If a team can’t score their defense doesn’t really matter. Final Four betting odds will show that the top offensive teams are favored. The 2008 Final Four betting odds show that North Carolina is favored over Kansas and Memphis is favored over UCLA. If you are looking to pick a winner in Final Four odd handicapping, then you need a team that can score. It also helps if the team that can shoot free throws. That could be the Achilles heel of Memphis in Final Four betting odds as they are not a good free throw shooting team.
What about defense in Final Four odd handicapping? We said earlier that defense is not as important as offense when picking winners in Final Four odd lines but can it help? The answer is yes. Teams that play defense still win more than teams that don’t in Final Four odd history. Just because a team can score doesn’t mean they can’t play defense. If you look at Final Four odd history you will find that five of the last six winners of the title game have had very good field goal percentage defense.
UCLA and North Carolina are very solid defensively while Kansas and Memphis usually just outscore their opponents. It also helps if a team doesn’t turn the ball over as you look at Final Four odd lines. Final Four betting odds rarely have teams that turn the ball over doing well. If a team turns the ball over they usually don’t win in Final Four odd history.
These are just a few things to keep in mind as you look at Final Four odd lines this season.