Final Four 2019 Odds for Michigan St. vs. Texas Tech, UVA vs. Auburn Revealed
March 31, 2019
The Final Four of the NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament is set after No. 2 seed Michigan State upset No. 1 Duke on Sunday.
MSU will play No. 3 Texas Tech, and No. 1 Virginia will face off against No. 5 Auburn. Both games will take place Saturday at U.S. Bank Stadium in Minneapolis, with the championship set for Monday.
The odds for the national semifinal round have also been released, per B/R Betting. The Spartans are 2.5-point favorites over the Red Raiders, and UVA is listed as a 5.5-point favorite over the Tigers.
Westgate Superbook Vice President of Risk Management Jeff Sherman also posted the championship odds and over/unders:
FiveThirtyEight gives UVA a 41 percent chance to win its first national title, which is tops among the Final Four teams. MSU is next at 28 percent, and Texas Tech and Auburn reside at 22 and 10 percent, respectively.
UVA vs. Auburn offers the most interesting matchup of the two games. The Cavaliers are fifth in defensive efficiency, per KenPom.com, and tied for first in three-point defense in Division I.
Meanwhile, Auburn lives and dies with the three, making 11.4 per game. That's good enough for third in D-I.
UVA didn't have much success defending the three against Purdue in the Elite Eight, however, as Boilermakers guard Carsen Edwards made 10 shots from beyond the arc en route to a 42-point performance.
Still, the Cavaliers' Pack Line defense could pose a serious problem for Auburn, especially if it can't get hot from deep.
Michigan State and Texas Tech looks like a closely contested matchup on paper, especially given the close spread.
The Red Raiders are No. 1 in defensive efficiency, and the Spartans rank eighth. Texas Tech is 30th in offensive efficiency but has a potential top-five NBA draft prospect in Jarrett Culver, who averages 18.9 points per game on 47.6 percent shooting.
MSU is fifth in offensive efficiency and sports a balanced scoring attack where five players average at least 9.8 points per game. Cassius Winston leads the way with 18.8 points and 47.0 percent field-goal shooting.
UVA and Auburn will kick off Saturday's festivities at 6:10 p.m. ET. The MSU vs. Texas Tech game will follow 30 minutes after the first game's conclusion.