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2011 Final 4 Matchup Betting Preview – Free Picks

March Madness odds, Final 4 lines, Betus futures, game lines, and props, and March Madness lines for the 2011 March Madness tournaments plus Dave S. weighs in with some predictions for the 2011 NCAA basketball tourney round of the Final 4…

2011 NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament Betting Preview – The Final Four

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If Hollywood made a movie about this year’s NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament it would have a hard time selling it to the public as being non-fiction. The combined total of the four seeds that are left is 26, which is the highest in NCAA history. They will now face one another in the Final Four which will be held Saturday, April 2 at Reliant Stadium in Houston.

The winner’s of these two games will advance on to play in the National Championship Game on Monday, April 4. Here is a brief look at both matchups along with their current pointspread and total line as provided by Bookmaker.com.

Saturday, April 2 – 6:05 P.M. (ET)

VCU Rams vs. Butler Bulldogs (-2.5)
Over/Under 133.5

VCU defines the word ‘Cinderella’ with the most improbable runs of all in this year’s tournament. It made the expanded field of 68 as one of the last four teams in and had to get by USC just to have a spot in the Southwest Region bracket as a No.11 seed. The Rams rolled over No.6 seed Georgetown 74-56 as a 5 ½-point underdog and buried No.3 seed Purdue 94-76 as a 9 ½-point underdog in rounds two and three. They really opened some eyes with a 72-71 OT win over No.10 Florida State in the Sweet 16 and a shocking 71-61 upset of No.1 seed Kansas in the Elite Eight as an 11-point underdog.

The Rams have lived by the three-point shot in their run shooting 43.8 percent overall including going 46.2 percent against the Seminoles and 48 percent against the Jayhawks. Hero’s have been plentiful with Bradford Burgess torching Florida State for 26 points and Jamie Skeen dropping 26 against Kansas. The one constant has been the play of point guard Joey Rodriguez; dishing out an average of 7.6 assists a game.

Butler can hardly be considered a Cinderella after coming up just two points shy of winning last season’s national title in a loss to Duke. The Bulldogs lost some key components from that team, but the combination of Matt Howard, who is averaging 16.3 points and seven rebounds and Shelvin Mack, who is averaging 21.3 points, has been enough to get them to this point for the second year in a row.

As the No.8 seed in the Southeast Region, Butler squeaked out a two-point win over No.9 seed Old Dominion ( who actually beat VCU for the CAA tournament title) as a one-point underdog, but immediately served notice it was for real with a 71-70 victory over No.1 Pittsburgh in the third round as an eight point underdog. Tack on a 61-54 win over No.4 seed Wisconsin as a 4 ½-point underdog in the Sweet 16 and Saturday’s 74-71 OT win over No.2 seed Florida as a four-point underdog and you have a body of work worthy of a Final Four team.

This game has the makings of one of the best knock-down, dragged out fights in Final Four history as neither team will go out quietly. The Bulldogs use their experience on the big stage to advance, but take VCU and the 2 ½ points.

8:45 P.M. (ET)

Connecticut Huskies vs. Kentucky Wildcats (-2)
Over/Under 140.5

Many people thought that Connecticut’s five game run to the Big East Tournament championship would have worn this team down heading into the NCAA Tournament, but it actually had the exact opposite effect of energizing this team for a four game run to the Final Four. As the No.3 seed in the West Region, the Huskies got to this point with a 74-67 win over No.2 San Diego State in the Sweet 16 as a two-point underdog and a 65-63 victory over No.4 seed Arizona as a 3 ½-point favorite in the Elite Eight.

Much has been made of the play of Kemba Walker and for good reason, but Jeremy Lamb has also played a huge role in Connecticut’s success over the past two weeks. Walker has averaged 26.8 points and 6.8 assists in the last four games while Lamb has added an average of 18.3 points to pace this team.

Kentucky has been able to use a combination of youth and experience in its roster to make a run that many thought would not be possible until next season. The Wildcats came into the East Region as the No. 4 seed and almost made an early exit by barely getting by No.15 seed Princeton 59-57 as a 12 ½-point favorite in their first game. Kentucky started firing on all cylinders from that point on with a 71-63 win over No.5 seed West Virginia as a 3.5-point favorite followed by a shocking 62-60 victory over No.1 seed Ohio State in the Sweet 16 as a 5 ½ -point underdog. It earned a ticket to Houston by grinding out a 76-69 win over No.2 seed North Carolina as a 1 ½-point favorite in the Elite Eight.

Brandon Knight has provided the biggest spark for this team with a game-winning jumper against the Buckeyes and a team-high 22 points against the Tar Heels. DeAndre Liggens and Josh Harrelson have also come up big during this run. They combined for 33 points in the win over the Ohio State.

The Huskies beat Kentucky 84-67 win in late November as a 4 ½-point road underdog and while this game will be far closer, stick with Walker to shoot his way to the title game.

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By Dave Schwab

David Schwab is a regular contributor to the Cappers Picks Blog. While not cheering for his beloved Philadelphia Eagles David can be found working on his blog at www.eaglesinc.com. David wants to hear from you so please comment below.