Final Four Free Picks: Will It Be UConn or Kentucky to Play Monday?
Thursday, March 31, 2011
by BetUS.com
College basketball season is just about to come to a close, but before that happens, you need to make some Final Four Free Picks!
After previously looking at Butler vs. VCU, it’s time to take a look at the second semifinal, when the big boys, UConn and Kentucky, hit the court.
NCAA Tournament: National Semifinal
No. 4 Kentucky Wildcats vs. No. 3 UConn Huskies
Saturday, April 2: 8:49 p.m. CBS
Live from Reliant Stadium, Houston, TX
Final Four Betting Odds:
UConn: +2 ½
Kentucky: -2 ½
Total: 140
When it comes to this game, the best indicator of which team should be your Final Four Picks may come from a game in November on the sunny shores of Maui. UConn and Kentucky played the day before Thanksgiving, with the Huskies beating the Wildcats 84-67.
And it was in that game where UConn guard Kemba Walker made a national name for himself, putting up 29 points. Not much has changed since then, as Walker emerged as one of the stars of the college basketball season, putting up 23 points per game this year, including two 30+ point performances in this NCAA Tournament alone. Meanwhile freshman guard Jeremy Lamb has come a long way in a few short months, and is this team’s second scoring option, averaging 11 points per game. Incredibly, he has been one of the best three-point shooters in this tournament, shooting an absurd 73 percent in the Huskies run to Houston. Wow!
Of course just as UConn has evolved as a team this March, Kentucky Wildcats has done the same, winning 10 in a row dating back to the regular season. They haven’t stopped in the NCAA Tournament, where the Wildcats have beaten No. 1 overall seed Ohio State, and avenged a loss against from earlier in the season against UNC in the Elite Eight.
And like UConn Huskies, this is one of the most balanced scoring attacks in the tournament. The star of the show has clearly been freshman Brandon Knight, who averaged 17 points a game during the regular season, and who has hit two game-winning shots in this year’s game. Of course Knight hasn’t done it alone, with Josh Harrellson emerging this postseason, and scoring in double-figures in all four NCAA Tournament games. Finally, guard DeAndre Liggins is known mostly as a defensive stopper, but saw his offensive game explode with 12 points in that Elite Eight win over North Carolina.
In the end this game could go either way, and certainly won’t be a 17 point blowout like it was in Maui. But in UK-UConn Part II, we’ve got to once again give the Huskies the edge, and make them our Final Four Picks.
Simply put, there seems to be something special about this UConn team, a group which has overcome adversity all year, and just keeps winning basketball betting games. Most importantly, when everyone doubts them, they just keep coming through. First in Maui, then in the Big East Tournament, and now in the NCAA’s. Well entering this game as an underdog, the Huskies are again being doubted.
Look for a big game from Walker, but really, look for a big game Lamb and some of the other Huskies, who’ve emerged over the course of the season.
UConn will be playing for a National Championship Monday night. Make the Huskies your Final Four Free Picks!
BetUS Sportsbook Final Four Free Picks: UConn +2 ½
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basketball betting - brandon knight - deandre liggins - jeremy lamb - josh harrellson - kemba walker - kentucky wildcats - ncaa tournament - reliant stadium - uconn huskies