The year’s NCAA Tournament action is headed towards a thrilling semifinal round in this weekend’s Final Four matchups. Already we’ve seen our fair share of surprises as most of the big name programs have been eliminated. In their place have come up a couple of 1st timers including the Auburn Tigers and Texas Tech Red Raiders. Naturally, online sportsbook players will want to know which team to take in this weekend’s matchups. With that in mind, let’s take a look at this Saturday’s contest as well as what the best picks to make are.
Auburn Tigers vs. Virginia Cavaliers – Saturday, April 6th
Start Time: 7:09 pm ET
Venue: US Bank Stadium, Minneapolis, Minnesota
TV Broadcast: CBS
Online Stream: CBS Sports
| Team | Spread | Total | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Auburn | +5½ (-110) | 131 (-110) |  |
| Virginia | -5½ (-110) | 131 (-110) | |
| |||
A historic run to the #FinalFour
✅ Kansas
✅ North Carolina
✅ Kentucky#WarEagle x #UnfinishedBusiness pic.twitter.com/NSUZqgNNyk— Auburn Basketball (@AuburnMBB) April 3, 2019
As aforementioned, the Tigers are making their first ever Final Four appearance. Similarly, the Cavs are making their first appearance since the 1983-84 season. Given that narrative, both sides will be looking to make the most out of this Saturday’s semifinal round. So which side has the edge in this matchup? All in all, it’s pretty clear that the Tigers come in with the better offense. This is because they’re scoring 79.6 points per game while the Cavaliers are chipping in 71.3 ppg. However, things on the defensive side are much different and much more lopsided.
Virginia, without a doubt, wields one of the best defenses in the nation. At the present time the Cavs are giving up less points than any other program in the nation. With an average of 55.4 points allotted to their opponents, no team in the country can compete with that figure. Comparatively the Tigers are giving up a total of 69.3 points to their opponent per game.
All things considered, this matchup should more than live up to the hype. This is because both sides bring a ton of momentum into this matchup. Auburn is undefeated since February 27th while the Cavaliers have only conceded one loss in their last 14 games. So which side has the overall advantage here? Clearly the odds think that the Cavs wield a sizable advantage. And at the end of the day, it’s difficult to not side with the team with the better defense.
Exciting Final Four Pick: 81-79 Virginia.
Texas Tech Red Raiders vs. Michigan State Spartans – Sat., April 6th
Start Time: 8:49 pm ET
Venue: US Bank Stadium, Minneapolis, Minnesota
TV Broadcast: CBS
Online Stream: CBS Sports
| Team | Spread | Total | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Texas Tech | +2½ (-110) | 132½ (-110) | |
| Michigan State | -2½ (-110) | 132½ (-110) | |
| |||
Wheels down.
Work to do.#4To1 | #FinalFour
?#WreckEm⚫️ pic.twitter.com/vCZ3IabyBO
— Texas Tech Basketball (@TexasTechMBB) April 3, 2019
Like the Tigers, the Red Raiders are thrilled to make their program’s debut in the Final Four. So how will Texas Tech fare against Michigan State? Surprisingly the odds are giving the Red Raiders better odds than Auburn got against Virginia. All in all this might have something to do with Texas Tech’s historic run through the tournament, which saw them beat the likes of No. 2 Michigan and No. 1 Gonzaga. But Texas Tech didn’t just beat those teams, they absolutely wrecked them. Their game against Michigan resulted in a 63-44 blowout while the matchup against Gonzaga was also lopsided 75-69.
With that in mind, should we see the Red Raiders pegged as the favorite here? Offensively they do struggle to measure up to Michigan State. This is because the Spartans put up 78.3 per game while the Red Raiders deliver 73. However, Texas Tech gets the edge on defense as they give up 59 while the Spartans allot 65.1.
