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Final Four Odds: College Basketball Betting – 2021 NCAA Men’s

The 2020-2021 college basketball season and the Final Four aren’t the first thing everyone is thinking about in the sports world. Most online betting fans are focused on NFL Wild Card betting, and plenty of people are gearing up for betting on the College Football Playoff National Championship game between Alabama and Ohio State. Yet, the college basketball season has moved from non-conference games to the heart of conference play, and the battle for seeding and selection in the NCAA Tournament is beginning to take shape.

If you were to ask college basketball odds experts what their national championship game matchup would be, a majority of the people in the room – 10, 50 or 100 – would tell you Baylor-Gonzaga is the most likely answer. Of course, they are both the heavy favorites in our odds to win the NCAA Men’s Championship.

Andrew Nembhard of Gonzaga Bulldogs controls the ball against defender. Check out our top picks for 2021 NCAA Tournament Final Four betting
William Mancebo/Getty Images/AFP

Let’s look at three of the foremost contenders for the national title, and three longer shots we like, and see where they stand in terms of their odds to make the Final Four in the 2021 NCAA Tournament.

Final Four Betting: 2021 NCAA Men’s

Gonzaga Bulldogs

  • Odds To Make Final Four: -220

The Bulldogs are clearly the best team in the country. Jalen Suggs is the best freshman with an explosive all-court game: shooting, dribble penetration, ballhandling, floor vision, playmaking, finishing at the rim. Corey Kispert has ridiculous Steph Curry-like range on his 3-point shots. Drew Timme is an agile, long big man who runs the floor well and can defend multiple positions. Gonzaga has depth, versatility, balance, speed, and length. It’s hard to find many weaknesses with this group.

Gonzaga handled Kansas without too much of a problem, and it buried a Virginia team that was expected to be a Final Four contender before the season began. The Bulldogs outscored an elite Iowa offense and fought past West Virginia’s formidable defense. Gonzaga plays in a relatively soft West Coast Conference, but the Zags play anyone and everyone in non-conference games, and GU has already answered a lot of questions about its legitimacy.

Gonzaga is almost certain to be a No. 1 seed in March Madness, and that obviously provides an ideal path to the Final Four. This would be the second Final Four in school history. All indications are that the Bulldogs are ready to make a run for the national championship. Only one other team has shown a level of strength and consistency which is comparable to the Zags.

Baylor Bears

  • Odds To Make Final Four: +110

The Bears are unbeaten, like Gonzaga. Scott Drew’s team hasn’t faced as many non-conference challenges as Gonzaga. But, the ones Baylor faced have been dealt with comfortably. Baylor beat Illinois, a top-15 team, by 13 points, 82-69. The Bears had reason to worry about the depth of its frontcourt when Tristan Clark’s career was cut short by injury, but the other big men in the rotation have been excellent and this team hasn’t missed a beat. Baylor is widely viewed as the best defensive team in the country, the one team seen as being reasonably capable of stopping the mighty Gonzaga offense, which is viewed as the best offense in the United States. Baylor and Gonzaga were going to play this season, however, COVID-19 complications got in the way.

Wisconsin Badgers

  • Odds To Make Final Four: +270

The Badgers are part of a deep, tough, balanced Big Ten Conference which is – at this point – the best in college basketball. Wisconsin was going to be the No. 1 seed in last season’s Big Ten Tournament. Then the coronavirus pandemic hit, wiping out that tournament and all the other conference tournaments, plus the 2020 NCAA Tournament. Wisconsin has a great chance to become the No. 1 seed in this season’s Big Ten Tournament. This would put the Badgers at the forefront of the race for a Final Four spot.

Oregon Ducks

  • Odds To Make Final Four: +600

Oregon is getting overlooked as Pac-12 teams typically do. We’ve seen it time and time again: they look good in the regular season and then come March Madness, they flop. However, this Oregon team might be legit.

The Ducks are 8-1 on the season and haven’t lost since their season-opener. That loss came to Missouri and was on a neutral site, so it’s nothing to be embarrassed about. They have wins against Stanford and Seton Hall already, and can prove their quality with Utah and Colorado coming up this week. At +600, they’re worth a look.

Minnesota Gophers

  • Odds To Make Final Four: +1500

It’s interesting to note that Minnesota is 10-2 on the year much in part to seven-footer Liam Robbins. As an interesting note, he came from Drake. Which makes you wonder just how good they could have been this year. They have the best record in college basketball this season!

At any rate, Minnesota just ran through a gauntlet of Michigan State, Wisconsin and Ohio State, and came away 2-1. Robbins has been a monster for them and if he keeps it up, this team – along with All-American Marcus Carr – has the makeup of a squad that can make a deep tournament run.

BYU Cougars

  • Odds To Make Final Four: +1800

The Cougars have been off for a couple of weeks but that’s given them plenty of time to prepare for what’s next: No. 1 Gonzaga. Admittedly, at this point, betting BYU to make the Final Four is a bit of a risk. They are 9-2 on the year and have opened some eyes. Now we’ll see how they measure up against one of the best teams in the country. If they win or even lose a close contest, it might be time to take them seriously. At 18/1, the odds are worth a look as they could be Final Four-worthy if they can contend with the Bulldogs.

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