When the NCAA Tournament gets trimmed down to four teams, it’s called the Final Four. With each region’s champion having already come out on top in four March Madness games, it’s now time for the remaining teams to play for a chance to go to the National Championship game.
The road to the Final Four is always an eventful one for players and fans alike, filled with upsets, buzzer beaters, and a Cinderella story or two. These NCAA Tournament games are even more exciting, or excruciating, for those who placed college basketball bets along the way.
It’s not too late to get involved with March Madness betting as we still have the chance to bet on the Final Four contests and then the NCAA Final on Monday. You can bet on the individual games (spread, total or moneyline), place a futures bet on the eventual winner of the NCAA Tournament, and even wager on props for players from the four remaining teams.
Whether you’re a beginner or seasoned bettor, here are some money-making tips on how to bet on the Final Four.
Final Four Odds: NCAA Tournament Betting Odds Explained
Final Four betting odds are part of all wagers related to the Final Four college basketball games. Whether it’s a moneyline, spread or point total bet, you must be able to read and understand the odds in order to know what you’re risking.
A typical spread or total bet on the Final Four of the NCAA Tournament will have -110 odds on either side. This means a bettor will need to risk $110 in order to potentially win $100. If the odds were -150 or -200, then you’d risk $150 or $200 to win $100. The more you are risking, the larger of a favorite the side is. Adversely, if you take an underdog at +150, then you only need to risk $100 to potentially win $150.
Moneyline Betting on the Final Four
Moneyline betting is simply picking the winner of the Final Four game. Because we are talking about Final Four games, moneyline odds won’t range as much as they might in the earlier rounds of the NCAA Tournament.
For example, in the 2022 version of March Madness, the final four odds on the moneyline are Kansas Jayhawks (-200) vs. Villanova Wildcats (+170) and Duke Blue Devils (-190) vs North Carolina Tar Heels (+160). The teams that are favored to win have odds listed as a negative number — Kansas (-200) and Duke (-190) — meaning you have to risk $200 or $190, respectively, to win $100. The underdogs have positive numbers — Villanova (+170) and North Carolina (+160) — meaning you only have to risk $100 to win $170 or $160.
Over/Under Betting on the Final Four and National Championship
Betting the total, or the over/under, is picking whether the two teams in the Final Four game will combine to score more (over) or less (under) than the total number provided. For example, in the Kansas vs. Villanova Final Four game, the total opened at 132.5. If you bet the over, the two teams must combine to score 133 points or more to win the bet. If the two teams combine to score 132 points or fewer, you lose.
Points Betting on the Final Four
Points betting on Final Four college basketball certainly has its advantages, if you wind up on the winning side. Let’s say you’re betting $10 on a school that is favored to win by four points (-4). You can earn $10 for each extra point they win by. If, for example, the Duke Blue Devils were favored by four, and they beat the North Carolina Tar Heels by a score of 77-70, you’ll earn $30 for the three additional points they won by.
If points betting on college basketball sounds like something you would enjoy, then you’ll want to check out PointsBet. They’re currently the only NJ Sportsbook that offers points betting to New Jersey bettors.
Parlay Betting on the Final Four and National Championship Game
Parlay betting on the Final Four is when you combine moneyline, point spread, total and/or prop bets to create a multi-leg wager. For a parlay to cash, the two or more legs you select must all win — if one loses, the entire bet loses.
Luckily, the higher risk comes with longer odds, which is why parlay betting is so popular. The more legs you add, the larger the potential payout will be.
College Basketball Teasers
Teaser bets for the Final Four give you the chance to shift the spread or point total up or down. Moving the line raises the probability the bet will hit, but it also makes the betting odds less profitable.
For example, a parlay taking Kansas -4.5, North Carolina +4 and Villanova-Kansas under 132.5 points has +596 odds. A four-point teaser moves the lines to Kansas -0.5, North Carolina +8 and Villanova-Kansas under 136.5 points for +180 odds.
If the spread in both games happens to be 4.5 points, and you take the favorite in both, you could essentially turn a 2-leg teaser into a 2-leg moneyline parlay.
Prop Betting on Final Four Games
Prop bets are one of the most common ways to get some action on college basketball games, and it is no different for the Final Four. Bettors can wager on how many points a specific player will score, how many rebounds they’ll grab, how many assists they’ll have, the number of 3-pointers they make and so on. You can also parlay Final Four prop bets for potential big wins.
Here are our best player props for each of the teams in the 2022 March Madness Final Four:
- Kansas Jayhawks Player Props
- Villanova Wildcats Player Props
- Duke Blue Devils Player Props
- North Carolina Tar Heels Player Props
Best Sportsbooks for Final Four Betting
There are many great sportsbooks for Final Four betting during March Madness. However, knowing which one to pick can be tough and time-consuming. As a result, our expert team has put together an in-depth guide to the best betting sites for you to bet on college basketball.
