Final Four Betting: Stats Overview
Written March 30, 2009 by Steve Janus
If you picked all four of the Final Four teams for this year’s bracket, congratulations are due to you! However, if you’re like the majority of the college basketball betting world (myself included) you probably only picked 1 or 2 of the four correctly (I only had UNC making the Final Four in my bracket this year). The most popular picks to be this year’s representatives were Louisville, Memphis, Pitt, and North Carolina, so I know some of you out there are feeling my pain! Now let’s take a look at some interesting tournament stats heading into Saturday’s Final Four matchups. Bet on the Final Four this season at SportsInteraction.
Conference Records: The Big East was well-represented in this year’s tourney with seven teams (three #1 seeds), and caught some criticism, but they have the best record of any other conference in the NCAA tournament this year at 17-5. The Big Ten doesn’t get much love from the national media, but they have an 11-6 record (from six teams) and still have Michigan State representing them. It was a disappointing year for the ACC, who turned in a 7-6 effort in the Tournament, though they still have North Carolina in the mix, who is an overwhelming favorite to win the championship right now. Pulling up the rear for the major conferences was the PAC-10 who, depite a surprise effort by Arizona, ended the tournament at 6-6.
Individual Scoring: North Carolina’s Ty Lawson leads all remaining players in tournament scoring, averaging 20.3 points per game. UConn’s A.J. Price isn’t far behind with 20.0 points per game, while Wayne Ellington (UNC, 19 ppg), Dante Cunningham (Villanova, 17.8 ppg), and Tyler Hansbrough (17.3 ppg) round out the top five.
Individual Rebounding: Hasheem Thabeet gets most of the attention for being a dynamic rebounder, but he’s second in tournament rebounding among the players remaining with 11.3 boards per game. Right now the leading man in the paint is Goran Suton of Michigan State, who is averaging and impressive 12 rebounds per contest. Jeff Adrien, also of UConn, is grabbing 10 rpg, giving UConn the best rebounding duo in the Final Four, while Dante Cunningham (Villanova, 8.3 rpg) and Tyler Hansbrough (UNC, 7.7 rpg) represent for their squads on the top-rebounder list.
Individual Assists: Showing just why he was the ACC Player of the year, the tournament’s leading scorer, Ty Lawson, is also leading the remaining players in assists per game with 6.7. Michigan State’s on-the-court leader, Kalin Lucas comes in at second with 5.5 assists per game, followed closely by A.J. Price (UConn, 5.3 apg), Kemba Walker (UConn, 4.8 apg), and Reggie Redding (Villanova, 4.3 apg).
Team Offense: Not surprisingly the North Carolina Tar Heels come into the Final Four as the best scoring team with 88.8 points per game in the tournament, but it may surprise you to hear that UConn is close behind with 87.3 ppg so far. Villanova and Michigan State are averaging 81.0 and 70.5 ppg, respectively.
Team Defense: They may have the worst numbers on offense, but Michigan State has the best team defense of any team left in the tournament allowing just 61.3 points per game. UConn is close behind the Spartans with 62 points allowed per game. North Carolina and Villanova aren’t that far behind as the Tar Heels allow just 66.3 points per game and the Wildcats have given up 66.5 points per game.
Hopefully some of these stats can be helpful to you when you bet on college basketball during the Final Four. You can get all of the Final Four odds this season at our comparative odds page, which shows you which sportsbooks are currently offering the best lines on each game. If you are looking for some additional help with your wagers, be sure to check out our expert college basketball picks.
If you liked this article, you may also be interested in:
- 2009 Final Four Betting Props
- 2009 Final Four Betting Trends
- 2009 Final Four Expert Picks
- 2009 Final Four Odds Set for Saturday
- Odds to Win the NCAA Champsionship: Final Four Edition
One Response to “Final Four Betting: Stats Overview”
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I’m not happy to see these teams in the Final Four, they totally ruined my bracket, and it would have been neat to have 3 Big East Teams in it. One thing you’ll notice, each team has great coaches (Michigan State – Tom Izzo, North Carolina – Roy Williams, Villanova – Jay Wright, and UCONN – Jim Calhoun).
There weren’t any major Cinderella teams this year, which really makes it a of more interesting to rot for when you have no affinity to any of the teams that are left. You might like this Top Ten NCAA Final Four Upsets: http://www.toptentopten.com/topten/ncaa+final+four+upsets
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