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2009 Final Four Picks

Written by Jimmy Boyd

final-four-picks-4209 Not too many people out there nailed the Final Four this year. I’m proud to say that I hit three of the four and was oh so close to getting all four. I went against the grain and made the tough decision to take Michigan State over Louisville in the Midwest and I rode No. 1 seeds North Carolina and Connecticut out of the South and the West Regions. I came up just short with my pick to take Pittsburgh to the Final Four as the Panthers were eliminated by a Villanova buzzer beater. Not a lot of experts had Villanova in the Final Four so if you took the Wildcats all the way out, you deserve a pat on the back.

The Michigan State Spartans face off against the Connecticut Huskies in Saturday’s first Final Four matchup. Odds makers have listed Connecticut as the 4-point favorite with the total set at 133.5. If you’re looking for an advantage by going off of recent against the spread trends, you won’t find one, as both Connecticut and Michigan State are a perfect 4-0 against the spread in the Big Dance. So something’s finally got to give in this matchup. While Michigan State will be playing with a nice fan base in this close-to-home location at Ford Field, the betting public is siding with the Huskies, no doubt, because of how dominant they have been throughout the dance. Not all seasoned sports bettors will be so quick to jump on the Huskies band wagon as they will take into account how difficult of a road the Spartans have had to get to this point. And most experts agree that playing better competition prepares teams better for big games. After slipping past a USC team playing its best ball of the season in the second round, the Spartans then escaped defending national champion Kansas, and dominated No. 1 overall seed Louisville with their defense. If you think the Spartans can pull off yet another shocking upset, bet Michigan State at +4. If you have the Huskies penciled into the championship game, bet Connecticut at -4.

Saturday’s late matchup features No. 3 seed Villanova against No. 1 seed North Carolina. While the Heels are usually a big public betting team, some will be swayed to take Villanova after watching the Wildcats destroy Duke, worst than UNC did, and take out No. 1 seed Pitt, who many experts had winning it all. Odds makers have listed North Carolina as a 7-point favorite with the total set at 159 so those who like Villanova have a handful of points they can grab. The Tar Heels have covered all four of their NCAA Tournament games while the Wildcats have covered each of their last three NCAA Tournament contests. North Carolina has been absolutely dominant in this tournament, winning all four of its games by double digits. The only one that was ever really in doubt was its second round matchup with LSU as the Tigers hung around far longer than expected. It will be for you to decide if North Carolina will run away with another game to reach the national championship or if the Villanova Wildcats are good enough defensively to give the Heels a run for their money.

Jimmy Boyd’s expert college basketball picks are 17-6 in the NCAA Tournament. You won’t find better. Beat the NCAA basketball odds in the Final Four by doing your basketball betting right alongside Jimmy.

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