After an exciting weekend of college basketball, we now know which teams will be taking part in the Final Four. It is, perhaps, not the teams that we expected to see here, as we have experienced more than our fair share of surprises along the way in the 2019 version of the tournament.
As it stands, there is only one #1 seed left in the running, with the other three seeing their season come to an end over the past few days. It is the Virginia Cavaliers who are the last top seed standing, which means that they have more than made amends for their stunning exit in last year’s tournament. They will be going against the lowest-ranked team left in the competition, with the Auburn Tigers making it all the way to the Final Four as a #5 seed.
Given how things have gone to this point, though, the Tigers are not going to be overwhelmed coming into this huge match-up. That said, they are currently in as a 5 ½ point underdog, with the point total set at 130 ½.
Why bet on the Auburn Tigers?
It’s easy to forget how close Auburn came to going out in the opening round, hanging on to take out New Mexico State 78-77 in an absolute thriller. Since that point, though, they have been nothing short of brilliant, with their biggest win coming in the Sweet 16, where they hammered the #1 seeded UNC Tar Heels 97-80. Their reward for winning that one was a match-up against the #2 ranked Kentucky Wildcats in the Elite 8.
It would have been easy to have a letdown game after their big win over the Tar Heels, but the Tigers stayed focused and came away with the 77-71 win. They have now covered the spread in 3 of their 4 games in the tournament and are 5-2 ATS as an underdog overall this season. The Tigers were hot coming into March Madness and show no signs of cooling off.
The Virginia Cavaliers had a lot to prove coming into the tournament this season after a stunning loss in the opening round last year. They have done that and more, thanks in large part to a defense that is incredibly stingy when it comes to giving up points. They were rock solid through the opening three rounds, but they were sorely tested by the Purdue Boilermakers in the Elite 8.
The good news was that the Cavaliers offense came to play, as they went on to win 80-75 in a thrilling game that required OT to decide. While Virginia will not have liked giving up that many points, they have now proven that they can hang offensively when the score starts getting up there. The Cavaliers have now gone 32-2 SU when in as the favorite this season.
Virginia was the team that probably had the most to prove as a #1 seed in this tournament and they have lived up to their top billing thus far. As great as the run has been that Auburn is on, I think it all comes to an end on Saturday night.