Final Four spread betting – Kansas Jayhawks vs. Villanova Wildcats

Kansas Jayhawks (34-4 SU 26-12 ATS) vs. Villanova Wildcats (31-7 SU 20-16-1 ATS)
DATE: 8:49 PM ET Saturday March 31 on TBS

While there have been a ton of major upsets in this NCAA Tournament, the two number 1 seeds — Kansas and Villanova — square off for a shot at the national championship game.

Kansas has played two close games in a row and even needed overtime to beat Duke in its last game. On the other side of the coin, Villanova has ploughed its way to the Final 4, winning all four of their games by double digits.

These teams last met in the 2016 season in the Big Dance where Villanova beat Kansas 64-59 in the Elite 8 in route to winning the national title. There may be some offensive fireworks in this game, as Villanova is the highest scoring team in the nation and Kansas ranks 29th in ppg.

In their games held at a neutral site this season Kansas is a 9-1 and Villanova is a perfect 13-0.

Key Kansas betting trends

• Kansas is 5-2 ATS in their last 7 games.
• Kansas is 4-10 ATS in their last 14 games facing teams from the Big East.
• Kansas has an Over record of 5-1-1 in their last 7 games.

In their last game, which was a classic, Kansas took down Duke beating them 85-81 in OT. They shot a similar FG% as the Blue Devils and while they had seven more turnovers (18-11) they shot a better 3-pt FG% (36.1% to 24.1%) and they grabbed 17 offensive rebounds and gave up 10. Malik Newman led the way going for 32 points, Sviatoslav Mykhailiuk had a double-double with 11 points and 10 rebounds, and four of five starters went for at least 11 points. The Jayhawks have five players averaging at least 12 ppg and Newman has gone for at least 28 points in two of his last three games. Kansas’ leading scorer on the season is Devonte’ Graham (17.2 ppg) and he has only averaged 11.6 ppg in his last three games after going for 29 points in Kansas’ first round tournament game.

Key Villanova betting trends

• Villanova is 4-0 ATS in their last 4 games.
• Villanova is 23-8 ATS in their last 31 games facing a team with a winning record.
• Villanova has an Over record of 14-5 in their last 19 games.

Villanova beat Texas Tech 71-59 in their last game and while they did not shoot the rock well they dominated the offensive glass and outscored the Red Raiders by 13 points in the first half holding them to only 23 points. Both Nova and Tech shot 33.3% from the floor and while the Wildcats had more turnovers and only shot a 3-pt FG% of 16.7% they had 20 offensive rebounds while giving up 12. Jalen Brunson led a balanced attack in the game leading Villanova with 15 points, on only 4/14 shooting, with five players for the team scoring at least 11 points. The loaded Wildcats have six players averaging in double figures on the season led by Brunson (19.2 ppg) and Mikal Bridges (17.8 ppg).

Kansas v Villanova prediction

Villanova has not only won all four of their tourney games by double figures, but the Wildcats have covered the spread in all four games as well. That trend will come to end in this game.

Kansas v Villanova betting advice

Kansas to cover the spread +5 (line) -105 at Bovada.