The Final Four closes out with one of the greatest rivalries in all of sports with the East Region No. 8 seed North Carolina Tar Heels set to lock horns with the West Region No. 2 seed Duke Blue Devils. This will mark the first time ever these hated ACC rivals will square off against one another in NCAA tournament betting at online sportsbooks. The team’s split their pair of regular season matchups with the Dookies going into Chapel Hill and pounding Hubert Davis’ kids 87-67 as 3.5-point road favorites. The Heels returned the favor in the rematch in Durham ousting the Blue Devils 94-81 as 11-point underdogs. The loss just so happened to be the final one absorbed in front of the “Cameron Crazies” for Mike Krzyzewski. That paired with a trip to the title game on the line should have Coach K’s kids locked in for the rubber match. But will that be enough to Paulo Banchero and Co. in a position to win a sixth championship in his farewell tour? I’ll be betting on it!
Take this Final Four matchup in live from the Caesars Superdome in New Orleans, LA on Saturday, April 2, 2022 at 8:49 p.m. ET. BookMaker.eu will have NCAA basketball odds available for this and every game lined up for the remainder of the NCAA tournament.
NCAA Tournament Odds at BookMaker.eu
North Carolina Tar Heels +4
Duke Blue Devils -4
Total 152
Odds Analysis
The number to beat hit the board with the Dookies favored by 4-points and the O/U set at 149.5. Both teams logged point spread covers in the regular season with the over cashing in both times. Initially, the betting market was all over the Blue Devils forcing linemakers to bump the line up to -4.5 momentarily. Since then, it’s come back down to -4 with 63 percent of the bets and 69 percent of the money in UNC’s corner. You can expect the Tar Heels hold to drop dramatically the closer we get to tip-off with most novice CBB bettors looking to jump on Duke’s bandwagon due to the media pumping Coach K’s farewell tour ad nauseum. So if you prefer to back the Blue Devils, now is the time to strike! The total has seen one way action from the outset with 66 percent of the bets and a whopping 92 percent of the money expecting these teams to combine for a high scorer a third straight time. The total is up to 152 because of it.
North Carolina Tar Heels
While Duke has played some of its best ball of the season since dropping the ACC title game to Virginia Tech, it’s the Tar Heels that’ve caught fire the most over the last few weeks to punch a ticket to New Orleans. It all started with a 95-63 trouncing of Marquette in the first round, and was followed up with a 93-86 overtime upset of the East Region’s top seeded Baylor Bears in the second. That win laid the groundwork for Brady Manek (19.5 PPG, 6.7 RPG) and company to topple the UCLA Bruins in the Sweet 16, and then follow it up with a solid handling of a fatigued and overmatched St. Peter’s team in the Elite Eight. Behind stellar work from Armando Bacot (15.8 PPG, 14.7 RPG), RJ Davis (12.3 PPG, 5.2 APG) and Caleb Love (15.3 PPG, 3.3 APG), the offense has averaged 82.5 points per game in the dance, and backed it up by only allowing an average of 66 points per game; 6.6 points less than its seasonal average. The Heels are firing on all cylinders at the absolute best time of the year!
Duke Blue Devils
Also locked in at the moment are the Duke Blue Devils. Never in my wet and wildest did I expect to see Coach K’s kids in the Final Four when filling out my bracket pre-tourney. But here we are! In scoring 78 or more points in all four played games through the Elite Eight, the Dookies are now the +148 favorites to cut down the nets on Monday night. Entering the Sweet 16 tilt with Texas Tech, they were installed 15-1 choices! Due to the heroics of Banchero (17.4 PPG, 7.7 RPG), Wendell Moore Jr. (15.4 PPG), Mark Williams (12.9 PPG, 9.1 RPG), Jeremy Roach (12.6 PPG, 2.4 APG), and AJ Griffin (11.6 PPG, 4.7 RPG), the Blue Devils are just two wins away from making this the storybook season Duke fans have clamored for going way back to November. It’s insane, but Duke has shot 52 percent or better in each of its four played games to get to this point. Regression is bound to hit, but will it against a UNC defense it’s averaged 84 points against to date? Don’t bet on it!
North Carolina vs. Duke Betting Prediction
As much as I want to believe the Tar Heels are going to see this all the way through and cash huge futures tickets for CBB bettors that bought into them throughout the regular season as well as pre-tourney, I just don’t foresee the basketball gods allowing this storybook farewell tour to end with a loss. It also doesn’t make sense to be a Duke detractor as great the team has looked throughout this tournament; especially against an excellent Texas Tech team and rock-solid Arkansas squad. UNC got the benefit of running up against Baylor and UCLA teams that weren’t at full strength. It then had the easiest opponent in the Elite Eight. While the road to the Final Four looks great on paper, I got a sneaky suspicion is bites them in the behind when it matters most. The Blue Devils toyed with the Tar Heels in the first meeting in Chapel Hill, and I’m thinking this one plays out similarly. The rematch was overshadowed by Coach K’s last game in Cameron Indoor Stadium. With a chance at redemption and a shot at winning yet another title in his swan song season, it’s an opportunity I don’t foresee the Dookies letting out of its grasp.
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