Villanova Wildcats vs Kansas Jayhawks Betting Preview/Prop Pick

The NCAA Men’s Final Four is set, and it will be a matchup of college basketball blue bloods in each of the two games. The first game of the night features the Villanova Wildcats taking on the Kansas Jayhawks in a rematch of the 2018 Final Four. 

Villanova won the South Region as the number two seed, holding off the Houston Cougars in the Elite Eight. The Wildcats have just seven losses on the year, and they are playing their best basketball of the season.

Kansas was given the number one seed in the Midwest Region, and they looked the part in the first four games. The Jayhawks are now hoping to get some revenue on the Wildcats from that blowout loss back in 2018. 

The Kansas Jayhawks are 4.5-point betting favorites over the Villanova Wildcats. 

Wildcats Win With Discipline

The overall stats for Villanova aren’t overwhelming, and this is not a team that has any future NBA stars on the roster. Villanova just continues to win games by playing smart on both ends and frustrating their opponents. 

Point guard Collin Gillespie leads the team with 15.6 points and 3.3 assists per game, and he is one of the best point guards in the country. Villanova will be without second-leading scorer Justin Moore after he suffered a torn Achilles in the Elite Eight.

The Wildcats have given up just 49.5 points per game over their last two wins, and they will be trying to slow this game down and win on defense.

Kansas Wants to Push the Pace

Kansas does not want to deal with Villanova in a halfcourt battle, and they will be looking to speed up the tempo in this matchup. The Jayhawks are scoring close to 80 points per game this season, and they do have some future NBA stars on the roster.

Ochai Agbaji leads the team with 18.9 points per game, and he is one of the best players in college basketball this season. Remy Martin has come off the bench in the NCAA Tournament, and he has provided the Jayhawks with a spark as well.

Kansas does most of its damage in the paint, and a bad shooting night can cause some issues in this game. The Jayhawks are deadly in transition, but the Wildcats will try to make them score in the halfcourt.

Wildcats Win a Thriller

There are plenty of reasons to bet against Villanova in this game, but this program is not one that you can ever write off. The Wildcats don’t have as much individual talent as the Jayhawks, but this team simply knows how to play together and win games.

Kansas has trouble scoring at times when they aren’t shooting the ball well, and that might be an issue in this matchup. Villanova is going to keep Kansas out of the paint, and that’s going to create some real issues for the Jayhawks. 

This game could go down as an instant classic, and it will likely come down to the final possession. Bet the Villanova Wildcats moneyline as they pull off this slight upset and knock off the Kansas Jayhawks by one point in the Final Four.

Prop Pick

Villanova (-110) OVER 64.5 Points

Kansas is allowing 68.6 points per game on defense, which ranks No. 168 in the nation. That average increases to 80.0 points per game during Jayhawk losses. Scores have gone OVER in five of the Jayhawks’ last seven games following a win by more than 20 points (Kansas beat Miami by 26 on Sunday).

With Dunkel predicting a Villanova victory by the score of 68-67, take the Wildcats (-110) to finish OVER their Vegas team total of 64.5 points against the Jayhawks.

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