The best offshore sports betting sites favor the home team by 5.5 points when the Houston Cougars and the Baylor Bears play in an NCAA Tourney Final Four matchup in college basketball action from Lucas Oil Stadium on Saturday.
The Baylor Bears (26-2 SU, 18-10 ATS) have been one of the best offensive teams in the Tournament. They will face one of the top defensive squads, the Houston Cougars (28-3, 21-10). The Bears are strong faves at the best online sportsbooks.
The South Region champion Bears will be playing in their first Final Four since 1950. The Midwest Region champion Cougars appear for the first time since 1984. On that occasion, they lost to the Georgetown Hoyas in the NCAA championship game.
The spread has remained steady at -5 favoring Baylor since the opening odds came out. oddsmiths seem to have gotten this one correct. Either that, or gamblers are just waiting a tad longer to make their move.
The same does not apply to the total. It has dropped somewhat to 135. Houston’s stout defense has surely played a part in that small decrease. It will be interesting to see if it keeps going that way.
Houston Cougars vs. Baylor Bears Final Four Odds by MyBookie.ag
| Team | SP/RL | TOTAL | ML | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Houston U | +5 (-110) | 134 (-110) | +175 |  |
| Baylor | -5 (-110) | 134 (-110) | -210 | |
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Betting Houston Cougars
The Cougars, road dogs per the best offshore sports betting sites, have allowed more than 60 points just once in their past five games. That was in a 67-61 win against the 12th-seeded Oregon State Beavers in the Midwest Region final on Monday.
Houston did not cover the spread as an eight-point favorite. But the team did to fend off a late comeback from Oregon State. The game was tied at 55-55 with 3:48 left. The Cougars have had ugly wins.
That includes their 63-60 rally victory against the 10th-seeded Rutgers Scarlet Knights in the second round. They also failed to cover there, one of just four such occurrences in a current 11-game winning streak dating back to February 21.
The Houston Cougars made it to their first final four since 1985 following a 67-61 win over Oregon State in the Elite 8. Marcus Sasser had 20 points, including five threes and a couple of steals.
Quentin Grimes had 18 points with four threes, four assists and two steals. Dejon Jarreau had 10 points with eight rebounds, two blocks and a team-best eight assists. Justin Gorham had six points with a team-best 10 rebounds.
Betting Baylor Bears
The Bears, favored by the best offshore sports betting sites, have averaged 74.5 points in their first four games of the Tournament. Don’t underestimate Baylor’s. The team has held opponents to 60.3 points per game in that same span.
This is a talented group of players. They have proven they can win in several ways. They may need to do Houston like they did Villanova. In the Sweet 16, the Bears trailed 30-23 at the half.
They turned the tables and outscored Villanova 39-21 following the break for a 62-51 win. They found a way to beat the spread as well, as 7.5-point faves, one of three consecutive covers heading into the Final Four.
Houston Cougars vs. Baylor Bears Final Four Picks
This is going to be a great game between two schools that can play remarkable defense and who have the offense to match. However, as good as Baylor is, Houston’s going to turn up the volume in this match. They are very a well-coached team. They can do pretty much everything Baylor can. In a close game like this, five points on the spread is going to be massive. Take Houston and the points.
