Marco Morales 
The last 4 teams are finally ready to compete. As I’m sure you know, the remaining 4 teams are #1 Gonzaga, #1 Baylor, #2 Houston, and #11 UCLA. Aside from UCLA, this is a pretty expected final four, as the other 3 teams have a combined 5 losses on the season. These teams deserve to be here and convincingly took out all their opponents on their path to the Final Four. Both of these games are very interesting. As usual, enjoy my article, March Madness: Final Four Game Previews!
March Madness: Final Four Game Previews #1 BAYLOR VS #2 HOUSTON
Baylor (26-2; 13-1 BIG 12) takes on Houston (28-3; 14-3 American) on Saturday, April 3rd, at 5:15 pm on CBS
It doesn’t come as a surprise that Baylor has come this far, as they were the 2nd favorite to win the NCAA Championship, behind Gonzaga. The Bears enter this contest after a convincing 81-72 win over #3 Arkansas. Baylor was efficient from the field, making almost half of their shot attempts at 49%. The three ball was falling for the Bears, as they hit 8 out of their 15 shots from beyond the arc. Baylor won the game on defense. They forced 15 turnovers, while only turning the ball over 8 times themselves. You can’t give extra possessions to a team of this caliber because they will make you pay, and that is exactly what they did.
Baylor’s big 3 shined in this outing. MaCio Teague leads the trio in scoring, dropping in 22 PTS and hitting 3, 3 pointers. Jared Butler was next in line, doing it all with 14 PTS 3 REB, and 5 AST, followed by NCAA Defensive Player of The Year, Davion Mitchell, who scored a solid 12 PTS and added 6 AST. Sophomore guard Adam Flagler also added 10 PTS off the bench, going 2-2 from 3. These 4 players contribute so much on offense that they have the ability to overwhelm teams because if you try and stop one, the next one is ready to pop off.
Houston makes their first Final Four appearance since 1984. The Cougars have been ready for this moment all season. The only thing to note about this Houston team is that they have yet to face a team that is not a double digit seed, so they technically had the easiest path to the Final Four, not that the teams in the tournament aren’t great or anything.
The Cougars are coming off of an Elite 8 win over Oregon State, where they won 67-61. Houston’s defense was the killer in this one, forcing 9 turnovers and only allowing Oregon State to shoot 47 times. What won the game for Houston, which they have been sensational at all season, is their ability to get after rebounds on the offensive end. Houston had 18 offensive rebounds, EIGHTEEN! This allowed them to get 15 more shots than ORST, in which they took advantage of their extra possessions. Marcus Sasser was the leading scorer with 20 PTS, followed by Quinten Grimes’ 18 PTS. DeJon Jarreau almost dropped a triple-double with 10 PTS 8 REB and 8AST. This wasn’t the best offensive game for the Cougars, but nonetheless, they came out victorious by sticking to their hard nose, gritty style of basketball.
Baylor will continue the gameplan that has led them to the Final Four, after countless flawless performances. The Bears should look to keep their big 3 involved offensively, as they always play tough defensive regardless of how they perform on offense. Holding on to the ball is important for them too, which they have done very well this tournament. They know exactly what they want to do, and I’m not sure that Houston will be able to stop them.
Houston has been playing stellar defense all tournament long, as the most points they let up was a mere 61. They need to repeat this type of play, but ramp it up a bit because they have not played a team like Baylor yet thus far. Houston has the #55 ranked offense in the county but has been struggling on offense in the tournament, shooting a sub-par 35% in their last 3 games. Unfortunately, shooting that poorly will not fly against a team like Baylor. They have to step up on offense if they want to win this game. If they can see the ball get in the hoop early on and avoid going on these long cold streaks, along with playing their intense defense, there is a chance they can take out the Bears.
Betting Odds:
Baylor -5 (18-10 ATS)
-220 ML
Houston +5 (20-10 ATS)
+180
O/U 134.5
Betting Trends:
*BAY is 5-1 ATS in their last 6 NCAA Tourney games
*BAY Over is 7-1 in their last 8 games following an ATS
*BAY Over is 12-2 in their last 14 games following a straight-up win
*HOU is 7-1 ATS in their last 8 neutral games as an underdog
*HOU is 11-2 in their last 13 games as an underdog
*HOU Under is 4-0 in their last 4 neutral site games as an underdog
March Madness: Final Four Game Previews #1 GONZAGA VS #11 UCLA
Gonzaga (30-0; 15-0 WCC) matches up against UCLA (22-9; 13-6 PAC-12) on Saturday, April 3rd, at 8:35 pm on CBS
Gonzaga has not had one close game this whole entire season, and that includes the tournament. They have won their last 3 games by an average of 18 points, which is just unheard of. They dominated USC in the Elite Eight 85-66. The Zags were super efficient, converting exactly 50% of their attempted shots. The Bulldogs’ defense was elite in this game too, holding a good USC offense to only 39% shooting. Gonzaga is the most complete team in this tournament and it is no mistake why they are in this position.
Drew Timme was the man for Gonzaga last game. Timme dropped 23 PTS 5 REB and 4 AST. NBA lottery prospect, Jalen Suggs, was electric. Suggs was very close to dropping a triple-double with 18 PTS 10 REB and 8 AST. Corey Kispert matched Suggs, and also contributed 18 PTS. This offense has been clicking on all cylinders all year and you can tell why every time you watch them play.
UCLA has been awesome in this tournament, being the 6th team to ever make the Final Four as a double-digit seed. They figured out how to win, as they won 2 games in OT, and 1 game by 2pts. They are no stranger to close games. In a very close defensive game, UCLA took down #1 Michigan 51-49. They forced Michigan to turn the ball over 14 times and held them to 39% FG. They didn’t perform well offensively either as they matched Michigans 39% FG. Numbers and averages don’t define this Bruins team, as they have defied the odds every game.
There was one name that you heard all game for the Bruins, Johnny Juzang. He was lights out against Michigan and it was amazing to watch. Juzang dropped a game-high 28 PTS, which was more than half of his team’s points! He has been doing it all tournament for them and it really has been cool to watch him go to work and put this UCLA team on his back.
Gonzaga will continue to do what they have been all season, get an easy shot for their best scorers, and play phenomenal team defense. The Zags have the #1 offense in the country in PPG and are also the most efficient from the field. It’s safe to say that this offense is simply unstoppable because no team has been able to do it. They overpower every team with their plethora of stars and great role players, it’s almost unfair. I love Cinderella stories, but there is no upsetting a team like this.
UCLA has a very slim chance to upset Gonzaga, but I’ve been wrong before. The Bruins have to deal with an overpowered offense that will be very difficult to stop, so they’re just going to have to outscore Gonzaga. Getting Juzang and Jaquez hot early is worth trying out because that is their only path to victory. UCLA is a good team, but they don’t stand a chance if their best scorers aren’t putting up big numbers.
Betting Odds:
Gonzaga -14 (16-12-2 ATS)
-1100 ML
UCLA +14 (17-14 ATS)
+700
O/U 145.5
Betting Trends:
*GONZ is 4-0 ATS in their last 4 overall
*GONZ is 4-0 ATS in their last 4 games following a straight-up win
*GONZ is 4-0 ATS in their last 4 games as a favorite
*UCLA is 5-0 ATS in their last 5 games overall
*UCLA is 4-0 ATS in their last 4 games following an ATS win
*UCLA is 4-0 ATS in their last 4 NCAA Tourney games as an underdog
Thank you for reading my article, March Madness: Final Four Game Previews! These are the last two games before the NCAA Championship. Sadly March Madness is coming to a close, but we still have 3 more games to enjoy! Baylor and Houston are going to be a very good game, and UCLA still has a shot to complete their Cinderella story! I hope you found the information in this article useful!
Follow me on Twitter @marcomorales_1 to keep up with my hot takes!
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