- Virginia is favored by 1.5 points over Texas Tech.
- At 120 total points, this mark is 8 points lower than the second-lowest championship O/U.
- The Red Raiders and Cavaliers face off on CBS at 9:20
MINNEAPOLIS – As the NCAA Tournament comes to an end, this is the last chance for sports bettors to place their action on college basketball this year.
The Texas Tech Red Raiders will face the slightly favored Virginia Cavaliers on Monday at 9:20 EST on CBS.
This game is projected not to be filled with high scoring action and many assists, but a slow pace through a defensive grind.
Ranked last (Virginia) and 229th (Texas Tech) in offensive pace, oddsmakers have set the lowest over/under ever for the NCAA Championship game at 120 total points.
The line has since moved from 120 down to 117 but has floated its way back to around 118.
"We tried to go with a total low enough to have the first bets on the over, but that didn't happen,” said VP of Risk Management at SuperBookUSA, Jeff Sherman.
Set 8 points under the next lowest over/under in NCAA Championship history, the majority of the action has been seen favoring Texas Tech to cover the 1.5 spread (58%) and the over/under eclipsing the 118 mark (54%).
In the four previously lowest over/unders in championship history, the game resulted in the under hitting three of those times. The only over eclipsed their mark by two points, as a last possession 3-pointer went in – still not making it good enough to become a single-digit game.
According to the Action Network, there have only been fifteen tournament games closing with an over/under at 117.5 or less since 2005. In those games, the under has hit six times. However, the betting website also shows that those who bet the under on the last 14 NCAA Championship games have won 9 times.
As they say in betting though, there is no such thing as a sure thing. Oddsmakers posted the highest-ever over/under for Super Bowl 53 this year, which opened at 59 points. For those who have forgotten, a total of 16 points were scored in that game – with ten of them occurring in the 4th quarter.
Being dubbed “The Ugliest National Championship” in tournament history, this game will be sure to provide plenty of action for sports betting in Minnesota – even if the action doesn’t occur on the court.