The final college basketball game of the season means one last chance to make some money (and/or erase some NCAA Tournament betting mistakes), and college basketball championship game props offer myriad ways to have action Monday night.
Midwest No. 1 seed Kansas is a 4-point favorite over East No. 8 North Carolina in the national championship game. The Over/Under is set at 151.5. Beyond the side and total, sportsbooks from coast to coast have posted dozens of college basketball championship game props.
Props.com breaks down our five favorite NCAA title game props: three player-specific bets, one team-related bet, and one game-focused wager.
Odds via FanDuel as of 11:30 a.m ET on April 4.
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College Basketball Championship Game Props: North Carolina Vs Kansas
First-half total
The prop: 71.5 points
The odds: Over -106/Under -118
Under bettors watched in horror Saturday as Kansas players collectively morphed into Steph Curry from beyond the arc in their 81-65 semifinal victory over Villanova. The Jayhawks made 54.2 percent of their 3-point attempts for the game (13-for-24), helping to push the total Over 61.5 in the first half and Over 133.5 for the game.
That continued a recent Final Four trend, as the Over is now 10-3-1 in the past seven NCAA Tournament semifinal matchups. However, the national title game is another story, with seven of the past 10 finals staying Under the total for the game.
This prop is specific to the first 20 minutes of action, and for good reason: First, we don’t have to worry about overtime and late-game fouling tacking on a bunch of points. More importantly, it’s highly unlikely that Kansas will duplicate Saturday’s shooting performance. In fact, expect both teams to come out a bit tight with the trophy on the line.
Take the first half Under 71.5 points.
Winning Margin
The prop: Kansas to win by 1 to 10 points
The odds: +172
No. 1 seeds have won the past four NCAA Tournaments and seven of the past 10. During that span, No. 1 seeds are 4-1 SU and ATS in the title game when facing a non-No. 1 seed, with the only loss coming when No. 2 seed Villanova beat No. 1 North Carolina at the buzzer in 2016.
Maybe Kansas jumps on the Tar Heels and pulls away late to win by double digits as it did against Villanova on Saturday. But the far more likely scenario is for the Jayhawks to grab the title in a game that’s close throughout.
If you like Kansas in a blowout, the Jayhawks are +235 at FanDuel to win by 11 or more. North Carolina is +260 to win by one to 10 and +680 to win by 11 or more.
Kansas Jayhawks: G Ochai Agbaji
The prop: 16.5 points
The odds: Over -113/Under -113
Agbaji actually did seem to channel Curry in Saturday’s win, going 6-for-7 on 3-pointers and finishing with 21 points. It was a classic outlier effort in that Kansas’ senior guard had made a combined four 3-pointers in his other four NCAA Tournament games. And the only other time Agbaji went Over 16.5 points in March Madness was when he tallied 18 in the Jayhawks’ Elite Eight victory over Miami.
Agbaji can’t possibly replicate that Final Four shooting performance in Monday’s national championship game. If he regresses even a little, he will struggle to reach 17 points.
Keep this in mind, too: In his last 11 games since March 1, Agbaji has poured in 17-plus points in back-to-back outings just once (he had 18 against West Virginia and 22 against TCU in Kansas’ first two games of the Big 12 tournament).
Kansas Jayhawks: F David McCormack
The prop: 7.5 rebounds
The odds: Over -102/Under -128
The 6-foot-10 McCormack was a monster against Villanova, dominating inside with 25 points and nine rebounds. He will face a much more formidable front line Monday against North Carolina’s 6-foot-10 Armando Bacot and 6-foot-9 Brady Manek. (Bacot will play despite twisting his right ankle late in Saturday’s win over Duke.)
McCormack has not grabbed more than 7.5 rebounds in any other game during the Tournament, and North Carolina ranked ninth in the nation in rebounding margin coming into the Big Dance.
McCormack might score some points, but lay the juice and take him to stay Under 7.5 rebounds for the eighth time in his last 11 contests.
North Carolina Tar Heels: F Brady Manek
The prop: 2.5 made 3-pointers
The odds: Over -140/Under +110
We’re backing the Over here, and the reason is simple: Manek has been shooting lights out the entire NCAA Tournament. The transfer from Oklahoma has made at least three 3-pointers and attempted at least six in every March Madness game and eight of his past nine dating to the end of the regular season.
In Saturday’s Final Four win over Duke, the senior forward went precisely 3-for-6 from long distance.
With this being his final college game, one with a national championship on the line, don’t expect Manek to suddenly pass up open looks from beyond the arc. He’ll fire away, and we will as well on Over 2.5 made 3-pointers.
