Texas Tech and Virginia punched their tickets to the Final Four with the final two spots to be decided today. D’Angelo Russell led the Nets past Boston and Bryce Harper hit his first home run for the Phillies. Tiger snuck past Rory but lost in the quarterfinals. With an equally busy Sunday on tap, here’s a sports betting recap from Saturday and a preview of Sunday.
Virginia Survives Edwards, Texas Tech Stifles Gonzaga
Carsen Edwards’ put on a show last night — making ten 3-pointers en route to being named the Most Outstanding Player of the South regional. Edwards was the first player to do this on a losing team since Stephen Curry in 2008. Wait, loss? The game seemed all but sewn up when Ty Jerome front-rimmed a free throw and then…
Virginia survived overtime to defeat Purdue 80-75. The Cavaliers last gasp shot that forced overtime was a pretty terrible beat for those holding Purdue +4.5 tickets. Virginia marches forward to the Final Four for the first time since 1984 and will await the winner of Kentucky-Auburn today.
Texas Tech’s top-ranked defense proved to be too much for the nation’s most efficient offense on Saturday night. A five-point underdog, Texas Tech defeated No. 1 seed Gonzaga 75-69. The Red Raiders held the Bulldogs to 42% shooting and forced 16 turnovers. The defensive effort held Gonzaga under 70 for only the fourth time this season. Texas Tech will await the winner of Duke and Michigan State in their first trip to the Final Four.
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Elite Eight: Duke-Michigan State, Kentucky-Auburn
On Sunday, the NCAA committee can bask in their own glory as the two top-seeded teams in the East Region square off for a berth in the Final Four. Just as they drew it up, No. 1 seed Duke will meet No. 2 seed Michigan State in a clash of the Titans on Sunday. A two-point favorite at the time of this writing, Duke is coming off another nail-biting finish against Virginia Tech when a wide-open, failed alley-oop layup nearly sent the game into overtime. The Blue Devils are growing accustomed to late game drama — surviving UCF the previous round when two last-chance lay-ups bounced off the rim.
On the other hand, Michigan State already boasts three double-digit victories in the tournament including a 80-63 drubbing of LSU on Friday night. Anchored by Cassius Winston, the Spartans received big contributions from freshmen Aaron Henry and Gabe Brown from beyond the arc against LSU.
Duke holds seven straight victories against Michigan State since a 2005 tournament loss to the Spartans. Neither team has a Final Four appearance since 2015 when Duke beat Michigan State to go on to the finals and win the national championship.
The third game between SEC foes tips off at 2:20 EST when No. 5 seed Auburn squares off against No. 2 seed Kentucky. A 4.5-point underdog at the time of this writing, Auburn hopes to unleash another flurry of 3-pointers upon the Wildcats after defeating UNC on Friday night with the 3-ball.
After dismantling North Carolina in the Sweet 16, the Tigers will be without star Chuma Okeke — who tore his ACL in the Elite Eight victory. Okeke scored 20 points in the victory — contributing 3 of the Tigers’ 17 3-pointers. On their road to the Elite Eight, the Tigers defeated both the second and third program in all-time wins — Kansas and North Carolina. On Sunday, they meet the all-time leader in wins — Kentucky.
While Auburn loses their best player, Kentucky saw their best player return in a victory against Houston. PJ Washington finished with 16 points against the Cougars and took over in the last few minutes of the game. The Wildcats hold two victories against the Tigers this season with the most recent being a blowout 80-53 on February 23 in Lexington. The loss was the most recent loss for the Tigers. The team that cuts the nets down after the game will play an awaiting Virginia in the Final Four.
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Diamond Notes
Major League Baseball provided ample content for viewers on Saturday with 14 games from day to night. Philadelphia Phillies’ fans that trekked to the field on Saturday were treated to the first in what will likely be many Bryce Harper home runs.
Harper padded a 6-4 Phillies lead with a solo shot in the bottom of the 7th inning. The Phillies held on to an 8-6 victory, going way over the closing 9.5 O/U and cashing -148 tickets on a Philadelphia victory.
In Los Angeles, the Dodgers decided to better than double up the 7.5 O/U on their own — hanging 18 runs in a 18-5 victory over the Arizona Diamondbacks. Positional players pitched for both sides in the drubbing while both Joc Pederson and Cody Bellinger added a home run to their early season total.
Pitching fans would appreciate the closing to a Milwaukee Brewers (-135) 4-2 victory at home versus the Cardinals. Josh Hader overwhelmed three Cardinals with 9 fastballs — eight for swinging strikes. A blinking Brewers fan might have missed the brilliance.
Today, the Yankees look to avenge a defeat on Saturday versus the Orioles as they close the opening series as -340 favorites. The Mets hope to make it a sweep in Washington as Zack Wheeler takes the mound as a +126 underdog. Finally, baseball fans can all catch Bryce Harper in action as the Phillies meet the Braves in Sunday Night Baseball as a -150 favorite in a game with a 8.5 O/U.
D’Lo Lifts Nets Past Celtics
The Nets returned home after a 2-5 road trip that placed their playoff hopes squarely in jeopardy. Brooklyn was favored by four at home against incoming Celtics and really needed a victory to turn the tide. D’Angelo Russell delivered.
The Celtics lost control of Russell in the third quarter when the All Star guard dropped 20 of his 29 points. Russell added ten assists to lead the Nets to a much-needed home victory. The road to the playoffs will not get any easier as the Nets welcome the Milwaukee Bucks on Monday night.
WGC-Dell Technologies Match Play Update
Golf enthusiasts were treated to a first on Saturday — a matchplay pairing between Rory McIlroy and Tiger Woods. The matchup did not disappoint with Woods winning the matchup 2 & 1 to advance to the quarterfinals. Tiger would assuredly be on a march for another Matchplay title. Well…
Lucas Bjerregaard upset Tiger en route to another victory and a trip to the semifinals. Bjerregaard previously defeated a 3-0-0 Henrik Stenson to earn a spot in the quarterfinals. On Sunday, Bjerregaard — now +490 to win on FanDuel Sportsbook — meets Matt Kuchar (+260). In the other semifinal, now-favored Francesco Molinari (+135) will play Kevin Kisner (+450).
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