The final game of March Madness is finally upon us, as No. 1 Michigan — fresh off a resounding91-73 win over No. 1 Arizona— will take on Dan Hurley and the 2-seed UConn Huskies in the 2026 national championship game on Monday night.
UConn, which closed as a 1.5-point underdog,defeated No. 3 Illinois 71-62on Saturday night in the otherFinal Fourgame. The Huskies have now won (and covered) in 18 of their last 19 tournament games.
Both teams are dealing with injuries, as Michigan star Yaxel Lendeborg has saidhe’s playing “no matter what”despite suffering a sprained MCL and rolled ankle in the semifinal against the Wildcats. UConn guard Solo Ballsuffered a foot sprain in the win over Illinoisand was in a walking boot on Sunday. His status for the game is very much uncertain.
Arizona opened as a 7.5-point favorite atBetMGM, though the line moved to -6.5 on Sunday. The total is at 144.5.
Here are a few bets our college basketball experts like for the national championship game. We’ll add to this file up until tip on Monday night.
All odds courtesy of BetMGM.
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No. 2 UConn vs. No. 1 Michigan (-6.5, 144.5)
Matt Russell: The line is right on my projection of Michigan -6.2, so a bet on the side would come down to either hoping that UConn’s tournament magic continues against a Michigan team that’s dominated in the way that the 2023 and 2024 Huskies did on the way to back-to-back championships, or fading Dan Hurley in the Final Four — which continued to be no fun on Saturday.
Instead, let’s dig into the player prop market on the premise that Michigan’s interior play will bog things down for the Huskies, who want to play slow anyway (319th inKenPom’s adjusted tempo).
The first wager is backing Aday Mara to score in the post and via setups from Elliot Cadeau. The Wolverines’ center goes from a matchup with Motiejus Krivas and Tobe Awaka (where Mara was 11-for-16) to Tarris Reed Jr. and freshman Eric Reibe. With Lendeborg sore, that also might translate to more attempts for Mara.
Bet: Aday Mara over 13.5 points
Russell:The second player prop to look at is an under for a UConn guard.
Michigan’s perimeter defenders — Cadeau, Trey McKinney, Nimari Burnett and Roddy Gayle Jr. — should make it tough on Silas Demary Jr. to get to the basket, where the Wolverines’ defensive length will be waiting. While Demary has shot the 3 at a decent percentage this season, he’s made less than one per game, and was 1-for-6 at Lucas Oil Stadium in Saturday’s semifinal.
The rebound column might affect Demary’s numbers even more. While he’s excellent on the glass from a guard position, Michigan’s one of the best rebounding teams in the country. Though the Huskies guard averages 14.9 points plus rebounds and has 16 in each of the last two games, the Wolverines are a different matchup, and should gobble up most of the boards before the ball gets to the support level.
Bet: Silas Demary Jr. under 14.5 points + rebounds
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