Final Four Odds & Score Predictions: Bet on Exact Final Scores for NC State vs Purdue and Alabama vs UConn

Exact score predictions: Purdue 75-66 and UConn 91-78

By Jason Logan

North Carolina State’s Cinderella run ends against Purdue, but the Wolfpack put a scare into the Boilermakers – at least in the first half. Zach Edey will be too much for D.J. Burns to overcome inside and the extended break between rounds cools down NC State’s red-hot run in the postseason.

Crank up Van Halen’s “Running With the Devil” because that’s what Alabama is doing if it tries to push pace and get into a shootout with UConn. The Huskies can fill it up and the Crimson Tide’s defense is still dog water. The Huskies continue to cash as 11.5-point chalk.

Exact score predictions: Purdue 78-71 and UConn 85-72

By Rohit Ponnaiya

The Wolfpack should make this competitive, but no double-digit seed has ever advanced past the Final Four and they won’t be the first. With their low turnover rate, multiple scoring options and willingness to stretch the floor they should be able to find offensive success since they won’t try to attack Edey at the rim. However, their defense is due for regression since it benefitted from Marquette and Duke missing wide open shots in the last two rounds and Purdue is usually accurate from deep.

It’s a testament to how good this Tide offense is that I think they’ll even be able to hit the 70-point plateau against an elite UConn defense. Unfortunately, it won’t be enough since their own defense sits outside the Top-100 in KenPom and they’re lucky to even get this far considering their inability to stop anybody. As great as the Huskies' D has been, let’s not forget that they’re also first in the country in adjusted offensive efficiency. They’ll cruise to victory here.

Exact score predictions: Purdue 70-60 and UConn 87-70 

By Douglas Farmer

North Carolina State’s 3-point defense this NCAA Tournament has become the stuff of legends, highlighted by Marquette going 4-of-31 in the Sweet Sixteen. That was not the Wolfpack’s doing. The Golden Eagles were simply missing. The difference in the Final Four will be, if Purdue misses, it has another offensive option. Thanks to Edey, the Boilermakers play a balanced offense. And Edey will draw fouls against NC State, the most foul-prone team in the ACC, getting free points and shortening an already short Wolfpack rotation.

If there is a side of this score to doubt, it is Alabama scoring 70. UConn has given up that many points just twice since January 11. Creighton shot 50% from deep to put up 85 in mid-February, and then St. John’s shot 45.5% from beyond the arc and grabbed nearly half the available offensive rebounds to score 90 in the Big East Tournament. You need that kind of shooting luck to score against the Huskies. Alabama could theoretically find that luck, but expecting it in a football stadium is foolhardy. Yet, the Tide offensive design expects it, taking 3-pointers on 46.6% of its field goal attempts. That should simply mean a lot of missed 3-pointers against UConn.