Bob Donnan SUSA Icon Sport
It is time for the conference finals before we go to the most interesting part of the season – the NCAA tournament. We put in work in our game breakdowns and college basketball betting trends for four of the conference finals scheduled for Sunday.
The Brown Bears stunned many by reaching the Ivy League conference finals, where one of the best teams this season, the Yale Bulldogs, will be waiting. With the top favorites out, Auburn and Florida will play for the SEC championship. In the American Conference, UAB is the favorite against Temple. And probably the most interesting game of the night is the fight for the Big Ten title between Illinois and Wisconsin.
Let’s take a deeper look at the college basketball betting trends for these four games.
Brown vs Yale
The Brown Bears finished the regular season fourth in the Ivy League with a 13-17 record for the season and 8-6 in conference play. The Bears are on a seven-game winning streak and are coming off a 90-81 win against Princeton. Kino Lilly Jr. had another impressive performance, scoring 27 points for the Bears, while Nana Owusu-Anane had 19 points and 15 rebounds. Lilly Jr. leads the team this season with 18.7 points per game. The only statistical category the Bears are among the top 100 schools in the nation is their 24 three-point attempts per game.
The Yale Bulldogs finished third in the Ivy League with a 21-9 record for the season and 11-3 in conference play. They have won four of the last five games and are coming off a 69-57 semifinal win over Cornell. Danny Wolf had a solid game with 19 points and 10 rebounds. He leads the Bulldogs with 14.5 points and 9.7 rebounds per game for the season. Yale is 51st in the nation, shooting 47.2% from the field, and is at exactly the same spot, allowing 66.8 points per game.
Brown vs Yale: College basketball betting trends
Yale is 15-11-2 ATS for the season, 2-2-0 ATS at neutral field and 11-7-2 ATS following a win. Brown is 17-12-0 ATS for the season, 3-1-0 ATS at neutral field and 9-3-0 ATS following a win.
Prediction and Conclusion
The Bulldogs and the Bears will face each other at the Francis S. Levien Gymnasium in New York City in the Ivy League championship game. We could all see Yale going this far, but Brown has made a real upset by beating Princeton in the semifinal. What makes this game even more interesting is the fact that Brown won 84-81 in overtime in the last game against Yale, ending the Bulldogs nine-game winning streak in head-to-head matchups. However, it is a fact that Yale is the better team in every aspect of the game, mostly offensively. They can shoot the ball well and will handle the pressure much better than the Bears. Therefore, we are going with Yale covering the -7.5-point spread.
Florida vs Auburn
The Florida Gators finished the regular season sixth in the SEC with a 24-10 record for the season and 11-7 in conference play. They have won the last three games and are coming off a 95-90 win over Texas A&M in the semifinal game. Denzel Aberdeen, who averages only 3.2 points per game for the season, had the best game of the season, dropping 20 points. Walter Clayton Jr. is the best player for Florida this season, averaging 17.3 points per game. The Gators are taking 65.2 field goal attempts per game, the most in the nation. They are ranked seventh with 85.7 points per game.
The Auburn Tigers finished third in the SEC with a 26-7 record for the season and 13-5 in conference play. They have won the last five games and are coming off a 73-66 win over Mississippi State in the semifinal. Chad Baker-Mazara led the team with 14 points and 4 rebounds. Johni Broome is the best player on the Tigers this season averaging 16.2 points and 8.3 rebounds per game. Auburn is 13th in the nation scoring 83.2 points per game and is ranked sixth with 18 assists per game.
Florida vs Auburn: College basketball betting trends
Auburn is 14-9-0 over the total point line for the season, 2-5-0 on a neutral field and 9-16-0 following a win. Florida is 22-11-1 over the total point line for the season, 7-1-1 on a neutral field and 17-5-1 following a win.
Prediction and Conclusion
No one could have predicted that Florida and Auburn would make it to the SEC final, but after Tennessee and Kentucky were stunned earlier, this matchup will determine the new conference champion. Florida has won six of the last 10 against Auburn, and no team has connected two straight wins in the last four games. Both teams won at home in the last four, and as this game will take place at the Bridgestone Arena in Nashville, it will be interesting to see how they will adapt. Both teams are among the top 15 scoring teams in the nation, but their last three games have ended under the total point line. With the line being set at 155.5 points and the stakes, this game will most likely go under.
Temple vs UAB
The UAB Blazers finished fourth in the American Athletic Conference with a 22-11 record for the season and 12-6 in conference play. They have won the last four games and are coming off a 93-83 win over South Florida. Efrem Johnson scored a season-high 21 points to lead the Blazers to the final. Yaxel Lendeborg is the best player on the team averaging 13.8 points and 10.5 rebounds per game. UAB is shooting 45% from the field (168th in the nation) and 32.3% from three-point territory (283th).
The Temple Owls finished 11th in the conference with a 16-19 record for the season and 5-13 in conference play. They have won the last five games and are coming off a 74-73 win over Florida Atlantic. Hysler Miller was the key player for the Owls with 21 points, and he leads the team, averaging 15.5 points per game for the season. Temple is among the worst shooting teams in the nation, with 39.5% shooting from the field, and is ranked 251st, scoring 70.9 points per game.
Temple vs UAB: College basketball betting trends
UAB is 19-12-1 ATS for the season, 4-0-0 ATS on a neutral field and 12-7-1 ATS following a win. Temple is 17-15-2 ATS for the season, 4-5-0 ATS on a neutral field and 8-6-1 ATS following a win.
Prediction and Conclusion
The Temple Owls were not even in the top 10 in the conference during the regular season, and here they are playing for the conference championship against the UAB Blazers at the Dickies Arena in Fort Worth, Texas. This will be only the third time these two teams have ever played against each other and the second time this year. UAB won 100-72 on the road earlier this year, which clearly shows who the better team is. With the spread being set at -5.5 for UAB, the Blazers will easily cover it.
Wisconsin vs Illinois
The Wisconsin Badgers finished the regular season with a 22-12 record and 11-9 record in the Big Ten, which puts them in fifth place in the conference. The Badgers have won the last three games and are coming off a dramatic 76-75 overtime win over Purdue. Chucky Hepburn had a career night, scoring 20 points for the Badgers. AJ Storr is the best player on the team, averaging 16.7 points per game for the season. Wisconsin is 38th in the nation shooting 75.5% from the free throw line, and they are 87th shooting 46.3% from the field.
The Illinois Fighting Illini finished second in the Big Ten with a 25-8 record for the season and 14-6 in conference play. They have won the last three games and are coming off a 98-87 win over Nebraska. Terrence Shannon Jr. scored a career-high 40 points in that one. He leads the Fighting Illini with 22.6 points per game for the season. Illinois is 111th in the nation scoring 69.3 points per game.
Wisconsin vs Illinois: College basketball betting trends
Wisconsin is 16-17-1 ATS for the season, 5-0-0 ATS on a neutral field and 13-8-0 ATS following a win. Illinois is 17-13-3 ATS for the season, 3-1-0 ATS on a neutral field and 13-10-1 ATS following a win.
Prediction and Conclusion
Both teams are coming off a solid season, and they deserve to win the Big Ten title. The Badgers beat the odds to get here, and it seems like they will be stopped now. Illinois has much more scoring options, and they have won the last seven games against Wisconsin, including the last two on the road. Given that, the Fighting Illini will continue their dominance tonight and will win by covering the -3-point spread at Target Center in Minneapolis.
