Look, he's really tall,
and people bang on him, and they say, "Oh, well, Zach Edey, the only reason he scores
is 'cause he's 8'8"." Okay, well, so, he's 8'8". And like, who cares,
'cause he's really tall? He's also really skilled, and
he's awesome at basketball. What's up, everybody? Nick Kostos here with
the "Board of Spreads," AKA, it's not really a bracket anymore. There's two games left, so we'll call it the
"Board of Spreads" today, with picks for the
National Championship game coming up to
night. That's right. Taping
this on Monday morning. You're watching it on Monday
afternoon and Monday evening, making this a time paradox of some kind. But coming up tonight,
it's UConn and Purdue, the matchup that we all deserve. And what a weekend in college basketball. The matchup that we all deserve. We get it in the women's game, South Carolina covering against Iowa. Just my opinion, is
Caitlin Clark the GOAT? No, because Iowa didn't
cover the spread yesterday against South Carolina, and I
lost money. But in all seriousness, it's a great season for Caitlin Clark. Great Women's National Championship game. Iowa-South Carolina was the
best game we could've gotten. And we get the best game
that we could've gotten on the men's side also, with
Connecticut against Purdue, for the right to win the
National Championship. For UConn, if they win, back-to-back titles for
Danny Hurley and the Huskies. And we're going to roll
through all the bets for tonight's game. We'll hit the props,
and I'm
going to tell ya whether the point total
goes over or under, and who's going to cover
the spread in the game, which, honestly, like, we
should all know already, because UConn covers
every single spread ever! So, it's going to be UConn.
We'll talk about why in a second. But let's start here with the Race to 15. And candidly, it's one
of my favorite bets. I've been making Race-to-15
bets for a long time. Been betting on sports for 20 years. One of the best bets to make, one of the most fun bets t
o make, especially if you're at the Sportsbook. But look, you're watching at home. This can be a great bet also. And it's generally, the way that I like to
play these Race to 15s, is to bet the underdog, because
you could get a situation where a favorite can win a game, like, a 40-minute, you know,
college basketball game, can win the game by 20, but the other team could get
up to a 15-12 lead to start before the favorite kind of
puts the pedal to the metal, and blows the other team out. I don't
think that's
really the case with UConn. UConn has gone first to 15
in every NCAA tournament game thus far this tournament. And I think Purdue's awesome. And look, there's a case to be made that Purdue can get there. And if I'm betting this,
I'm only betting Purdue. I'm not laying -175 with UConn, but if Purdue's up
15-14 to start the game, I still think UConn wins
the game by double digits. But there is a chance that
Purdue starts hot early, couple outside shots, maybe UConn feeling the
nerves
a little bit. I don't think that's going
to happen, but it's possible. And laying -175, not something
that I feel great about. So if I'm betting this, the Race to 15, I'm only taking Purdue. But I don't have to bet
it, so I'm not going to. The choice, dear viewer, is yours. Let's talk about some
player props for tonight. Now, Donovan Clingan, who I think is probably going
to win most outstanding player in the tournament, if and
when UConn wins tonight, Clingan's points prop, 13.5. Tristen Newto
n at 15.5. UConn's got so many awesome players. We could've had this
list stacked with guys, Cam Spencer, Alex Karaban, et cetera. Kind of hard to pick out, for UConn, who we think is going
to have a monster game. It really could be, it could
be anyone on any given night. Braden Smith, one of the
outside shooting guards for Purdue, 10.5 points. Let's talk about the big guy, the reigning two-time defending
National Player of the Year, Zach Edey, and let's be clear. I don't think Purdue's
going to
win tonight, but if Purdue does win,
Zach Edey puts himself into the pantheon of greatest players in the history of college basketball. He will add a National Championship again to reigning two-time
National Player of the Year. And I think Zach Edey's
going to come to play. Now, look, he's really tall,
and people bang on him, and they say, "Oh, well, Zach Edey, the only reason he scores
is 'cause he's 8'8"." Okay, well, so, he's 8'8". And, like, who cares,
'cause he's really tall? He's also rea
lly skilled, and
he's awesome at basketball. And I know that Zach
Edey under, under 24.5, is going to be a contrarian bet. This is juice to the under, at BetMGM. People think Zach Edey, not
going to have a great game, that Donovan Clingan, who's probably going to be a
better NBA player than Zach Edey, that Donovan Clingan can
out, can physical Zach Edey in a way that Edey has not seen throughout the balance of this
season, or even last season, for the vast majority
of his time in Purdue. But for
me, Zach Edey's
final game at Purdue. Zach Edey's going to touch the ball, and if he doesn't touch the
ball on every possession, Matt Painter should go to prison. Zach Edey's going to touch
the ball a ton in this game. He's just too good. I really respect Donovan Clingan.
I think Clingan's awesome. Holding Zach Edey to 27
points in a must-win game, I think is probably a win for Connecticut. So let's go over 24.5
points for Zach Edey. Too much respect for Zach Edey, even if I think UConn wins an
d covers, to think Edey's going to have a bad game. Over 24.5 points for Zach Edey. Talk the total now, 145.5. Now, UConn's been winning tons of games, and a lot of these games are going under. A lot of the UConn games are going under. They're winning in blowout fashion, which shows you just how
dominant the Huskies have been throughout this NCAA tournament. So, I think people will
see this point total, and say, "Well, like, let's
play into that," right? That maybe this game goes
under the total
also. In the immortal words of Stone
Cold Steve Austin, "Uh-uh." Where was Stone Cold, by
the way, at WrestleMania? That would've been nice if he came out. We're going to go over 145.5, because both of these
offenses are awesome. And again, I love Clingan. Is Clingan really going
to shut down Zach Edey? I love UConn in the game. I
think this goes over the total. I think we're looking at something
like an 82-70 final score in favor of the Huskies, 152, that would get us over 145.5. So let's go o
ver the total
with UConn and Purdue. And that takes us to, for
the final time. It's sad. It is, right? We love college
hoops, love betting on it. For the final time this
college basketball season, to bet on the side of a game. Connecticut has been bet
out to a 7.5-point favorite. And, for people that are
just seeing this now, maybe you looked over the weekend, so, 6.5, basically, once it opened, sat at 6.5 on Sunday, now up at 7.5 on Monday morning,
in favor of the Huskies. And maybe, like, mayb
e
Purdue takes a little money as we approach tipoff. Maybe UConn gets bet a little more. But as we tape right now, Connecticut a 7.5-point favorite. And it is a big number,
obviously, given the fact that Purdue has been one of
the two or three best teams in the country all season. But here's the thing. Like, it actually doesn't matter. And I would say, I'm almost 41 years old, and I've had a lot of life experiences, had a lot of, like, fun things in my life, going to have a kid soon, got married
, like, great times with friends, like, a lot of great
professional achievements, fun times as a kid. I think that there is nothing in my life that has given me more pure unbridled joy than betting on the University
of Connecticut this year in men's college basketball. Do you know how fun it
was on Saturday night to lay 11.5, or 10.5, or whatever it was, 'cause 'Bama got steamed? Like, people knew the
final score of the game. How'd that go for everyone, betting against UConn on Saturday night, w
here you got literally, like, Alabama plays the game
it did on Saturday night against, like, 98% of
modern Final Four teams, and 'Bama wins, like,
'Bama wins that game. Not only did 'Bama not
win, they lost by 14! That's how good Connecticut is! And I said it last week. Connecticut's like Patrick Mahomes, which is a ridiculous comparison because Mahomes is a
player, and UConn's a team. But I think people understand. Think of UConn like they're the Chiefs. Think of UConn like they
are the Tom Bra
dy Patriots. Think about UConn like
it is a fait accompli, like it's basically done. And when it comes down to it, do you really want to have
money on Purdue in this game, and then UConn wins by 20, and you feel like the biggest moron alive for betting against Connecticut? I don't want that on my conscience. I want to wake up tomorrow
morning, on Tuesday morning, and look at myself in the mirror, and know I either won with the
best, or lost with the best. So, for one final time, we ride. Mush! W
e ride with the Huskies.
We ride with Connecticut. Really, you want to bet Purdue? Grow up. We'll lay the 7.5 with
UConn, and we will win, because UConn covers the
spread in every single game that they play in the tournament. And that does it for
the "Board of Spreads," presented by BetMGM,
for the NCAA tournament. You got time still. Log on to the BetMGM app, set
up an account on BetMGM.com, place your bets for the
National Championship game, and moving forward, with
the King of Sportsbooks.
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