The Duke-Houston game will be Under 137, Doug Kezerian predicts.
Throughout this NCAA postseason, Duke and Florida have been the national championship betting favorites, and they are expected to face off in Monday’s title game.
Nevertheless, according to KenPom.com, the top two teams will actually meet in the second semifinal on Saturday. The highly regarded analytics site ranks Houston as the second-best team behind the Blue Devils.
The Cougars own the nation’s top defensive unit and the offense ranks 10th, which is consistent with previous seasons that ultimately ended with heartache. Nevertheless, this year’s offense does seem to have a better ability to avoid lengthy scoring droughts.
They will certainly need that against a Duke squad that ranks fifth defensively and No. 1 offensively. The Blue Devils are understandably the odds-on favorite to cut down the nets but first must go through a physical and stout Houston defense.
