2024 March Madness roundtable -- How to bet the men's Final Four games - ESPN

The men's NCAA tournament continues Saturday with two Final Four games as No. 1 Purdue takes on No. 11 NC State followed by No. 1 UConn vs. No. 4 Alabama.

How should you bet these games? And which futures bets are worth considering?

Here are experts Jeff Borzello, Tyler Fulghum and Mackenzie Kraemer with their favorite bets to make.

Braden Smith OVER 6.5 assists (-140). If Zach Edey is the engine of this Purdue offense, then Smith is the man driving the car. He's doled out 38 assists in this tournament for an average of 9.5 per game. He's cleared this threshold in three of the four games with a high-water mark of 15. — Fulghum

DJ Burns Jr. under 14.5 points (-120). Burns' number is inflated due to his tournament success, but he hasn't faced Edey. Edey draws the most fouls in the country per 40 minutes, and Burns will have a tough time staying on the floor, much less scoring. — Kraemer

NC State/Purdue UNDER 146.5 (-110). In order to stay in the game — as it has done all NCAA tournament — NC State will likely look to limit possessions and play almost exclusively through Burns. The Wolfpack have gone under in all three games this tournament as underdogs and I think that trend will continue. — Borzello

UConn -11.5 vs. Alabama (-115). I see no reason to stop betting on UConn. This, of course, is a lot of points to lay in a Final Four game against a very good (offensive) team and great head coach, but UConn has blitzed every team it has faced in this tournament. The Huskies are 4-0 ATS and their cover margin in these games — where they're laying huge numbers — is +12.5. — Fulghum

UConn team total OVER 86.5 (-110). This is a very high number, but against an Alabama team that plays little defense and plays at the 10th-fastest