56 ESPN analysts pick men’s Final Four winners and eventual champion
Which teams do ESPN analysts have winning the men’s Final Four games this weekend? And which one do they predict to cut down the nets in San Antonio on Monday night?
We polled 56 personalities who have covered the men’s college basketball season on ESPN platforms this season — from past national champions Jim Boeheim and Jay Williams to Bracketologist Joe Lunardi — on the winners of Auburn vs. Florida and Duke vs. Houston. We also asked them to pick their national champion.
The semifinals results don’t stray far from the odds at ESPN BET — but they do on the title winner.
Duke, Florida favorites to win Final Four
Walter Clayton Jr. and the Florida Gators were picked by 59% of the analysts polled (a 33 to 23 split) to beat Johni Broome and the Auburn Tigers — almost precisely the same implied probability (60%) of Florida’s -155 money-line odds.
Meanwhile, Cooper Flagg and the Duke Blue Devils were picked by 73% (or 41) of the respondents to defeat L.J. Cryer and the Houston Cougars, again closely matching the implied probability (72%) of Duke’s -260 money-line odds.
Duke favored to win, No. 2 a potential surprise
Little surprise here: Most picked the Blue Devils to cut down the nets at the Alamodome on Monday night with 61% of the support (or 34 votes).
But unlike the futures market at ESPN BET, which gives Florida the second-best odds to win it all, the second-most picked team isn’t from the SEC. Rather, 11 of the 15 analysts who picked Houston to win its Final Four matchup against Duke have the Cougars going all the way.
Florida (seven) and Auburn (four) split the final votes. See the full breakdown of votes below!
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