2020 NCAA Final Four Predictions: Part 3 of Bethereum’s College Basketball Series

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Bethereum

4 min readFeb 3, 2020

The college (NCAA) basketball season is in its second half and we are quickly approaching March Madness. Since NCAA basketball is now available for wagering on Bethereum’s Gaming Platform, we’re getting you ready to win with the Bethereum College Basketball Series, written by Michael Luchies.

In this installment in the series, Michael makes his predictions for the Final Four teams that he believes may come out of the 68-team tournament that will begin to take shape in March. What do you want to know about college basketball to prepare you to win on Bethereum? Submit your college basketball questions to our American sports expert Michael Luchies here.

Final Four Predictions

Each year, college basketball has been harder and harder to predict. Small schools have been closing the gap on major college programs and upsets have made many betting experts look like fools over the past several years. With that in mind, here are my bold predictions for the four teams I believe could be left standing at the end of the college basketball tournament, and headed for the Final Four in Atlanta, Georgia (the Final Four changes cities each year).

● Gonzaga Bulldogs

The Bulldogs, who fell one game short of the Final Four in 2019, have lost just a single game this season (Michigan Wolverines) and defeated three ranked teams. Playing in the WCC, Gonzaga does not play the toughest opponents, which makes predicting their tournament run difficult, but they have a talented frontcourt led by 6’11 forward sophomore Filip Petrusev. Although I do not think Gonzaga has what it takes to win the National Championship, I do like their chances to reach the Final Four.

● Baylor Bears

After losing their second game of the year to Washington (64–67), the Baylor Bears went on to win their next 18, and their winning streak is currently still going. Their streak, which included four wins over top-25 teams, includes a convincing win against the Kansas Jayhawks, who will also be a top contender to reach the Final Four. Unlike Gonzaga, Baylor is led by their guards with five of their top 6 scorers playing in the backcourt. Baylor is playing the best basketball in the country right now and the most dangerous team in the field.

● West Virginia Mountaineers

The Bob Huggins-led Mountaineers have surprised everyone with their surprisingly successful season. They have received consistent performances from their starters with their four top scorers all averaging within two points of each other. Unlike many other contenders this year, the Mountaineers can afford for one of their star players struggle and still win. They feel like a team that was built to make a deep run in the tournament, we’ll just have to see if they can get hot at the right time come late March.

● Michigan State Spartans

First, I must preface this pick with the fact that I am a fan of the Michigan State Spartans, so this pick may be biased. Despite having one of the greatest coaches in college basketball history and loads of talent, including senior standout Cassius Winston, the Spartans have struggled at times and lost games they had no business losing (Virginia Tech, Purdue, Indiana). Still, the Spartans are one of the top betting choices to win the National Championship (12/1). The Spartans have nine games remaining in the regular season, and six will be against teams ranked in the top-25. If, and it is a big if, the Spartans can begin to heat up, as they always seem to do under Izzo at the end of the year.