Betting on the NCAA Tournament presents unknowns and variables that we just don’t get during the regular season.
Handicapping angles can include perceived matchup advantages or simply trying to back a team that is playing better at the end of the season.
That last component will be tested in the women’s tourney.
Virginia faces Arizona State as a 2.5-point favorite at DraftKings with a total of 126.5 points in a First Four game in Sacramento, Calif.
Arizona State vs. Virginia prediction, best bet
The Cavaliers have lost three straight games, while the Sun Devils defeated rival Arizona and upset Iowa State before losing to West Virginia in the Big 12 Tournament.
The recent form is concerning for UVA, but the body of work is more reliable.
The Cavaliers led the ACC with 17.2 assists per game and grabbed 42.5 boards per game, which ranked second in the conference.
The ACC has 18 members and to outperform solid squads like Duke, North Carolina, Louisville and Notre Dame reflects well.
Meanwhile, ASU ranked among the lowest-scoring teams in the Big 12 but defense is their signature, which is usually the case for Molly Miller teams.
The Sun Devils will try to slow down the game and make points a premium, but ultimately the offensive limitations will likely cause too many issues.
The travel does not concern me for Virginia. It’s a long trip to the West Coast, but they’ve made that trek in conference play so it should not be too big of an issue.
More importantly, the ACC is better than the Big 12 so I expect that to be the difference-maker.
I have a 106-86-2 record in this Post sports section. My next pick is Virginia -2.5 points against Arizona State.
The Pick: Virginia -2.5 (-110, DraftKings)
Why Trust New York Post Betting
Doug Kezirian is a New York Post contributor who has over two decades of experience in the betting space, including spending 11 years at ESPN as a host, columnist and betting analyst. He’s also the rare personality who has documented success – 14th place in 2023 Circa Million and Las Vegas SuperContest ($37K), two top-10 finishes in 2022 William Hill College Football Challenge ($58K) and also grabbed headlines with a $297K win on the 2021 NFL Draft.
