UConn vs. Miami, NCAA Tournament Final Four: How to watch, odds, predictions

UConn is back in the NCAA Tournament Final Four for the first time since 2014, and they are set to take on the Miami Hurricanes, who had never previously made it this far.

Not many people would have predicted that only one of this year’s two NCAA Tournament Final Four would consist of a team or teams from power conferences, but after March Madness lived up to its name, that is exactly what is in store for this coming Saturday night.

Game two is set to feature those two teams: the No. 4 seed UConn Huskies, champions of the West region, and the No. 5 Miami Hurricanes, champions of the Midwest region.

This is UConn’s sixth trip to the Final Four, all since 1999, and it is Miami’s first. Miami, which won the regular season ACC championship, made it to the Elite 8 for the first time in program history a year ago, and they have taken it one step further this year.

How to watch UConn vs. Miami in the NCAA Tournament Final Four

All NCAA Tournament games have been broadcast live on either CBS, TNT, TBS, or TruTV. CBS is set to bring things home, taking care of the broadcasting duties for both of Saturday night’s national semifinal games as well as Monday night’s championship.

While he is not retiring completely, this is set to be the last Final Four of legendary announcer Jim Nantz — and in his adopted hometown, no less.

Date: Saturday, April 1
Time: 8:49 p.m. ET
Location: NRG Stadium – Houston, Texas
Channel: CBS
Streaming: NCAA March Madness Live
Announcers: Jim Nantz, Bill Raftery, Grant Hill, Tracy Wolfson

UConn vs. Miami NCAA Tournament Final Four odds

According to the odds posted on FanDuel Sportsbook, the Huskies are 5.5-point favorites, with an over/under in the game of 149.5. The Huskies own a better record against the spread this year, coming in at 25-11-1, good for third best in the country. The Hurricanes’ mark is also not too shabby, sitting at 22-14.

Moneyline on the Huskies is currently set at -235 (bet $235 to win $100), while it is set at +190 (bet $100 to win $190) on the Hurricanes.

UConn vs. Miami NCAA Tournament Final Four prediction

There has been a lot made about the fact that this year’s Final Four features four teams that weren’t supposed to be here. In fact, it is the first ever Final Four without a team seeded higher than No. 4, and three of the programs that advanced had never been here before, something that hadn’t happened since 1970.

One of them, Florida Atlantic, had never even won an NCAA Tournament game prior to a few weeks ago. It’s a stark contrast to last year’s Final Four, which featured four blue blood schools in Villanova, Duke, North Carolina, and Kansas. All have won multiple titles since 2009.

Yet amid all the chaos, the strongest blue blood of the last quarter of a century is still the favorite to win the 2023 national championship: the UConn Huskies.

UConn is the only team to win more than three titles since 1999, and they have a shot to win a fifth. Their last two trips to the Sweet 16 have resulted in national championships (2011 and 2014), and we are well past that point now. Only one of their previous five Final Four appearances did not result in a national title (2009). They also won it all in both 1999 and 2004.

This team is the hottest team in the country after absolutely dismantling the No. 8 seed Arkansas Razorbacks and the No. 3 seed Gonzaga Bulldogs in the Sweet 16 and Elite 8, respectively, and there is little doubt that they were underseeded heading into March Madness.

They dropped five of six and six of eight after a 14-0 start to the season and only ended up in a fourth place tie in the Big East, but that rough stretch has proven to be nothing more than an anomaly. This is a team with No. 1 seed talent.

Of course, in a tournament full of upsets, don’t be surprised to see the highest seeded team remaining go down, especially against a Miami Hurricanes team that is also riding high after upsetting the No. 1 seed Houston Cougars and putting together a massive rally to defeat the No. 2 seed Texas Longhorns.

But bet against Dan Hurley’s team at your own risk.

Prediction: UConn 73, Miami 70