The first Final Four ticket will be punched on Saturday when the third-seeded Texas Tech Raiders (28-8) face the top-seeded Florida Gators (33-4) in an Elite 8 matchup that will determine the West Region’s championship.
This year’s appearance marks only the third-ever Elite 8 for Texas Tech. The Red Raiders finished second in the Big 12 this season, handing the Houston Cougars their only conference loss this year.
Florida breezed through their nonconference schedule, and three of their four losses came on the road in the vaunted SEC. Since a February 1st loss to Tennessee, the Gators have won 15 of their past 16 games and the conference tournament along the way.
Will Texas Tech or Florida become the first team to earn a Final Four berth this season? We’ll cover that and provide our three favorite player prop bets for this Elite 8 contest.
It’s not often we feature a reserve player as one of our top player prop bets, but that’s exactly the situation with Florida’s Thomas Haugh. In 37 games, he’s started only five contests. Still, he’s logging over 24 minutes on average each night for the Gators this season, recording 9.5 points and 6.0 rebounds for the SEC school.
In the Sweet 16 matchup against Maryland, Haugh played 32 minutes, scoring 13 points and grabbing nine rebounds for the Gators. Still, bettors shouldn’t expect a similar effort on Saturday against Texas Tech. Although he’s topped the 18.5 combined points and rebounds mark three times in the past month, expect the Red Raiders to keep him scoring in this Elite 8 contest.
The Red Raiders are in the Elite 8 thanks to their sophomore forward J.T. Toppin. The 6-foot-9 forward recorded six of his 20 points in overtime of their Sweet 16 matchup against the Arkansas Razorbacks, propelling his team to an 85-83 victory on Thursday.
This season, Toppin has scored 20 or more points in 16 of his team’s games. More recently, Toppin has poured in at least 20 points in 10 of the team’s last 14 games, and the offense is running through his capable hands. Expect Toppin to finish with at least 20 points in Saturday’s contest, too.
Florida’s offense ran through Clayton heading into the NCAA tournament as the guard recorded four or more assists in nine of his team’s last 12 games to close out the regular season. After two games where he missed that mark in the opening rounds, he dimed up four teammates against Maryland to help the Gators reach the Elite 8.
Although Texas Tech will be a defensive terror for the Gators, bettors should expect Clayton to finish with at least four assists in this contest. The 6-foot-3 guard – who is also his team’s leading scorer this season with 17.7 points per game – will record his 30th game for Florida with at least four assists in the Elite 8 to cover this player prop bet.
The Georgia Bulldogs, UConn Huskies, and Alabama Crimson Tide are the only teams during the past 18 games to have finished a contest against Florida within six points of the Gators. This team is rolling.
Texas Tech is the opposite of Florida. The Red Raiders have thrived in close, competitive games, winning three of their past four outings by single-digit margins. Their losses have been the same as Texas Tech has not lost a game by double digits.
That’s why bettors should expect this contest to be close at the end, potentially even upsetting Florida to reach their second-ever Final Four contest. Take the Red Raiders to cover a game that should be under the 155.5 combined target score, too.