The Gonzaga Bulldogs will be attempting to return to the national championship game for the first time since 2017 when they tip off this weekend's Final Four action against the surging UCLA Bruins as 14.5-point favourites on the March Madness odds at sportsbooks monitored by OddsShark.com.
Outright winners in all 30 games so far this season, Gonzaga is also set as a heavy -250 favourite to claim this year's national championship going into Saturday night's matchup with the Bruins at Lucas Oil Stadium.
The Bulldogs have lost just twice in 63 overall contests since being bounced from the Elite Eight two years ago, and have shown no signs of slowing down. Top seeds in the West Region, Gonzaga has claimed victory by an average margin of 24 points in four tournament wins, capped by an 85-66 rout of the USC Trojans in Elite Eight action. The Bulldogs have also racked up a 19-5 SU record in six March Madness appearances since 2015.
However, glory has eluded the Bulldogs, who dropped a 71-65 decision to North Carolina in their lone previous national championship game appearance four years ago.
The Bruins enter Saturday's contest vying for a record 14th all-time perch in the national championship game. Forced to earn their way into the tournament with a First Four victory over Michigan State, UCLA has since regained its steady early-season form on the way to the team's first Final Four appearance since 2008.
Set as the No. 11 seed in the East, UCLA has defied oddsmakers with three tournament wins as a betting underdog. However, despite their epic legacy of success at March Madness, the Bruins have work to do to snap a two-game SU losing streak in Final Four matchups.
Earlier on Saturday it will be an all-Texas affair as the Baylor Bears battle the Houston Cougars as 5.5-point chalk at sports betting sites.
It has also been a stellar campaign for the Bears, who prepare to make their first Final Four appearance since 1950. Baylor emerged as the class of the Big 12 while compiling a conference-leading 13-1 SU record, and a 26-2 overall mark. The Bears have also rebounded well from their stunning early exit from the Big 12 Tournament, allowing just over 60 points per game in four March Madness victories.
The No. 2 seed in the Midwest, Houston has blazed its trail to the Final Four for the first time since 1984 with 11 straight SU wins. However, the Cougars have been a March Madness betting disappointment, covering just once in their past three contests, and in just four of eight overall.
