State basketball fans would have hoped for a Kentucky entrant into this year’s Final Four but after 14th-seeded Oakland (Mich.) stunned the third-seeded Wildcats, 80-76, in the first round of the NCAA Tournament, all of those hopes were dashed rather quickly for the second time in the last three seasons.
So will the state, or those involved in Kentucky sports betting, have any interest in Saturday's Final Four, taking place at State Farm Stadium in Glendale, Arizona?
The first game of the doubleheader is top-seeded Purdue (33-4) against 11th-seeded North Carolina State (26-14) at 6:09 p.m. Eastern. The nightcap features defending champion and top-seeded Connecticut (35-3) versus fourth-seeded Alabama (25-11) at about 8:49 p.m.
BetKentucky.com used Google Trends search interest scores to compare the state’s search volume for each of the four remaining teams in the Men’s March Madness. These results were tracked on a scale of 1-100 and from the start of March Madness (March 18) through April 1. Here are Kentucky’s fan favorites:
Kentucky Rooting Interest in Final Four
In the Women’s Final Four, Kentucky betting apps list South Carolina as the championship favorite at -200, followed by Iowa at +300.
No Love for Rivals
You would think perhaps that fans in the state would root for another SEC team. Think again.
Purdue is tops among Kentucky fans to root for with an interest score of 23. The top-ranked team and the most dominant thus far in the tournament is Connecticut, which came in second in Kentucky with an interest score of 18. The underdog and fan favorite North Carolina State is third with a score of 17 and, yes, fellow SEC neighbor Alabama rounds out the list with a score of 14.
Fanatics Sportsbook Final Four Game Lines
Here are the latest game lines at Fanatics Sportsbook Kentucky:
Purdue is a 9-point and -450 moneyline favorite over North Carolina State (+350) with the game's over/under total at 146 points. In the nightcap, UConn is an 11.5-point and -800 moneyline favorite over Alabama (+550) with the game's over/under total at 160 points.
USA Today photo by Rick Osentoski.
