In Final Four betting, two contradictory statements are almost always true for any team with the privilege of making it there: (a) You can’t make it to the Final Four odds on the strength of one player and (b) You still need a reliable, go-to guy to help lead you to a national championship. In other words, you need depth but a special player can often help put you over the top or pick your team up when it’s down. Let’s look at the key contributors for the Tar Heels and Wildcats entering the North Carolina vs Villanova line.

North Carolina

For all the talk of guard Ty Lawson’s toe injury entering March Madness betting, he sure has silenced the critics at the sportsbook. In fact, he’s probably been UNC’s best and most consistent player this postseason. In 100 minutes of play, he has an amazingly low two turnovers compared to 20 assists. He’s also 20 for 35 from the field and is averaging over 20 points per game. He has been the rock Tar Heels fans hoped he’d be. TylerHansbrough has been a strong contributor too, but his eight points in UNC’s online betting triumph over Oklahoma shows he’s been inconsistent.

Villanova

Senior forward Dante Cunningham has been a consistent force for Villanova leading up to the Final Four odds. He has been a presence in the paint, eclipsing 10 boards against UCLA and Duke. He’s scored 14 or more points in every tournament game this season and has a pair of double-doubles. He has, however, gotten into foul trouble, with three or more fouls in three straight games. He’ll have to stay on the court if Villanova wants to pull off the sportsbook upset.

Here is the official betting preview of Baylor-Penn State in the 2009 NIT Championship game. The Bet Online odds have the Baylor Bears laying four points to the Nittany Lions, though BetUs Sportsbook has the spread at 3.5. The total is 138 according to Sports Betting Sportsbook.

Baylor enters with a 24-14 straight up record, but just 13-17 against the spread. Penn State is 26-11 outright and 18-12 to the basketball Vegas odds.

The Bears have proven to be an exceptional shooting team, making 46.8 percent of their shots against teams normally allowing 42.9. That translates to 76.4 points per game to teams that surrender a cumulative 69. Their defensive numbers are slightly above average.

Penn State‘s ratios are slightly above the median on both sides of the ball, most notably allowing just 62.6 points per game to teams normally getting 66.3.

The top college basketball handicapper ever, Joe Duffy of GodsTips restates a Golden Rule of betting that must be applied here and certainly in the Final 4. “A blunder that square gamblers make is considering neutral courts to be road games. A neutral game is exactly that—neither a home contest nor one on their opponents court.”

Hence, Baylor has gone very well on neutral courts at 6-2 straight up with wins over Nebraska, Kansas, Texas, Arizona State, San Diego State and Providence. “That’s an impressive resume,” says Brian Gould of ScoresOddsPicks.com.

Penn State is 3-1 straight up on neutral courts though Towson State and Indiana are not nearly as imposing.

Some spread numbers, all against the spread: The Bears are 14-3 their last 17 on neutral courts. However, they are 1-7 their last eight as a favorite of 6.5 or less.

Penn State has covered 9-of-12 nonconference games but are 6-17 as underdogs of 6.5 or less. Baylor has gone under 10-2 versus an opponent winning percentage of .600 or greater.

Which side to bet on as far as both the side and totals go—the power of 620 sports services behind every selection has just that.

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Today in the Daily Sports Roundup: The East-leading Cavs take on the Wizards, the Blues take on the Red Wings, and the NIT stages its championship matchup.

Tipping off on the hardwood  . . .

LeBron James and the Cavaliers will be looking to get past the Wizards on Thursday night when they meet in Washington in just one of three games on the NBA schedule. The Wizards and Cavs last met on January 4, when Washington pulled out an 80-77 upset win as a 9-point home ‘dog. James scored 30 points for Cleveland in that loss, while Antawn Jamison had 26 points for the Wizards.

It’s Milwaukee at Philadelphia and Utah at Denver in the other two games on the NBA hardwood on Thursday. The Sixers beat the Bucks 110-105 on January 7, with Milwaukee a 7.5-point home favorite in that contest. The Jazz and Nuggets met in Utah on March 6, with the Jazz winning 97-91 as a 9.5-point home favorite.  Deron Williams picked up 25 points and 11 assists for Utah in that win.

Betting picks….

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Taking a trip around the rink . . .

Eight games make up the National Hockey League’s schedule for Thursday night, including St. Louis at Detroit. The Red Wings will be looking to bounce back from a 4-3 loss to the Predators on Sunday, with Chris Osgood giving up four goals on 30 shots. The Wings and Blues last met up on March 14, with Detroit grabbing a 5-2 win; St. Louis last managed to beat Detroit in March 2008.

The other Western Conference power will also take to the ice on Thursday night, as San Jose will be in Edmonton to face the Oilers. Rounding out the schedule: Ottawa at Boston, the Rangers at Carolina, Montreal at the Islanders, Anaheim at Vancouver, Los Angeles at Phoenix, and Calgary at Dallas. The Flames fell 2-1 to the Sharks in their last game on Monday, with Jarome Iginla scoring their goal.

Rounding out the Roundup . . .

The NIT championship game will be played at Madison Square Garden on Thursday night, with Baylor taking on Penn State. The Bears won their semifinal matchup with San Diego State by a score of 76-62 on Tuesday night, with Curtis Jerrells scoring 25 points and LaceDarius Dunn adding 23 points. Penn State got past Notre Dame 67-59 on Tuesday , with Talor Battle pouring in a team-high 17 points and Andrew Jones contributing 16 points and 15 rebounds in the victory.

Finally, the PGA Tour tunes up for The Masters this week with the Shell Houston Open at Redstone GC in Humble, Texas. Phil Mickelson is pegged as the 5/1 Vegas favorite to get the win this week, with each of Ernie Els, Padraig Harrington, Sergio Garcia, Camilo Villegas, and Geoff Ogilvy listed at 15/1 odds. Ogilvy and Chad Campbell both finished at 14-under in this tournament last year, two strokes back of winner Johnson Wagner. Mickelson finished 23^rd at 6-under.

Final Four betting players have seen Connecticut roll over their competition, as they’ve really once been challenged once so far in the NCAA Tournament. However, their opponent in one of Saturday’s Final Four matchup, Michigan State, has already eliminated Big East champion Louisville, and the Spartans will be eager to claim another team from the nation’s toughest conference.

Michigan State vs Connecticut odds – Saturday, April 1, 6:07 PM ET

The Spartans, seeded second in the Midwest, began their quest to the Final Four with a 77-62 win over Robert Morris, as the country’s top rebounding team held a 43-25 edge on the glass over the Colonials. Next, the Spartans held USC to 40.4% from the floor in a 74-69 win, outrebounding the Trojans 33-24, while Travis Walton hit 18 points. In the Sweet 16, Michigan State eliminated the defending champions with a 67-62 victory over Kansas, as the Spartans hit 16 of their 17 free-throw attempts. Finally, the Spartans put together their best defensive performance in a 64-52 win over Louisville, holding the Cardinals to 38.3% from the floor. Michigan State‘s opponents have shot only 41.2% against the Spartans, and that sort of defense makes them very capable of a Final Four betting upset.

The Huskies opened their Tournament with a 103-47 romp over Chattanooga, as three players scored at least 20 points, and UConn had a massive 57-33 edge on the glass. Against Texas A&M, the Huskies outrebounded the Aggies 36-22 and got 27 points from A.J. Price in a 92-66 blowout despite foul trouble for Hasheem Thabeet. Next was Purdue, and while the Boilermakers put up a good fight, they still lost 72-60 to the Huskies, who outrebounded Purdue 42-31. UConn then reached the Final Four with an 82-75 win over a pesky Missouri team, outrebounding the smaller Tigers 45-26.

The Huskies are a 4-point favorite in this contest according to Final Four odds , and Michigan State‘s biggest task will be to keep the Huskies from dominating the boards as they have. With both teams ranking in the national top three in rebounding, the battle on the boards will be a bruising affair, but one that probably decides the outcome of this game. UConn will have the size advantage, but that hasn’t stopped Michigan State from outrebounding bigger teams in the past. Based on the roads to this stage of the Tournament for both teams, Final Four betting players should keep an eye on the glass.