Duke, Florida favored in 2nd Final Four with 4 No. 1 seeds in 40 years

Todd Dewey, Las Vegas Review-Journal on Mar 30, 2025

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LAS VEGAS — The Final Four will feature four No. 1 seeds for the first time since 2008 and only the second time since the NCAA Tournament expanded to 64 teams in 1985.

Duke is a consensus 4 1/2-point favorite over Houston in the national semifinals Saturday night at the Alamodome in San Antonio. The consensus total is 137 and the Cougars are +185 on the money line.

Florida is a 2 1/2-point favorite over Auburn in the first national semifinal. The total is 161 1/2 and the Tigers are +125 on the money line.

The Blue Devils beat Arizona 100-93 in the Sweet 16 on Thursday, but didn’t cover as 9 1/2-point favorites. Duke rewarded its backers in an 85-65 blowout of Alabama in the Elite Eight on Saturday, cruising to a cover as a 7 1/2-point favorite.

Houston escaped with a 62-60 win over Purdue on Friday, failing to cover as an 8 1/2-point favorite, but easily covered as a 3-point favorite in Sunday’s 69-50 win over Tennessee.

The Gators rolled to an 87-71 victory and cover over Maryland as 7 1/2-point favorites Thursday before escaping with an 84-79 comeback win over Texas Tech on Saturday. Florida erased a nine-point deficit in the final three minutes against the Red Raiders.

Auburn beat Michigan 78-65 and covered as an 8 1/2-point favorite Friday before defeating Michigan State 70-64 on Sunday and covering as a 5-point favorite.

Duke is a +105 favorite to win it all and Florida is the +270 second choice. Houston is +420 and Auburn is 5-1.

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