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Action Network’s director of predictive analytics reveals his favorite player props for the men’s Final Four matchups between Villanova and Kansas as well as Duke and North Carolina. Each of the following picks is based, in part, on discrepancies between the player projections created by our predictive analytics team and the odds available as of writing. You can find more potential edges with our Action Labs Props Tool.
Villanova vs. Kansas
Jermaine Samuels Under 7.5 Rebounds (+105 at BetMGM): The fact Samuels has gone over 7.5 rebounds in seven of his past eight games makes this a scary proposition, but there’s a couple reasons to believe he will stay under this number on Saturday.
First, over the entire season, Samuels has finished with under 7.5 rebounds 65 percent of the time.
Villanova’s Jermaine Samuels battles for a rebound against Houston’s Josh Carlton in their Elite Eight matchup. Getty ImagesSecond, with Justin Moore out, Eric Dixon is expected to see more minutes and is thus likely to eat into Samuels’ rebounding chances — and there already could be fewer rebounding chances based on the matchup alone. Kansas ranks in the top 40 of offensive rebounding rate and 29th in effective FG percentage while leaning heavily on 2-point attempts heavily, which lowers the team rebound projection for Villanova.
Our predictive analytics team is projecting Samuels closer to 6.5 boards with a 61 percent chance of staying under.
Collin Gillespie Under 3.5 Assists (+125 at BetMGM): The last time I targeted the under on Gillespie’s assists, he went over 3.5 only because he dished out the two he needed to clear the line in the final minute against Ohio State. Sure enough, he’s had only two each in the two rounds since.
Now with Moore out, I expect Gillespie to take more shots, which would help this prop.
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Our model is projecting Gillespie closer to three assists with a 60 percent chance of staying under 3.5, so the price is right at plus-money.
Duke vs. North Carolina
Most Points: Armando Bacot (+550 at FanDuel): Paolo Banchero is the rightful favorite at +320 with Brady Manek next at +490, but our predictive analytics team is projecting Armando Bacot for close to the same number of points as the other two, making him a nice value at +550.
North Carolina’s Armando Bacot Noah K. MurrayDuke’s defensive philosophy is to limit 3-pointers and free throws, allowing opponents to score 58 percent of their points on 2-point shots — the 10th-highest rate in country. And that’s where Bacot thrives. In fact, he matched Banchero for the most points the last time these rivals met on March 5, scoring his 23 points on 10-of-11 shooting from inside.
Mark Williams Under 9.5 Rebounds (-115 at BetMGM): While Williams will see plenty of minutes — we’re projecting him for 32.5 on Saturday — our model is projecting him for only 8.5 rebounds based on the matchup.
North Carolina is a very good rebounding team (thanks to Bacot), ranking second in defensive rebounding rate, so Williams could see fewer offensive boards here.
We’re giving him a 62 percent chance of staying under this number.




