NCAA Championship Game 2010: Duke vs Butler Odds and Picks

The Final Four has come down to the Top Two as the Cinderella and hometown favorite Butler Bulldogs will take on the powerful Duke Blue Devils in the NCAA Championship Game for 2010. Tipoff is set for 9:20pm EST and the game will be televised live on CBS. Duke opened as 6.5 point favorites with an over/under set at 129.5 but within hours, most online sportsbooks are reporting the Blue Devils as -7.5 favorites in college basketball odds and the total is down to 128.

The game will take place at Lucas Oil Field in Indianapolis, Indiana which is where Butler is located and why they are considered the home team even if they are underdogs in college basketball picks. Butler has become the biggest Cinderella story since the movie “Hoosiers” came out in 1987. “Hoosiers” was filmed on the campus of Butler University. Yes, there is plenty of karma that seems to be working in Butler’s favor. Butler was the champion of the “mid major” Horizon League and enter the title game with a record of 33-4 straight up and 17-20 against the spread in college basketball odds heading into the NCAA Championship Game for 2010.

They have covered the spread in 5 out of their last 6 games and have gone under the total in 9 out of their last 10 games. The Bulldogs are 4-3 against the spread as an underdog. Duke was the champion of the Atlantic Coast Conference and is a long time powerhouse in college basketball odds. Heading into the NCAA Championship Game for 2010 Duke has a record of 34-5 straight up and 23-13-2 against the spread. The Blue Devils have covered 5 consecutive games and have gone under the total in 4 out of their last 6 games at online sportsbooks.

Duke had a surprisingly easy time in their Final Four match-up with West Virginia in a 78-57 rout as 2.5 point favorites while Butler earned a hard fought 52-50 win over Michigan State as 1.5 point favorites in college basketball picks. “They (Duke) played really, really well. I watched a lot of tape, and they’ve never played that well,” West Virginia coach Bob Huggins said after the game. Butler, on the other hand, limped to victory as they missed 19 out of 25 second half shots against Michigan State. “I would never have dreamed we would have won shooting 15 for 49,” said Butler coach Brad Stevens. “Guys really, really dug in.” Duke will be playing for its fourth national title in nineteen years. Butler has never made it this far in school history.