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Special to ESPN.com- Andrew Lange has been a college basketball bettor and handicapper at Sportsmemo.com since 2007.
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ESPN Analytics- Seth Walder is an analytics writer at ESPN, specializing in quantitative analysis. He is also a regular on "ESPN Bet Live" and helps cover sports betting. Seth has been at ESPN since 2017. He previously worked at the New York Daily News covering the Jets and Giants. You can follow Seth on X via @SethWalder.
Monday night's national championship game pits a top-tier Villanova offense against a stout Michigan defense.
The Wildcats look to win their second title in three years after ousting Kansas on Saturday. Michigan earned its chance for play for its first championship since 1989 after beating Loyola-Chicago.
Villanova and Michigan tip off at 9:20 p.m. ET, and the contest should be competitive and exciting -- but how should bettors approach the game? Here's a look at how to bet the national championship from our college basketball experts, Andrew Lange and Seth Walder.
If you're looking for more analysis, be sure to check out PickCenter.
Note: Odds are via Westgate Las Vegas SuperBook, as of 11 a.m. ET.
No. 1 Villanova Wildcats (-6.5, 144.5) vs. No. 3 Michigan Wolverines
Lange: Who's ready to step in front of Villanova's offense? The Wildcats made 18 3-pointers and shot 55 percent from the field against Kansas, yet it was "only" their eighth-highest offensive efficiency mark of the season. Yes, in seven other games -- three of which were against NCAA tournament participants -- Villanova's offense was actually better than what we witnessed on Saturday. So while we as bettors are wired to call for regression in the case of extremes, scoring 95 points on 1.34 points per possession was actually not out of the ordinary for this team.
