The Madness of March has passed and we are down to the four remaining teams fighting to be crowned this year’s NCAA Champion. With the matchups taking place in San Antonio, Florida will face Auburn in the first Saturday matchup before Duke and Houston square off for the right to play in the championship. Kon Knueppel and the rest of this Duke roster have opened some eyes with their play and are the favorites to win it all at -110 odds on DraftKings Sportsbook.
Even still, anything can happen in any given game and Houston has made a statement with its play throughout the tournament. Duke will need to match its defensive level and will not have the experience advantage against this more seasoned roster.
While Cooper Flagg has (rightfully) stepped to center stage of this Duke team, its far more than just a one-man team. Kon Knueppel has proven his importance to this team averaging 14.4 points, 3.9 rebounds, and 2.8 assists while shooting 40.1% from beyond the three-point arc on the season overall.
Duke enters the matchup as a 4.5-point favorite and -270 on the Moneyline. Houston holds +220 odds on the Moneyline on DraftKings Sportsbook with the game total set at 136.5.
Ahead of Saturday’s showdown, here is my favorite Richardson player prop bet to place on DraftKings Sportsbook.
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Best Kon Knuepple prop bets vs. Houston
While there are no typical over/under lines offered for college prop bets, you can bet Kon Knuepple to record 15+ points, 5+ rebounds, 3+ assists, 3+ made three-pointers, or 22+ points, rebounds and assists all for -140 odds or better on DraftKings Sportsbook.
After a relatively quiet start to the NCAA Tournament in which Knuepple was limited to 18 points across the first two rounds, the freshman exploded on the scene. He dropped 20 points, four rebounds, and three assists against Arizona before following this up with 21 points, five rebounds, and five assists against Alabama in the Elite 8.
Duke has gotten plenty of respect in how its future outlook has been talked about, but Houston’s defense cannot be overlooked in this game. The Cougars hold opponents to the fewest points per game of any team in the entire country at 58.3 points allowed per game. This comes while they hold the 14th most difficult strength of schedule and Houston also ranks second in defensive rating, first in opponents’ field goal percentage allowed, 15th in opponents’ three-point percentage allowed, and force turnovers at the 54th-best rate.
Duke has proven capable of winning games in a variety of ways and will need to meet this defensive effort. While Knuepple can impact the game in plenty of areas, my favorite bet surrounding him is to record 5+ rebounds at +120 odds on DraftKings Sportsbook.
Knuepple is averaging just 3.9 rebounds per game on the season, but has seen this production grow in the late stages of the year. Across his past 13 games he is averaging 4.5 rebounds per game and has pulled in as many as eight boards in a game. He has tallied five or more rebounds in 13 games this season including six of his last 11.
Expect Houston to prioritize limiting the impact of Cooper Flagg with his 7.5 rebounds per game in mind as well. Knuepple stands 6-foot-7 himself and is not afraid to get physical down low. With Houston’s defense having a chance to set the tone, expect there to be more rebounding opportunities if this becomes a defensive battle and for Knuepple to benefit from the attention given to Flagg.
Four different players on Tennessee pulled in five or more rebounds against Houston in the previous victory and three players on Purdue reached this total in the Sweet 16. While its lack of size is not noticeable because of the work rate they play with, Houston does not have a player over 6-foot-7 in their starting lineup.
Look for Kon Knuepple to be the beneficiary of the increased attention on Cooper Flagg and clean up on the boards in this matchup. The Duke forward has more size than you realize because of the players around him and look for him to replicate his five-rebound performance in the previous victory.
Best Bet: Kon Knuepple 5+ Rebounds (+120)
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