National Championship player props: You want to jump on these three players tonight

Purdue vs. UConn

Monday, April 8, 9:20 p.m. ET, TBS
Zach Edey Over 1.5 Assists (-150, Bet365)

I went with Zach Edey over 1.5 assists (-150) in the Final Four, and the National Player of the Year delivered, dishing out four dimes against NC State.

People don’t understand how good of a passer Edey is out of double teams. You could counter by saying UConn has a stout defender to limit Edey, but he’s just a different level of player. There’s really no limiting Edey, regardless of defensive coverage.

Edey will have plenty of chances to get two assists. It just comes down to Braden Smith, Lance Jones and Fletcher Loyer hitting shots.

Another thing that makes this a great bet is Edey’s conditioning. His ability to avoid dumb fouls allowed him to play 40+ minutes in two straight tournament games. He’s a really smart player and shows off his basketball acumen on defense and with his passing.

Edey knows when to wave the white flag on a play he's beaten. A lot of bigs will put up a lousy contest once they’re behind, but Edey won’t.

From a betting perspective, I typically don’t love laying -150 juice, but I feel like this bet is too good to pass on. He’s hit this mark in all but 13 games this season.

This prop is my favorite of the bunch.

Pick: Zach Edey Over 1.5 Assists (-150)

Trey Kaufman-Renn

Under 0.5 Assists (+160, Bet365)

Again, let’s look at the assist numbers because Edey’s starting interior counterpart isn’t a great fit in this game.

You can grab Kaufman-Renn to get less than one assist at +160 at bet365.

TKR posted an assist in the win over NC State after failing to log one in the previous two games against Tennessee and Gonzaga.

The similarity? Gonzaga and Tennessee space the floor well, which led to Mason Gillis playing next to Edey.

UConn starts Alex Karaban at the four, and he’ll look to space the floor and shoot it. That’s a strong spot for Gillis, so TKR could play even less than his 16 MPG average.

Pick: Trey Kaufman-Renn Under 0.5 Assists (+160)

Mason Gillis

Over 4.5 Points (-110, Bet365)

Like I said earlier, this feels like a Gillis game. I’m a little surprised this number is below five, since Gillis averages 6.7 points and hit over five points in 11 of the past 13 games.

Gillis does one thing extremely well — shoot the ball from 3. The senior forward connects on 47% of his shots from downtown, which bodes well for this number going over.

He’s not some world-beating player, but he plays his role well and thrives off shots after getting passes from Edey.

You can get the over on Gillis at -110 on BetMGM, and that’s too good to pass on.

Pick: Mason Gillis Over 4.5 Points (-110)