EuroLeague Final Four Betting 2017 Basketball Winner Odds & Predictions
There is a big weekend of basketball as the Final Four is being held out in Istanbul to round off the EuroLeague season with. This is Europe’s premier basketball competition and this is the semi-final stage of the season with both of them being played on May 19th, followed by the Championship game on May 21st (along with a third place game).
After the close of the regular season, the top eight sides move through to a best-of-five play off series. The top eight in the regular season (in order of position) were Real Madrid, CSKA Moscow, Olympiacos, Panathinaikos, Fenerbahce, Anadolu Efes, Baskonia, Darussafaka Dogus. So that pitted top side Real Madrid against Darussafaka Dogus in the play offs, Panathinaikos against Fenerbahce, Olympiacos against Anadolu Efes and CSKA Moscow against Baskonia.
The winners of each of those four matches then head off to the semi-finals in what is known as the Euroleague Final Four. This year it is Real Madrid, Fenerbahce, Olympiakos and CSKA Moscow who will be battling it out or the crown in Turkey. The play offs didn’t see any really upsets this season, perhaps only fifth-placed- Fenerbahce taking down Panathinaikos in three matches.
Euroleague outright winner odds
CSKA Moscow 2/1, Fenerbahce 7/4, Real Madrid 3/1, Olympiakos 7/1
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Fenerbahce v Real Madrid
Fenerbahce are 5/7 favourites at Bet365 to take the win in their semi-final against Real Madrid who are 6/5 for the match. That may be a little surprise as Real Madrid topped out the table in the Euroleague regular season with 23 wins. Fenerbahce finished back in fifth with 18 wins but they were on fire in the play offs. In the head to head across the course of the season, Real Madrid took a 61-56 home win over the Turks, with Fenerbahce edging a 78-77 win on home soil against the Spaniards.
Fenerbahce finished second in last season’s tournament, missing out on the title in a defeat against CSKA Moscow. Real Madrid though are no stranger to the Euroleague Final Four as they have taken two runners up spots and one title in the last four seasons. Their title win came in 2015 after they had finished runner-up in back to back seasons. They missed out on the Final Four last season as well so will have a point to prove. There’s nothing wrong with seeking out the little extra value in this one by backing the Spaniards.
Prediction: Real Madrid
CSKA Moscow v Olympiacos
CSKA Moscow are 5/12 odds-on favourites at Bet365 to make it through their semi-final, leaving Olympiacos as heavy 2/1 underdogs in the showdown. CSKA Moscow are the reigning champions of the EuroLeague Final Four having taken down Fenerbahce in last season’s tournament. That was their first title since 2008 at the event. But they are a powerful side and generally there or thereabouts in the postseason affairs. CSKA Moscow finished second in the regular season to Real Madrid, finishing with just one win fewer than the Spaniards, but the Russians had a vastly superior Points Difference across the course of the season. After working their way past Baskonia in the play offs, they are going to take some stopping
Olympiacos edged out Turkish opponents Anadolu Efes in the playoffs, winning the final leg in an epic series. Olympiacos suffered a 75-81 home defeat against CSKA Moscow earlier in the season, while they lost 90-86 on the road to them. Olympiacos won back to back titles in 2012 and 2013 but their only appearance in the Final Four since then was a second place finish to Real Madrid in 2015. So they are back on top but they have a tough quarter-final ahead of them and given their head to head form against the Russians, they aren’t likely going to have enough to pull themselves through.
Prediction: CSKA Moscow
EuroLeague Final Four History
Panathinaikos are the most successful side in the history of the Original FIBA Champions Cup and EuroLeague Final Four competitions. They have won the title six times, with Maccabi Tel Aviv the second most successful side with four wins. Then you have three of this year’s Final Four, Olympiacos, CSKA Moscow and Real Madrid all sat on three wins each so there is a chance for one of them to pull ahead of the other two. As for Fenerbahce, they have yet to taste EuroLeague success, their best finishes coming with a second place and a fourth place at the event.
Five of the last nine tournaments have been won by a Greek side, which gives some preference to Olympiacos and two of the other four in that sequence were won by a Spanish club. But CSKA are the outright favourites for the 2017 edition of the EuroLeague because of their superior scoring power. In terms of that, they topped out the regular season with Real Madrid the only one within touching distance of them. So our money would be on seeing a Real Madrid v CSKA Moscow Final and if that happens, the betting for the final gets very tough with nothing much to choose between them. If it ends up like that, the two sides traded home wins in the regular season, but Real Madrid outscored the Russians over the two matches.
