How to Bet Texas Tech-Virginia to Hedge Your NCAA Tournament Pool

Monday's NCAA Tournament Championship Game between Texas Tech and Virginia will not only crown the season's national champion, but it will also settle who takes home the cash in many bracket pools that have yet to be decided.

With Virginia advancing to the title game, it's likely that many of you who follow The Action Network are in the running for money considering Sean Koerner's bracket breakdown recommended picking the Cavs to win your bracket, while having Michigan State top Duke in the Elite Eight.

For those with a crack at bracket pool glory, the key question is whether you should consider placing a bet on the championship game to guarantee you win money no matter the outcome.

For example, let's assume you're in line to win $1,000 should Virginia win. You can theoretically bet on the Texas Tech moneyline and lock in profit no matter which team cuts down the nets.

Obviously, the pro of guaranteed profit comes with the con of losing out on that wager should Virginia win, especially since UVA is expected to win, according to betting markets, Koerner's power ratings and KenPom's projections.

Frankly, the decision on whether to hedge is up to each individual person and depends on the size of your pool, how much money you can win, your personal risk tolerance, how valuable the amount of money is to you, etc.

The purpose of this article isn't to make the decision to hedge for you, but to examine the different ways to hedge should you ultimately decide to do so.

If you are poking around, here are your options to consider.

Where to Bet on Texas Tech-Virginia

Prior to the tournament, The Action Network's Josh Appelbaum detailed where to place legal sports bets in the United States. Currently, there are eight states offering March Madness betting.

See the full list of where to bet on the NCAA Tournament here.

Bet on the Texas Tech-Virginia Spread

While a handful of books are currently sitting at Virginia -1, including the Westgate SuperBook in Las Vegas, plenty of shops have ticked up to 1.5, meaning someone wanting to hedge should certainly shop and be sure to get the best line possible.

Hedging with the spread does provide the very small chance that UVA wins by one point, meaning there's a tiny middle in which someone hedging can win bracket pools with a Cavs victory, and also win the bet on Texas Tech at +1.5.

So you're saying there's a chance …

For those still on the fence, it's reasonable to wait a little longer, as KenPom makes this game Virginia -3, so the market could certainly move in that direction and therefore offer a better price on the Red Raiders.

Bet on the Texas Tech-Virginia Moneyline

This is the cleanest way to hedge, as the moneyline is simply a wager on which team wins the game. Bet on Texas Tech to win the game straight up, then you have a winning wager to cash should the Red Raiders cut down the nets.

If UVA wins, you still have that bracket money coming.

Live Bet Texas Tech-Virginia

If you're truly on the fence regarding whether or not to hedge, you can punt on the decision until the game starts and hope Virginia gets off to a hot start.

This is very risky considering there are no guarantees that you'll see the price you're looking for, but if the Cavs do jump out to an early lead, there will certainly be some nice value available to buyback the Red Raiders at better odds than if taking them pregame.

If you do decide to hedge tonight's title game, be sure to check out The Action Network's handy hedging calculator.