On December 23, Wichita State was 11-0, with wins over BYU, St. Louis, Tennessee and Alabama. At that point, the Shockers were 100-to-1 to win the NCAA Tournament at the Las Vegas Hotel & Casino SuperBook. Two weeks later, Wichita State’s odds were trimmed to 50-to-1. That may have been two weeks too late.
The LVH took 52 bets on the Shockers at 100/1, according to assistant manager and head oddsmaker Ed Salmons. By the time the tournament bracket was released, more bets had been placed on Wichita State to win it all than any other team. More money, however, had been wagered on the Michigan State Spartans, albeit at much shorter odds.
Still, the SuperBook was more than happy to see the unbeaten Shockers get stuck in what, on paper, appears to be an extremely treacherous region that includes defending champion Louisville, preseason favorite Kentucky and powerhouses Duke and Michigan.
The MGM sportsbook is in the same boat.
“If there’s one team that we don’t want to win, it’s Wichita State,” said Jeff Stoneback, assistant manager at the Mirage sportsbook “We took a ton of money on them at 50-to-1. They are a huge liability for us.”
Stoneback characterized the liability on the Shockers as “six figures.” He said he didn’t remember any significant bets being made at 50/1, but wouldn’t be surprised if someone was holding a big ticket on Wichita State.
Wichita State reached the Final Four last season and led eventual champion Louisville by 12 with 11 minutes to play in the semifinal. Four of Wichita State’s starters from that game are the top four scorers on this season’s team. The Shockers have the best record against the spread (24-6-1 ATS) of any team in the tournament field. They have covered eight straight games, the longest such streak in the nation.
Wichita State, the top seed in the Midwest Region, is currently listed at 15/1 at the LVH.
Updated Odds to win the NCAA Tournament
(Courtesy of LVH SuperBook as of Wednesday)
FLORIDA 9-2
MICHIGAN ST 4
ARIZONA 7
KANSAS 15
WICHITA ST 15
VIRGINIA 12
SYRACUSE 18
WISCONSIN 25
MICHIGAN 30
VILLANOVA 25
CREIGHTON 30
IOWA ST 30
UCLA 30
KENTUCKY 50
NORTH CAROLINA 75
OHIO ST 75
OKLAHOMA ST 60
SAN DIEGO ST 100
VCU 100
ST LOUIS 100
BAYLOR 100
CINCINNATI 100
OKLAHOMA 100
UCONN 100
OREGON 100
NEW MEXICO 100
TEXAS 100
GONZAGA 200
MEMPHIS 100
PITTSBURGH 100
IOWA 200
TENNESSEE 200
UMASS 200
STANFORD 300
PROVIDENCE 300
KANSAS ST 500
ST JOE’S 500
ARIZONA ST 300
COLORADO 500
GEORGE WASHINGTON 500
BYU 500
NEBRASKA 500
DAYTON 500
NC STATE 500
HARVARD 500
NORTH DAKOTA ST 500
FIELD 300