Even for March Madness, the first weekend of the NCAA tournament was a wild one.
Nine double-digit seeds advanced past the first round, including 15-seed Middle Tennessee State, which knocked off Michigan State with relative ease, 90-81.
But after a chaotic opening weekend, the dust is settling on a Sweet 16 field that’s dominated by top seeds. Just two of the double-digit seeds—tourney stalwarts Gonzaga and Syracuse—won their second round matchups, and Gonzaga was actually favored in its first-round matchup against Seton Hall.
A few betting notes and nuggets from the tournament’s first weekend:
Historic comeback or an epic collapse?
Northern Iowa (+7) covered Sunday night against Texas A&M, but doesn’t begin to tell the story of the 11th-seeded Panthers’ 92-88 loss in double overtime.
After advancing to the second round on a buzzer-beating halfcourt shot in the first round against Texas, Northern Iowa was set to advance to the Sweet Sixteen for the first time since 2010 and the second time in school history. With 44 seconds left, they led by 12 points before a historic meltdown that featured four turnovers culminated in the Aggies’ game-tying steal and layup just before the end of regulation.
At one point, bettors could have had the Aggies moneyline at +675.
Yahoo has a blow-by-blow breakdown of the comeback/collapse.
Bad for Sparty, good for sports books
Michigan State became the fourth No. 2 seed in the last five years to lose in the first round, and Nevada’s sports books couldn’t be happier about the outcome.
The Spartans spent a good portion of the regular season as the No. 1 team in the AP Poll and the favorite in the futures market, and many believed they were deserving of a No. 1 seed. They were one of the three favorites at the Westgate SuperBook, William Hill US and offshore book 5Dimes, and no team received more support in terms of tickets or overall money wagered at Westgate.
Little consensus in betting markets as Stephen F. Austin narrowly misses Sweet 16
One of the most interesting lines of the weekend involved 14 seed Stephen F. Austin, which opened as a favorite against Notre Dame at some books, and closed any where from a pick ’em to a two-point underdog.
The Lumberjacks, who advanced with an easy win over West Virginia in the first round, led by as many as five late in the game before eventually falling, 76-75, on an Irish tip-in with 1.5 seconds remaining.
The one-point win for Notre Dame left no clear winner across the board, as books took bets on both sides of the highly volatile line.
“I’ve heard guests say, ‘I could have had Stephen F. Austin at plus-2 and I got that at Pick,’” Chuck Esposito, Sunset Station sports book director told the Las Vegas Review-Journal.
AROUND THE WEB
- For bettors, the NCAA tournament’s first day was rife with late wins and bad beats.
- Michigan State’s loss ranks fourth among the biggest March Madness upsets of the last 20 years, according to the point spreads.
- Federal investigations into the DFS industry are reportedly focusing on whether any site employees engaged in fraud, possibly through the use of nonpublic information.
- Pennsylvania legislator seeking to label DFS a “game of skill.”
- Online gaming giants are rallying against a live betting ban in Australia.
TWEETS OF NOTE
Here it is. 99.99%. This is an all-time sports collapse. Bar none. pic.twitter.com/A3f1iUlkXW
— numberFire (@numberFire) March 21, 2016
More ViewFromVegas of #marchmadness: Favorites have won 36 of 48 games (75 percent) but faves/dogs have split 24-24 ATS. Overs lead 25-22-1 — Dave Tuley (@ViewFromVegas) March 21, 2016
N. Iowa $ line will be my worst bad beat ever -unless N. Iowa +7 also doesn’t cover – in which case THAT would be the worst ever. #IH8sports
— Cousin Sal (@TheCousinSal) March 21, 2016
ODDS & ENDS
- DraftKings is expanding its soccer offerings again.
- The guy who was recently accused of having sex on the High Roller in Las Vegas was murdered Saturday in Houston.
ODDSMAKER’S TAKE
“The public just got crushed. The games kept falling our way, the ‘dogs and favorites were falling our way. We started rolling early and kept going all night.” —Golden Nugget sports book director Tony Miller on the house’s strong start in the NCAA Tournament.