Thursday’s first-round NCAA men's basketball tournament games didn’t deliver many close games, but sportsbooks took a hit from 11th-seeded Drake’s upset over sixth-seeded Missouri in the night slate.
“Drake (+210) was the most-bet underdog to win on Thursday,” a BetMGM spokesperson told Covers. “It was a nice win for the public.”
The Bulldogs were a 6-point underdog early in the week and fell to +5.5 at some shops on Thursday. Caesars Sportsbook college basketball trader Patrick Berbert told Covers earlier in the week that they were seeing a significant ticket count on Drake.
“While Drake moneyline did have a high ticket count at Caesars Sportsbook, we also received action on the Missouri spread. The matchup opened with Missouri as -4.5-point favorites went up to -7.0 before settling at -6.0. This offset any potential big loss if Drake was able to pull off the outright win,” Berbert said to Covers on Friday.
ESPN BET told Covers on Friday morning that the Bulldogs were the most-bet spread team since Wednesday, despite 11 games tipping off before the showdown with the Tigers.
Other upsets
Drake wasn’t alone among underdogs that cashed for bettors. Creighton at March Madness odds of +125 took down Louisville in the first game of Thursday. McNeese State (+275) then held off a late Clemson rally to cash as the largest underdog of the day.
Sportsbooks did well, however, in the High Point-Purdue game. The 13-seeded Panthers were the most-bet moneyline underdog at BetMGM, but the fourth-seeded Boilermakers pulled away late to set up a showdown on Saturday with McNeese State.
“Overall a positive result day,” said bet365 trading leader Aron Wattleworth. “Although popular backed spread 'dogs Creighton, Drake, and McNeese St. won straight up, the overall action on the days games made for a record first-day tourney handle.
“With some good upsets, and some favs winning easy, it makes for a great start for the tourney.”
By and large, favorites did well in a day where six games were decided by single digits but just Michigan-UC San Diego, a highly-bet game, was decided by one possession. The Wolverines were a 2.5-point favorite and were getting 62% of the handle and 72% of the spread bets earlier this week.
Friday’s first round features eight double-digit spreads.
Second-round lookahead
BetMGM released early insights into Saturday’s March Madness second-round games.
Tennessee -4.5 is getting 92% of the handle and 84% of bets against UCLA. St. John's is edging Arkansas in ticket count with 56% of wagers, but the Red Storm has received a whopping 90% of the early handle. The spread opened 6.5, and has been bet up to -7.5 St. John's.
Creighton is the Saturday underdog with the second biggest one-sided splits. The Bluejays are getting 79% of the money and 81% of the bets at +8.5. No. 1-seeded Auburn opened as a 9.5-point favorite.
One of the most evenly bet games by tickets so far is Michigan-Texas A&M. The fourth-seeded Aggies are getting 52% of the wagers. However, Big Ten-champion Michigan has seen 63% of the money.
The lowest spread on the board for Saturday has third-seeded Wisconsin as a 1.5-point favorite over sixth-seeded BYU. The Badgers are getting 66% of the handle and 67% of the tickets.
Could Houston be the first 1-seed to fall? Nearly 70% of the moneyline handle at BetMGM is on Gonzaga to pull off the upset.
