By Kevin Taylor
Sports bettors and online sportsbooks went toe-to-toe all day Thursday, as the first games of the 2010 NCAA Tournament tipped off.
Bracket busting and bankroll busting started early, as the upsets started early. The Notre Dame Fighting Irish (sixth-seeded in the South) were toppled by the 11-seed Old Dominion Monarchs. The Monarchs 51-50 squeaker was a solid win for the sportsbooks. The Fighting Irish, who were 3-point favorites, were one of the heaviest wagered on teams heading into round one. SPORTSBETTING.com reported 81% of all the volume on this matchup was on the favorite.
There was nothing unlucky about the number 13 for Murray State. The 13th-seeded Racers pulled off another big upset, toppling the No.4 Vanderbilt Commodores, 66-65 thanks to a buzzer beater by forward Danero Thomas — the Racers were 2.5-point ‘dogs, scoring another solid win for the sportsbooks.
How much did Georgetown hurt? For me, bad, as I had them going to the Elite Eight, so that dog of a game they played basically killed my Midwest Region bracket. Ohio laid the boots to the #3-seed Hoyas pretty much right from the start. The 14-point underdog Bobcats won straight up 97-83, delivering another blow to the sports betting public, who had backed Georgetown with 75% of the volume on that matchup.
Villanova barely survived, winning in OT as a double digit favorite, but not coming even close to covering the spread…overall it was a wild opening day.
Friday NCAA Betting Trends
Looking ahead to Friday could there be a slight upset in the South Region in the game between the No. 8 California Golden Bears and the No. 9 Louisville Cardinals?
The Golden Bears are 1-point favorites for their tournament opener and the Total is set at 149.5.
Cal announced that starting forward Omondi Amoke would be suspended indefinitely citing violation of team rules, although the exact nature of the suspension was not given.
The disciplinary measure will weaken the Golden Bears as “the loss of Amoke, who emerged midseason as a starter for Cal, leaves the Bears with even less muscle than they had against a Louisville team that features a strong, young front court,” according to the San Francisco Chronicle.
The Cal Golden Bears were hot late in the season as they went 9-2 straight up and against the spread in the 11 games leading up to the NCAA championship tournament.
However, they haven’t fared well in their last 10 games when favored by 2-points or less, going 3-7 SU and 3-7 ATS.
Over/Under bettors take note, they have produced 8 Overs and 2 Unders in their last 10 in that situation.
Over in the Midwest, the seventh-seed Oklahoma St. Cowboys will open the tournament with a game against the 10-seed Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets.
The Cowboys are 1.5-point favorites with an Over/Under of 136.5.
The Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets haven’t been very good down the stretch when it comes to rewarding their backers, going only 4-8-1 ATS in their last 13 games overall.
Over/Under Alert: In the Yellow Jackets’ last 13 games when underdogs of 2-points or less, there have been 10 Overs and only 3 Unders. In the Cowboys’ last nine games when favored by 2-points or less, there have been 7 Overs and 2 Unders in that time.
OSU’s last nine games when favored by 2-points or less, they are 7-2 SU and 7-2 ATS.
Friday’s action should deliver another dramatic day of college basketball. Good luck.
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