Books ride upsets to solid winning day of March Madness

Virginia either gets upset in the first round of the NCAA Tournament or wins the national title.

At least that’s been the case for the Cavaliers in their last three trips to the tourney. They were stunned by 16th-seeded Maryland-Baltimore County in 2018 before bouncing back to win the 2019 NCAA title.

On Saturday, Virginia (-7) was an upset victim again, getting eliminated by No. 13 Ohio in a 62-58 loss.

Las Vegas sportsbooks lost big on the game as sharp bettors and the betting public loaded up on the Bobcats, who opened as 10½-point underdogs.

“I was surprised. I thought we might get some play on the favorite (Saturday), but they were still betting Ohio,” MGM Resorts director of trading Jeff Stoneback said.

Abilene Christian, a No. 14 and 8½-point underdog, dealt No. 3 Texas a stunning 53-52 defeat to close out a first round that saw nine double-digit seeds win.

Favorites won 10 of 15 games Saturday but finished only 4-11 ATS as books enjoyed another winning day.

Oregon advanced to the second round after its game against Virginia Commonwealth was ruled a no-contest because of multiple positive COVID-19 tests on the Rams.

“Overall, it was a solid day. The games are great. But it’s definitely strange,” William Hill sportsbook director Nick Bogdanovich said. “Ohio was a big upset, but Virginia had one practice in six days because of COVID. We have a forfeit. Oklahoma and Kansas had battles with COVID.

“If they somehow get it done, it will be great. But it’s definitely a mess.”

The public also won big on popular underdog UC Santa Barbara (+7), a No. 12 seed which came within a last-second putback of beating Creighton in a 63-62 loss.

“Ohio and Santa Barbara were two huge public teams,” Bogdanovich said.

Most books did well on Colorado (-5½), which dominated Georgetown in a 96-73 rout. BetMGM was not one of them as it took a $165,000 straight bet on the Buffaloes -5.

“The public was on Georgetown. We were probably one of the few books that lost on that game,” Stoneback said. “The surprise to me about this whole tournament is the way the Pac-12 teams are playing.”

Including UCLA’s win in the First Four, Pac-12 teams are 5-0 straight up and ATS.

Eastern Washington (+10½) delivered one of the best results for the books and bailed out its backers when Jacob Davison hit a runner with eight seconds left for the backdoor cover in a 93-84 loss to Kansas.

No. 1 seed Michigan and No. 2 seeds Iowa and Alabama failed to cover in their respective wins. But top overall seed Gonzaga easily covered the 33-point spread in its 98-55 rout of Norfolk State.

Sunday plays

Wisconsin is a sharp play against No. 1 seed Baylor. The Badgers are 6-point underdogs after the line opened at 6½.

A BetMGM bettor is banking on Florida (-8) to advance to the Sweet 16 after the gambler placed a $224,000 straight bet on the Gators to cover against Oral Roberts, the No. 15 seed that stunned No. 2 Ohio State.

Will Oral Roberts or No. 13 seed North Texas or No. 12 seed Oregon State put on glass slippers Sunday?

“It’s hard to put a string together,” Bogdanovich said. “But if there will ever be one, this is the year.”

Contest corner

Contestants in Station Casinos’ Last Man Standing contest who selected either Virginia Commonwealth or Oregon will be graded as a win and that entry will be active Sunday.

Entrants in the contest pick one winner against the spread per day for the 10 days of the tournament. Entrants are eliminated with a loss, and the contest plays down to a single winner. There were 2,065 entries ($25 per entry, five for $100) and the grand prize is $42,800.

The game won’t be included in the Westgate Hoops Central Showdown contest, in which entrants picked 28 first-round games ATS. The entry fee was $100 and there were 73 entries.

Any of the William Hill $1 million parlay cards that had the game on them are a refund, per the rule that if one of the 20 selections is canceled or forfeited, the wager will be a refund. The card costs $5, and entrants must go 20-for-20 ATS to win $1 million.

Contact reporter Todd Dewey at tdewey@reviewjournal.com. Follow @tdewey33 on Twitter.