MARCH MADNESS BAD BEATS BLOG: Aztecs collapse as MW teams go 0-4

Welcome back to March Madness and Happy St. Patrick’s Day.

There are 16 games Thursday as the first day of the first round as the NCAA Tournament tips off four of the most compelling days on the sports betting calendar.

Three No. 1 seeds are in action in top overall seed Gonzaga, defending national champion Baylor and Kansas. All three are favored by at least 20 points.

We’ll be following the action from all the games from inside the Westgate SuperBook. Refresh this blog throughout the day to track bad beats, buzzer beaters, bracket busters, ATS results and more.

10:10 p.m.: Favorites went 9-7 ATS and overs went 10-6. Thanks for reading. We’ll do it again Friday.

9:53 p.m.: FINAL: Creighton beats San Diego State 72-69 in OT. The No. 9 Bluejays closed regulation on a 9-0 run and erased a 3-point deficit in overtime to beat the No. 8 Aztecs as 2-point underdogs and +115 on the money line. The game flew over the total of 121.

Mountain West teams went 0-4 in the tournament, including Wyoming’s loss in the First Four.

FINAL: St. Mary’s 82, Indiana 53. The No. 5 Gaels hammer the No. 12 Hoosiers as 2½-point favorites and the game goes over the total of 126.

FINAL: Arkansas beat Vermont 75-71. The No. 4 Razorbacks hung on for the win after the No. 13 Catamounts pulled within two with 14 seconds left. But Arkansas failed to cover. The game went over the total of 139½.

FINAL: Murray State beat San Francisco 92-87 in OT. The No. 7 Racers squandered a nine-point lead late in regulation before rallying for the win and cover as 2½-point favorites over the No. 10 Dons in overtime. The game soared over the total of 137.

FINAL: UCLA beat Akron 57-53. The No. 4 Bruins erased a 49-42 deficit with 5:58 left to prevail but the No. 13 Zips easily covered as 13½-point underdogs. The game stayed under the total of 128.

FINAL: Kansas beat Texas Southern 83-56. The No. 1 Jayhawks cruised to the cover as 21½-point favorites over the No. 16 Tigers. The game stayed under the total of 145½.

6:43 p.m.: FINAL: St. Peter’s 85, Kentucky 79, OT. We have our first bracket buster as St. Peter’s shocks No. 2 Kentucky in overtime as an 18-point underdog and 15-1 on the money line.

Daryl Banks III made two free throws to put the Peacocks ahead 77-76 with 1:45 left in overtime and they didn’t trail again. Kentucky took a 71-69 lead with 49 seconds left in regulation on a go-ahead 3-pointer by Kellan Grady. But Doug Edert answered with a jumper to tie it with 24 seconds left and the Wildcats missed a shot in the final seconds.

6:10 p.m.: FINAL: New Mexico State 70, Connecticut 63. Make that two 12-5 upsets after the No. 12 Aggies knocked off the No. 5 Huskies as 6½-point underdogs and +245 on the money line. The game went over the total of 132½ when Teddy Allen made two free throws for New Mexico State with seven seconds left.

4:27 p.m.: No. 8 San Diego State (-2, 121) tips off against No. 9 Creighton (+115 ML).

4:20 p.m.: No. 5 St. Mary’s (-2½, 126) tips off against No. 12 Indiana (+125 ML).

4:10 p.m.: No. 2 Kentucky (-18, 132) tips off against No. 15 St. Peter’s (15-1 ML).

4 p.m.: No. 5 Connecticut (-6½, 132½) tips off against No. 12 New Mexico State (+245 ML).

3:54 p.m.: FINAL: North Carolina 95, Marquette 63. The Tar Heels (-3½) jumped out to a 27-10 lead and led 53-25 at halftime as favorites improved to 6-2 ATS on Thursday and 10-2 ATS in the NCAA Tournament, including First Four games. The game went over the total of 152.

3:46 p.m.: FINAL: Gonzaga 93, Georgia State 72. At halftime, No. 1 overall seed Gonzaga was on upset alert, clinging to a two-point lead. But then it became a question of whether the Bulldogs would cover as 22½-point favorites. Gonzaga went on a 21-0 run to extend its lead to 25 as the capacity crowd at the SuperBook exploded.

The Bulldogs were up 26 with 44 seconds left when Evan Johnson hit a 3 for Georgia State. Johnson was fouled on the play and had a chance to cut the deficit to 22 but missed the free throw. Gonzaga missed a shot and grabbed the rebound and could’ve run out the clock. But Matthew Lang missed a 3 and Johnson was fouled while grabbing the rebound. He hit both free throws to make it a 21-point game and give underdog bettors the cover. The crowd booed as Gonzaga dribbled out the clock. The game went over the total of 149½.

The same South Point bettor who wagered $33,000 to win $550 on Baylor on the money line (-6,000) rolled over the bet on Gonzaga on the money line (-9,000). The gambler wagered $63,550 to win $706.10.

2:27 p.m.: FINAL: Richmond 67, Iowa 63. The No. 12 Spiders became the first underdog to cover in an outright upset as a 12-seed won a first-round game for the 32nd time in the last 37 tournaments. Richmond was +9½ and +450 on the money line.

Grant Golden made a layup to give the Spiders a 40-39 lead with 14:32 left, and Richmond never trailed again. No. 5 Iowa twice cut the deficit to two in the final minute, but Richmond answered with two free throws each time to hang on.

No. 1 overall seed Gonzaga (-22½) is clinging to a 35-33 lead over No. 16 Georgia State at halftime. The Bulldogs are -15 on the live betting line and Georgia State is 12-1 on the money line.

North Carolina (-3½) is crushing Marquette 53-25 at halftime. The Tar Heels are -24½ on the live betting line.

1:48 p.m.: Favorites are 5-0 ATS through the first five games of the NCAA Tournament after Baylor, Memphis, Providence, Michigan and Tennessee covered Thursday.

FINAL: Tennessee 88, Longwood 56. The No. 3 Vols built a 25-point lead and cruised to the cover as 18-point favorites over No. 14 Longwood. The game went over the total of 134.

1:30 p.m.: No. 8 North Carolina (-3½, 152) tips off against No. 9 Marquette (+150 ML).

1:25 p.m.: FINAL: Baylor 85, Norfolk State 49. The No. 1 Bears cruised to the cover as 20½-point favorites over the No. 16 Spartans and the game stayed under the total of 137.

FINAL: Memphis 64, Boise State 53. The Tigers held off a second-half charge by the Broncos to cover as 3½-point favorites. Boise State twice cut its deficit to five in the final 1:26 but got no closer. The game stayed way under the total of 133½.

1:23 p.m.: No. 1 Gonzaga (-22½, 149½) tips off against No. 16 Georgia State (25-1 ML), 149

12:10 p.m.: No. 5 Iowa (-9½, 150½) tips off against No. 12 Richmond (+450 ML).

12 p.m.: Baylor leads Norfolk State 43-27 at halftime. A South Point bettor wagered $33,000 to win $550 on Baylor on the money line (-6,000). The Bears are -24½ on the live line.

11:45 a.m.: No. 3 Tennessee (-18, 134) tips off against No. 14 Longwood (12-1 ML).

Memphis doubled up Boise State in the first half for a 38-19 halftime lead. The Broncos are +16½ on the live betting line and 16-1 on the money line.

11:40 a.m.: FINAL: Providence 66, South Dakota State 57. The No. 4 Friars (-2½) held off the No. 13 Jackrabbits, who twice cut a double-digit deficit to three in the final minutes. Baylor Scheierman made a layup with 59 seconds left to cut South Dakota State’s deficit to 60-57. But Providence’s Jared Bynum was fouled shooting a 3 and made all three free throws to make it 63-57 with 29 seconds left.

11:19 a.m.: FINAL: Michigan 75, Colorado State 63. The No. 11 seed Wolverines erased a 15-point first-half deficit to cover as 1½-point favorites over the No. 6 Rams, who were outscored 46-27 in the second half.

Sportsbooks were middled on the total, which opened at 140, closed at 137 and landed 138. It was at 135 in the final minute when Michigan’s Kobe Bufkin made two free throws to make it 74-63. With 16 seconds left, Michigan’s Moussa Diabate missed his first free throw but hit his second to make it 75-63.

Colorado State’s Jalen Lake missed a 3-pointer with 13 seconds left and Michigan corraled the rebound. But the Rams didn’t foul as time expired.

11 a.m.: No. 1 Baylor (-20½, 138) and No. 16 Norfolk State (25-1 ML) tip off as Michigan opens a 67-58 lead over Colorado State with less than three minutes left and Memphis goes ahead of Boise State 16-12 midway through the first half.

10:45 a.m.: The third game tips off between No. 9 Memphis (-3½) and No. 8 Boise State (+135 ML).

10:20 a.m.: First-half under bettors on Michigan-Colorado State were dealt a bad beat. The total was 63 and trending under with the score 25-13 with 5:11 left. The teams then combined for 27 points in the final five minutes to push the first half over the total as the Rams took a 36-29 halftime lead over the Wolverines.

It was still under in the final minute when Hunter Dickinson made a jumper for Michigan to make it 36-28 with 38 seconds left.

9:52 a.m.: South Dakota State, a popular underdog, takes an early 17-15 lead over Providence. Colorado State leads Michigan 28-18 with 3:54 left in the first half. The Wolverines are +225 on the live money line.

9:40 a.m.: The second game tips off between No. 4 Providence (-2½, 148½) and No. 13 South Dakota State (+115 ML).

9:26 a.m.: Colorado State jumps out to a 14-9 lead over Michigan. The Rams are -2½ on the live betting line and the Wolverines are +130 on the money line.

No. 9 Memphis is up to a 3½-point favorite over No. 8 Boise State after opening at -2.

9:10 a.m.: The first game tips off between No. 11 Michigan (-1½, 137) and No. 6 Colorado State (+105 ML) as the crowd roars at the SuperBook. It’s the first time since 2019 that Las Vegas sportsbooks will welcome capacity crowds for the tournament. The 1,500-seat International Theater at the Westgate is sold out Thursday. Seats are still available for Friday.

7 a.m.: Houston furniture store owner Jim “Mattress Mack” McIngvale made a $1 million bet to win $2.6 million on his Caesars Sportsbook mobile app Wednesday night in Louisiana on a team from the East Region to win the NCAA men’s basketball title.

The East Region includes two of six Texas teams in the tournament in Baylor and Texas.

The wager is the latest in a series of hedge bets placed by Mack to reduce risk on furniture promotions. His current promotion guarantees customers who spend $3,000 or more will get their money back if a Texas team wins it all.

Mack said he plans to wager on other teams from the Lone Star State throughout the tournament.

Two are in action Thursday. Baylor is a 20½-point favorite over Norfolk State and Texas Southern is a 21½-point underdog (25-1 on the money line) to Kansas.

Here is today’s schedule, with point spreads, money lines and totals:

TODAY’S SCHEDULE

9:15 a.m. — No. 11 Michigan (-1½) No. 6 Colorado State (+105 ML), 137

9:40 a.m. — No. 4 Providence (-2) No. 13 South Dakota State (+115 ML), 148

10:45 a.m. — No. 9 Memphis (-3) No. 8 Boise State (+135 ML), 133½

11 a.m. — No. 1 Baylor (-20½) No. 16 Norfolk State (25-1 ML), 137

11:45 a.m. — No. 3 Tennessee (-18) No. 14 Longwood (12-1 ML), 133½

12:10 p.m. — No. 5 Iowa (-10½) over No. 12 Richmond (+450 ML), 150½

1:15 p.m. — No. 1 Gonzaga (-22½) No. 16 Georgia State (25-1 ML), 149

1:30 p.m. — No. 8 North Carolina (-3½) No. 9 Marquette (+150 ML), 152

3:50 p.m. — No. 5 Connecticut (-6½) No. 12 New Mexico State (+245 ML), 132

4:10 p.m. — No. 2 Kentucky (-18) No. 15 St. Peter’s (15-1 ML), 132