NCAA Tournament lines won’t be affected much by empty arenas

Las Vegas bookmakers expect the NCAA’s decision to make its basketball tournament off-limits to the public because of concerns over the coronavirus to have a small impact on the games’ lines.

“The teams that always seem to have a geographic advantage like Duke or Kansas may see a slight adjustment, but that’s it,” Westgate sportsbook director John Murray said. “All neutral site games. Business as usual for us.”

William Hill sportsbook director Nick Bogdanovich said empty arenas might hurt underdogs and totals.

“No crowd hurts true home teams, for sure. Hard to say on a neutral court in the tournament,” he said. “Neutral crowds generally back the ’dog if they’re in the game, come tournament time. Might help unders due to lack of energy in the building.

“Tough question. Just stinks all the way around.”

Professional sports bettor Cris Zeniuk also said having no fans at the games will probably hurt underdogs.

“In general, the crowd usually backs the underdog/smaller schools, especially if the game is close,” said Zeniuk (@lasvegascris). “Without a crowd behind them, it’s unlikely those small schools will get the same kind of momentum they build in a game.”

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