Jayhawks lead parade of favorites to window
Slowly but surely, which is how senior forward Perry Ellis appears to move on the floor, Kansas took care of business again. It is possible for teams to continue to advance in March without much stress or sweat.
Not every day of the NCAA Tournament is a surprise party.
“The upsets and last-second shots are awesome,” said Jay Kornegay, Westgate sports book director.
There were none of those Thursday. It was a long, painful night for all four underdogs and most bookmakers. The Jayhawks, the No. 1 overall seed, performed at that level in a 79-63 victory over Maryland in the Sweet 16 game that mattered most to the betting public. Kansas, which covered as a 5½-point favorite, mostly coasted after leading by only two at halftime.
“I’m sure every book in the city needed Maryland. It’s our biggest decision of the night,” Kornegay said. “The sharps were on Maryland for sure, but I would say it was a 7-1 ratio in the ticket count in favor of Kansas.”
Ellis looks old — he could play the part of grandpa in “The Hoopers” commercial for State Farm Insurance — but he’s also reliable. While so much of basketball is about flash, Ellis is simply steady. He seems to do everything well every day. He hit 10 of 17 field goals and 7 of 7 free throws en route to 27 points. Old-school players make their free throws.
A night of routs started with Villanova, the No. 2 seed in the South Region, never trailing in a 92-69 elimination of Miami. Ryan Arcidiacono, a tough little guard, blew by Hurricanes defenders and finished with 21 points for the Wildcats, who shot 62.7 percent and covered as 4-point favorites.
Most teams that win a championship need to survive at least one serious scare along the way. The Jayhawks, who won their first three NCAA games by 26, 12 and 16 points, might be getting that scare Saturday.
“There was more pressure on Villanova because of not faring so well in the tournament as of late,” Sunset Station sports book director Chuck Esposito said. “I think Villanova will be really competitive with Kansas.”
After the first few minutes, Texas A&M never was able to compete with Oklahoma, which is sending coach Lon Kruger to the Elite Eight. The Sooners, popular with the public as 2½-point favorites, survived a subpar shooting performance by Buddy Hield and still whipped the Aggies 77-63.
“I think Oklahoma looked phenomenal,” Esposito said. “The Sooners can shoot the 3, they have really good guard play and they defend.”
Those are the trademarks of Kruger’s teams, although his last few teams at UNLV did not shoot the 3 that well. The Rebels were bounced in the first round in Kruger’s final two seasons. Before he left Las Vegas, he did a favor that might come back to haunt him. As they say, no good deed goes unpunished. We’ll see about that.
He told me this story. In the spring of 2010, Oregon was searching for a coach, and Kruger answered a call. (Not every school searching for a coach calls oddball candidates and goes about it in clumsy fashion.) He was not interested, but he recommended friend Dana Altman, the coach at Creighton.
Kruger’s obstacle on the road to the Final Four is Altman, who guided the Ducks to an 82-68 victory over Duke that will set up Oregon-Oklahoma in the next round.
Dillon Brooks and the Ducks, the top seed in the West Region, proved too long and strong for the Blue Devils. Oregon closed as a 3½-point favorite, after the line opened at 1½, and paid off the public.
Favorites finished the night 4-0 against the spread after favorites and underdogs split with a 24-24 ATS mark in the first two rounds. Looking for a ‘dog or two Friday?
Bruce Marshall, handicapper for The Gold Sheet, said he’s not looking at Indiana. North Carolina, the No. 1 seed in the East, is laying 5½ points to the Hoosiers. Both teams run and gun to average of more than 82 points per game.
“I think Carolina is going to get them,” Marshall said. “Carolina can play that speed, so Indiana is not going to have an advantage.”
I’m on record with four plays Friday — Virginia as a 5-point favorite over Iowa State, Wisconsin as a 1-point ‘dog against Notre Dame, Syracuse as a 4½-point ’dog to Gonzaga, and North Carolina.
“In my brackets,” Kornegay said, “I had Oregon going the whole way.”
Kruger would not want to hear that.
“Filling out a bracket for fun, I had Oklahoma and Virginia in the championship game, and Virginia winning,” Esposito said. “The rest of my bracket is thrashed.”
Most of my bracket is trash, too, but I went with Kansas as the safe, reliable pick.
■ BOTTOM LINES — The Las Vegas race and sports book industry is mourning the loss of Robert “Muggsy” Muniz, who died early this week in Georgia at 63. The cause was reported to be a heart attack. Muniz is most remembered for his long, successful tenure through the 1980s and 1990s as the Barbary Coast race book director.
“Muggsy was extremely passionate about horse racing, and he helped raise its popularity in the Las Vegas market,” Esposito said. “It’s really sad news.”
Las Vegas Review-Journal sports betting columnist Matt Youmans can be reached at myoumans@reviewjournal.com or 702-387-2907. He co-hosts “The Las Vegas Sportsline” weekdays at 2 p.m. on ESPN Radio (1100 AM). Follow on Twitter: @mattyoumans247.