[h=1]68 NCAA tournament betting nuggets to know[/h]
[h=1]David PurdumESPN Staff Writer[/h]
LAS VEGAS -- This town has really nice hotels and casinos, featuring sportsbooks with giant wall-to-wall LED TVs that cost millions of dollars. Luckily for the casino owners, people are always willing to donate to their cause.
For example, this week at the MGM sportsbook, four people placed bets on ultimate-longshot Holy Cross to win the NCAA tournament at 5,000-1 odds. That seems risky. Some might say it's madness.
There's always a lot to digest with 68 teams in the NCAA tournament (to be 64 by Thursday). Chalk is here to help with a plethora of betting nuggets to help you make decisions.
[h=3]68 NCAA tournament betting nuggets[/h]Five largest first-round strength-of-schedule mismatches
(Excluding 1-4 seeds; Courtesy of KenPom.com)
• 5-seed Baylor (7) vs. 12-seed Yale (191)
• 5-seed Maryland (39) vs. 12-seed South Dakota State (159)
• 7-seed Oregon State (15) vs. 10-seed VCU (105)
• 6-seed Texas (1) vs. 11-seed Northern Iowa (90)
• 10-seed Syracuse (29) vs. 7-seed Dayton (92)
18 Vegas points
• A casino player at the Mirage placed four five-figure wagers on first-round games this week. They took Austin Peay, Yale, Buffalo and ... Fairleigh Dickinson, which lost to Florida Gulf Coast by 31 points in a First Four game Tuesday.
• As of Tuesday afternoon, only four teams in the field had not received a single bet to win the tournament at the MGM sportsbook: Arkansas-Little Rock, Iona, Buffalo and Hampton.
• On Saturday, March 12, the William Hill sportsbook took a $50 bet on Buffalo to win the national title at 7,500-1 odds.
• As of Tuesday afternoon, the exact same number of bets had been placed on Kansas and Michigan State to win the national championship at Station Casinos' sportsbooks.
• At the Westgate SuperBook:
Top 5 teams by money wagered to win the NCAA tournament prior to the bracket being released:
1. Kansas
2. Michigan State
3. Kentucky
4. Virginia
5. Oklahoma
• Top teams at the SuperBook by number of bets to win the NCAA tournament prior to the bracket being released:
1. Michigan State
2. Kansas
3. Kentucky
4. Oklahoma
5. Maryland
• The Indiana Hoosiers winning the national championship is the worst-case scenario for CG Technology. In early January, when the Hoosiers were 70-1, CG Technology took roughly $2,000 in bets at that price. The biggest ticket on the Hoosiers at 70-1 was $300.
• Kansas winning the national championship is the worst-case scenario for Caesars sportsbooks, followed by the Wisconsin Badgers and Utah Utes.
• Utah and Iowa winning the national championship are the worst-case scenarios for Station Casinos.
• Cincinnati and Utah winning the national title are the best-case scenarios for the MGM sportsbook.
• On Selection Sunday, William Hill's Nevada sportsbook took a $55,000 bet on North Carolina to win the tournament at 5-1 odds. William Hill also accepted $50,000 bets on Kansas and Michigan State, both at 11-2 odds.
• The Mirage race and sportsbook will open at 5:30 a.m. Thursday and Friday. Caesars, the Westgate SuperBook and Wynn will open at 7 a.m.
• At William Hill: Will a No. 15-seed win a game? Yes +285 / No -345.
As of late Tuesday afternoon, 97 percent of the money wagered on the prop was on "Yes."
• The over/under on the number of No. 1 seeds to reach the Final Four is 1.5 at the Westgate SuperBook.
• At CG Technology: Will a No. 1 seed win the tournament? Yes +115 / No -145.
• Best advice bookmakers have for novice bettors: Know your bet number -- the number listed to the left of the team you want to bet on the odds board -- when you get to the window.
• The most common size of bet at the Mirage during the first two full days of March Madness is $20, according to assistant manager Jeff Stoneback. "We probably take 10 parlays for every one straight bet," he added.
• The prop bet that had attracted the most lopsided action at William Hill: Will a No. 12 seed win a game? As of late Tuesday afternoon, 99 percent of the money was on "Yes" at odds of -180.
Eight coaching points
• Of Kansas' past 32 NCAA tournament games under coach Bill Self, 23 have stayed under the total.
• Of Gonzaga's past 22 NCAA tournament games under coach Mark Few, 16 have gone over the total.
• Ten of Notre Dame's past 12 tournament games under coach Mike Brey have stayed under the total.
• Brey is 1-6 ATS in games in the Round of 64 since 2006.
• Purdue coach Matt Painter is 6-1 ATS in games in the Round of 64 since 2006.
• At VCU, former coach Shaka Smart was an underdog 10 times in the NCAA tournament. He won six of those games outright. Smart is entering his first tournament as Texas' coach.
• Michigan coach John Beilein is 17-6-1 ATS in the NCAA tournament, including 10-4 ATS with the Wolverines.
Eight scoring points
• Regular-season games averaged 144.9 points this season, a four-year high.
• NCAA tournament games averaged 132.9 points the past three seasons.
• In the past 10 NCAA tournaments, 365 games have gone over the total and 341 have stayed under the total, with a handful of pushes.
• Indiana and North Carolina both average 82.3 points per game, the most of any team in the field.
• Holy Cross averages 65.3 points per game, the fewest of any team in the field.
• Arizona (22-10 over/under) has been involved in the most games that went over the total. Other over teams: Xavier (21-10-1), Austin Peay (20-10), Oregon State (20-10).
• Northern Iowa (13-20 O/U) has been involved in the most games that stayed under the total. Other under teams: Kansas (12-19-1), Arkansas-Little Rock (10-19).
• Since 2005 in the Round of 64, there have been 158 overs and 188 unders.
16 statistical nuggets
• Only four of the past 18 NCAA tournament champions finished the season with a losing record against the spread. Oklahoma begins the tournament at 12-18 ATS, the worst mark versus the spread of any team in the field.
• Seton Hall enters the tournament with the best ATS record (23-9) of any team in the field.
• Since 2005, favorites in the NCAA tournament are 354-347 ATS.
• Favorites went 1,790-1,721 ATS during the regular season.
• Underdogs went 142-137 in conference tournaments this season.
• Connecticut is the best free throw shooting team in the field (78.7 percent); Florida Gulf Coast is the worst (64.5 percent).
• Indiana has the best effective field-goal percentage in the field (58.6 percent); Temple has the worst (46.9 percent).
• Oklahoma makes the most 3-pointers per game (10.4) of any team in the field; Florida Gulf Coast makes the fewest (5.1).
• Northern Iowa commits the fewest fouls of any team in the field (15.3).
• West Virginia commits the most fouls (23.3). The Mountaineers' first-round opponent, Stephen F. Austin, commits 20.9 fouls per game, the second-most of tournament teams.
• Wichita State has outscored opponents by 9.4 points per game in the first half this season.
• Holy Cross has been outscored by 2.5 points per game in the first half this season.
• Michigan State has outscored opponents by 9.6 points per game in the second half this season.
• Michigan State leads the nation in average scoring margin (16.4). Stephen F. Austin is second at 15.3.
• Holy Cross has been outscored by 2.0 points per game in second halves.
• Holy Cross has been outscored by 4.3 points per game this season, the worst scoring margin of any team in the field.
Eight round-of-64 points (since 2005)
• No. 1 seeds are 22-22 ATS in the Round of 64.
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</article>• No. 2 seeds are 19-23 ATS in the Round of 64.
• No. 3 seeds are 24-20 ATS in the Round of 64.
• No. 4 seeds are 24-20 ATS in the Round of 64.
• No. 5 seeds are 20-23 ATS in the Round of 64.
• No. 6 seeds are 20-23 ATS in the Round of 64.
• No. 7 seeds are 25-18 ATS in the Round of 64.
Five bracket points
Top 5 picks to win the NCAA tournament in ESPN's Tournament Challenge:
• Kansas (24.5 percent)
• Michigan State (22.1 percent)
• North Carolina (15.3 percent)
• Oklahoma (6.3 percent)
• Kentucky (5.2 percent)
*Statistical information from BetLabs on SportsInsights, TeamRankings.comand ESPN Stats & Information was used in this article.
[h=1]David PurdumESPN Staff Writer[/h]
LAS VEGAS -- This town has really nice hotels and casinos, featuring sportsbooks with giant wall-to-wall LED TVs that cost millions of dollars. Luckily for the casino owners, people are always willing to donate to their cause.
For example, this week at the MGM sportsbook, four people placed bets on ultimate-longshot Holy Cross to win the NCAA tournament at 5,000-1 odds. That seems risky. Some might say it's madness.
There's always a lot to digest with 68 teams in the NCAA tournament (to be 64 by Thursday). Chalk is here to help with a plethora of betting nuggets to help you make decisions.
[h=3]68 NCAA tournament betting nuggets[/h]Five largest first-round strength-of-schedule mismatches
(Excluding 1-4 seeds; Courtesy of KenPom.com)
• 5-seed Baylor (7) vs. 12-seed Yale (191)
• 5-seed Maryland (39) vs. 12-seed South Dakota State (159)
• 7-seed Oregon State (15) vs. 10-seed VCU (105)
• 6-seed Texas (1) vs. 11-seed Northern Iowa (90)
• 10-seed Syracuse (29) vs. 7-seed Dayton (92)
18 Vegas points
• A casino player at the Mirage placed four five-figure wagers on first-round games this week. They took Austin Peay, Yale, Buffalo and ... Fairleigh Dickinson, which lost to Florida Gulf Coast by 31 points in a First Four game Tuesday.
• As of Tuesday afternoon, only four teams in the field had not received a single bet to win the tournament at the MGM sportsbook: Arkansas-Little Rock, Iona, Buffalo and Hampton.
• On Saturday, March 12, the William Hill sportsbook took a $50 bet on Buffalo to win the national title at 7,500-1 odds.
• As of Tuesday afternoon, the exact same number of bets had been placed on Kansas and Michigan State to win the national championship at Station Casinos' sportsbooks.
• At the Westgate SuperBook:
Top 5 teams by money wagered to win the NCAA tournament prior to the bracket being released:
1. Kansas
2. Michigan State
3. Kentucky
4. Virginia
5. Oklahoma
• Top teams at the SuperBook by number of bets to win the NCAA tournament prior to the bracket being released:
1. Michigan State
2. Kansas
3. Kentucky
4. Oklahoma
5. Maryland
• The Indiana Hoosiers winning the national championship is the worst-case scenario for CG Technology. In early January, when the Hoosiers were 70-1, CG Technology took roughly $2,000 in bets at that price. The biggest ticket on the Hoosiers at 70-1 was $300.
• Kansas winning the national championship is the worst-case scenario for Caesars sportsbooks, followed by the Wisconsin Badgers and Utah Utes.
• Utah and Iowa winning the national championship are the worst-case scenarios for Station Casinos.
• Cincinnati and Utah winning the national title are the best-case scenarios for the MGM sportsbook.
• On Selection Sunday, William Hill's Nevada sportsbook took a $55,000 bet on North Carolina to win the tournament at 5-1 odds. William Hill also accepted $50,000 bets on Kansas and Michigan State, both at 11-2 odds.
• The Mirage race and sportsbook will open at 5:30 a.m. Thursday and Friday. Caesars, the Westgate SuperBook and Wynn will open at 7 a.m.
• At William Hill: Will a No. 15-seed win a game? Yes +285 / No -345.
As of late Tuesday afternoon, 97 percent of the money wagered on the prop was on "Yes."
• The over/under on the number of No. 1 seeds to reach the Final Four is 1.5 at the Westgate SuperBook.
• At CG Technology: Will a No. 1 seed win the tournament? Yes +115 / No -145.
• Best advice bookmakers have for novice bettors: Know your bet number -- the number listed to the left of the team you want to bet on the odds board -- when you get to the window.
• The most common size of bet at the Mirage during the first two full days of March Madness is $20, according to assistant manager Jeff Stoneback. "We probably take 10 parlays for every one straight bet," he added.
• The prop bet that had attracted the most lopsided action at William Hill: Will a No. 12 seed win a game? As of late Tuesday afternoon, 99 percent of the money was on "Yes" at odds of -180.
Eight coaching points
• Of Kansas' past 32 NCAA tournament games under coach Bill Self, 23 have stayed under the total.
• Of Gonzaga's past 22 NCAA tournament games under coach Mark Few, 16 have gone over the total.
• Ten of Notre Dame's past 12 tournament games under coach Mike Brey have stayed under the total.
• Brey is 1-6 ATS in games in the Round of 64 since 2006.
• Purdue coach Matt Painter is 6-1 ATS in games in the Round of 64 since 2006.
• At VCU, former coach Shaka Smart was an underdog 10 times in the NCAA tournament. He won six of those games outright. Smart is entering his first tournament as Texas' coach.
• Michigan coach John Beilein is 17-6-1 ATS in the NCAA tournament, including 10-4 ATS with the Wolverines.
Eight scoring points
• Regular-season games averaged 144.9 points this season, a four-year high.
• NCAA tournament games averaged 132.9 points the past three seasons.
• In the past 10 NCAA tournaments, 365 games have gone over the total and 341 have stayed under the total, with a handful of pushes.
• Indiana and North Carolina both average 82.3 points per game, the most of any team in the field.
• Holy Cross averages 65.3 points per game, the fewest of any team in the field.
• Arizona (22-10 over/under) has been involved in the most games that went over the total. Other over teams: Xavier (21-10-1), Austin Peay (20-10), Oregon State (20-10).
• Northern Iowa (13-20 O/U) has been involved in the most games that stayed under the total. Other under teams: Kansas (12-19-1), Arkansas-Little Rock (10-19).
• Since 2005 in the Round of 64, there have been 158 overs and 188 unders.
16 statistical nuggets
• Only four of the past 18 NCAA tournament champions finished the season with a losing record against the spread. Oklahoma begins the tournament at 12-18 ATS, the worst mark versus the spread of any team in the field.
• Seton Hall enters the tournament with the best ATS record (23-9) of any team in the field.
• Since 2005, favorites in the NCAA tournament are 354-347 ATS.
• Favorites went 1,790-1,721 ATS during the regular season.
• Underdogs went 142-137 in conference tournaments this season.
• Connecticut is the best free throw shooting team in the field (78.7 percent); Florida Gulf Coast is the worst (64.5 percent).
• Indiana has the best effective field-goal percentage in the field (58.6 percent); Temple has the worst (46.9 percent).
• Oklahoma makes the most 3-pointers per game (10.4) of any team in the field; Florida Gulf Coast makes the fewest (5.1).
• Northern Iowa commits the fewest fouls of any team in the field (15.3).
• West Virginia commits the most fouls (23.3). The Mountaineers' first-round opponent, Stephen F. Austin, commits 20.9 fouls per game, the second-most of tournament teams.
• Wichita State has outscored opponents by 9.4 points per game in the first half this season.
• Holy Cross has been outscored by 2.5 points per game in the first half this season.
• Michigan State has outscored opponents by 9.6 points per game in the second half this season.
• Michigan State leads the nation in average scoring margin (16.4). Stephen F. Austin is second at 15.3.
• Holy Cross has been outscored by 2.0 points per game in second halves.
• Holy Cross has been outscored by 4.3 points per game this season, the worst scoring margin of any team in the field.
Eight round-of-64 points (since 2005)
• No. 1 seeds are 22-22 ATS in the Round of 64.
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</article>• No. 2 seeds are 19-23 ATS in the Round of 64.
• No. 3 seeds are 24-20 ATS in the Round of 64.
• No. 4 seeds are 24-20 ATS in the Round of 64.
• No. 5 seeds are 20-23 ATS in the Round of 64.
• No. 6 seeds are 20-23 ATS in the Round of 64.
• No. 7 seeds are 25-18 ATS in the Round of 64.
Five bracket points
Top 5 picks to win the NCAA tournament in ESPN's Tournament Challenge:
• Kansas (24.5 percent)
• Michigan State (22.1 percent)
• North Carolina (15.3 percent)
• Oklahoma (6.3 percent)
• Kentucky (5.2 percent)
*Statistical information from BetLabs on SportsInsights, TeamRankings.comand ESPN Stats & Information was used in this article.
