March Madness is synonymous with upsets.
But backing underdogs in the first round of the NCAA Tournament was maddening for bettors.
Favorites won 25 of 32 games while going 19-13 against the spread, including 10-6 on Friday. There were seven outright upsets, but no true bracket busters.
New Mexico pulled off the biggest of the three upsets Friday in a 75-66 win over Marquette as a 4½-point underdog.
McNeese State (+7) had the biggest upset of the first round Thursday in a win over Clemson.
Bettors were on the other side of those upsets and lost big Friday on popular underdog Grand Canyon (+9½), which was crushed 81-49 by Maryland.
“That was definitely our best game of the day,” Westgate vice president of race and sports John Murray said. “A lot of very respected money was on Grand Canyon. That’s why we closed that game 9½. It was a very trendy pick.
“You just don’t see that really anywhere else on the sports betting calendar, but it happens every year in the first round of the NCAA Tournament. There’s always a few of these trendy underdog teams that are high seeds getting a decent amount of points, and the players line up to back them. This year, at least, they haven’t been rewarded for that.”
Unders went 12-4 on Friday and 21-11 in the first round.
Bettors won on Baylor (+1, beat Mississippi State 75-72) but lost big on Ole Miss, which blew most of a 22-point second-half lead over North Carolina before holding on for a 71-64 victory as a 2-point underdog. The Rebels were getting points despite being a 6-seed.
“The best game for bettors was probably Baylor,” South Point sportsbook director Chris Andrews said. “We had a couple good ones, but Mississippi over North Carolina was probably the best one.”
Two-time defending champion UConn won and covered its 13th consecutive game in the tourney, beating Oklahoma 67-59 as a 5½-point favorite. The Huskies helped favorites finish 4-0 ATS Friday night, along with Michigan State (-17½, beat Bryant 87-62), Oregon (-7, beat Liberty 81-52) and Illinois (-4½, beat Xavier 86-73).
Mountain best
The Lobos and Colorado State earned some redemption for the Mountain West after San Diego State lost by 27 to North Carolina in the First Four and Utah State was whipped by 25 by UCLA in the first round.
The Rams became the second 12th seed to win when they beat Memphis 78-70. But don’t call it an upset. Colorado State closed as a 1-point favorite and dealt a blow to bettors who faded Mountain West teams Friday.
Sweet 32
The lack of upsets in the first round has set up some stellar second-round matchups.
“I’ve been criticized for saying this before, but I don’t really want too many Cinderellas going too deep in the tournament,” Murray said. “Having all these favorites win leads to really appealing matchups.”
For starters, St. John’s is favored by 7 over Arkansas in a matchup of national title-winning coaches Rick Pitino and John Calipari, and Houston is favored by 5 over Gonzaga.
Sharp bettors at the South Point took BYU +1½ over Wisconsin in another game, causing the line to dip to 1.
Upsets or not, Andrews said March Madness matchups are always attractive.
“I say this every year. It doesn’t matter. There’s always good action and always intriguing matchups,” he said. “If it’s underdogs, usually the public gets enamored with them. If it’s more favorites, it’s teams they recognize more. It’s good either way.”
‘Very old school’
Andrews and Murray were both very pleased with the amount of action and overflow crowds at their books.
“We’re real happy with the crowds, the handle and everything else,” Andrews said. “We just try to do everything right to bring in the crowds, whether it’s free parking or a free party with great food and drink prices, or buffets or 3-to-2 blackjack.
“Everything we try to do at the South Point is very old school to bring in the players.”
Murray was thrilled that the betting handle, or amount of money wagered, was higher on Thursday and Friday that it was on the same days last year.
“I’m really happy to see we’re going to beat the handle numbers for both Thursday and Friday. That’s a really good sign for us. I want to see the volumes going in the right direction,” he said. “Taking -109 juice on all the (college and pro basketball) sides is a big part of it. It’s also something as simple as we’ve got some really good VIP players that are in the building this weekend.”
Contact reporter Todd Dewey at tdewey@reviewjournal.com. Follow @tdewey33 on X.