Yahoo Finance NCAA March Madness betting: 2 six-figure bets come in on Gonzaga vs. UCLA
Gonzaga is a 14-point favorite over UCLA in the Final Four and a few bettors at BetMGM have not hesitated to put down big money on such a large point spread.
BetMGM has received two six-figure bets on the Bulldogs this week. One was a $275,000 bet on Gonzaga to cover the 14-point spread. The other was a $115,000 bet on Gonzaga to cover the eight-point first-half spread. The first bet would win $250,000. The other would bring a return of $100,000.
The 14-point spread is the largest Final Four point spread in at least 25 years. Since 1996, only two other Final Four matchups had a double-digit spread: Duke (-11) vs. Michigan State in 1999 and North Carolina (-10) vs. Syracuse in 2016.
All but one of Gonzaga’s NCAA tournament games have featured a double-digit spread. Gonzaga was a 33-point favorite against Norfolk State in the first round, a 15.5-point favorite against Oklahoma in the second round, a 12.5-point favorite against Creighton in the Sweet 16 and an 8.5-point favorite against USC in the Elite Eight.
The Bulldogs covered the spread in all four of those games. The game against USC was the first since a Dec. 26 matchup against Virginia that Gonzaga was not favored by at least 10 points.
Ahead of Saturday’s matchup with UCLA, which was the No. 11 seed from the East Region, Gonzaga has received 76% of the bets thus far at BetMGM. On top of that, Gonzaga has received 84% of the money.
The total currently sits at 145.5, with 57% of the bets and 52% of the money coming in on the under as of Thursday afternoon.
In the other matchup, most of the action is on Baylor, which is currently a five-point favorite over Houston at BetMGM. So far, 75% of the bets and 74% of the money has come in on Baylor, while 54% of the bets and 51% of the money is on the over. The total in that game opened at 146.5 and is currently 145.5.
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