We witnessed the true definition of March Madness last Sunday when No. 2 UConn shocked No. 1 overall seed Duke and denied the Blue Devils a trip to the Final Four thanks to alast-second 3-pointer to pull off a 73-72 win.
The shot by the Huskies' Braylon Mullins will not only go down as one of the most iconic shots in tournament history, but it alsohelped one bettor win $615,000— as he had a $300,000 moneyline wager on UConn pregame.
The Huskies are short underdogs against No. 3 Illinois in the first game of Saturday's Final Four, while No. 1 Michigan is a short favorite against No. 1 Arizona in the later game.
How is the betting public wagering on the game?
Yahoo Sports asked a few oddsmakers about the Final Four betting action on UConn-Illinois and Michigan-Arizona so far.
All odds courtesy ofBetMGM.
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No. 2 UConn vs. No. 3 Illinois (-1.5, 139.5)
BetMGM betting splits:51% of bets, 55% of money on UConn +1.5
Thomas Gable, Borgata sportsbook director:"We opened Illinois as 2-point favorites and soon moved to -1.5, which is where we still are. This could get back to 2, maybe even -2.5. The total hasn't moved from 139.5. When you have both games lined this closely, betting action is going to be relatively split. I do expect this to be a decision for us and we'll probably need UConn.
Best bets for the Final Four games from Yahoo experts
"For right now, there is early UConn money taking the +2, and it's relatively split on the moneyline. Some books made the game Illinois -1, so I wasn't willing to open -2.5 like most of the market did. The winner of this game will be an underdog in the national championship. We're in good shape to both teams in the futures book."
No. 1 Arizona vs. No. 1 Michigan (-1.5, 157.5)
BetMGM betting splits:51% of bets, 49% of money on Arizona +1.5
Gable:"A lot of people are looking at this as the national championship game with probably the top two teams in college basketball teams facing off. I made the game Michigan -1.5, which is where it has remained. Michigan moneyline has been a very popular wager, but nothing I'd classify as sharp. Not a big decision here at the moment. Total bet up from 156.5 to 157.5. Not sure it gets up to Michigan -2, I think stays around -1.5.
"From a futures perspective, Michigan is our best result of the four teams remaining. Their national title odds were shortened during that tournament in Vegas back in November, so they're a great result for us. Arizona we're a small loser to."
