March Madness has once again produced results that have got the betting community of New Jersey talking.
It’s not because they have off-loaded a string of unexpected wins and losses on the community. On the contrary, this time things have been going very much as seeded. And yes, that in itself is rather unusual.
For only the second time since 2000, the top three seeds in each region have made it into ‘Sweet 16’. The only other time this has occurred in the past 19 years was in 2009.
The consequences, of course, should delight the punters as the US College basketball championship heads into the regional semi-finals. The bracket players will also be happy.
The major differences between now and 2009 are the College teams that have gone through.
Duke missed out in the 2009 March Madness final
Only Duke, this year’s No 1 seed, Michigan State and North Carolina have managed the feat in both years.
Duke, then the No 2 seed, was the only one of the three not to make the Final Four in 2009. Michigan, the No 2 seed then and now, made the Final Four but lost the final to 1st seed UNC.
Michigan will once more play in this year’s final if the two top seeds go through. This time it would be against No 1 Duke.
New Jersey’s 13 online sportsbooks, however, don’t see this happening – at least not at this stage.
On Wednesday, March 27, Duke was their universal futures money-line favorite at around +260.
Bookies prefer Gonzaga, Virginia and N Carolina to Michigan
However, most saw three other colleges as having a better chance than Michigan of winning. They were Gonzaga and Virginia, both at around +450 and North Carolina at around +600.
Michigan was at +900 ahead of Kentucky (+1200).
Looking at the history books, we see that UNC, with 20 appearances, has reached most Final Fours. Duke trails in third place with 16 – one behind Kentucky with 17.
Gonzaga, the NJ Bookmakers second 2019 favorite, has played in the NCAA basketball Championship 22 times as has Virginia.
Gonzaga, however, has only reached the ’Final Four’ once and Virginia twice.
This should make punters think hard. History has a way of repeating itself. Keep an eye on UNC, Michigan and bookie favorites Duke.