Handful Of Loyola-Chicago Bettors Still In Position To Hit NCAA Tournament-Jackpot
Small Handful Of Loyola-Chicago Bettors Still In Position To Hit NCAA Tournament-Betting Jackpot
David Ching, Forbes
3/26/18
Sister Jean Delores Schmidt might not approve of such behavior, but there was big money to be made by betting on her Loyola-Chicago team in the NCAA men’s basketball tournament.
America’s favorite nun -- the Ramblers’ 98-year-old team chaplain -- famously picked her team to lose in the Sweet Sixteen in her own bracket. As thrilled as she may be that the Ramblers have advanced to an unlikely Final Four appearance, it probably does not compare to the excitement felt by the small handful of bettors who were all-in on Loyola-Chicago before the tournament started.
For at least one of them, there is a $45,000 payday at stake should the Ramblers prevail in the tournament final.
William Hill US, which operates 108 sports books in Nevada, took 32 pre-tournament bets on Loyola to win it all, at 300-1 odds. The biggest bet was $150, which would potentially net $45,000 should the Ramblers beat Michigan in Saturday’s Final Four and the Villanova-Kansas winner in Monday’s final. The second-biggest pre-tournament Ramblers bet of $100 could net the winner $30,000.
The Ramblers still have to win two more games for those bets to pay off, however. Other Loyola-Chicago bettors have already hit the jackpot.
For starters, Bovada had the Ramblers at +3,000 to win the South Region, which some basketball analysts identified as the “Group of Death” prior to the tournament. William Hill had Loyola-Chicago facing 100-1 odds to win the region and advance to the Final Four.
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#Back2theFutures The Loyola-Chicago #Ramblers were available at 100/1 odds to win the #MarchMadness South Region back on March 12th. #EliteEight
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The No. 1 seed in the South was Virginia, which made tournament history -- and also made a few fortunate bettors extremely happy -- by becoming the first No. 1 seed to lose to a No. 16 seed since the NCAA adopted a 64-team bracket in 1985. Also lurking in the region were major programs like Cincinnati, Arizona, Kentucky and Tennessee, so 11th-seeded Loyola-Chicago was obviously a huge longshot. Still, those who risked a $100 money-line bet on the Ramblers reaching the Final Four cashed in with $3,000.
Historical precedent only added to the long odds that Loyola-Chicago and fellow 11 seeds Syracuse, St. Bonaventure and San Diego State faced entering the tournament. Only three No. 11 seeds -- LSU in 1986, George Mason in 2006 and Virginia Commonwealth in 2011 -- had ever reached the Final Four since the inception of the 64-team field in 1985, and all three lost their Final Four game. But Bovada offered a +3,300 pre-tournament prop bet on any 11 seed winning the national title, so that bet would still be in play when the Ramblers tip off on Saturday.
Another offering that will likely tempt bettors is the under -- 128 total points as of Sunday evening -- in Saturday’s Loyola-Chicago-Michigan game, a matchup between two of the nation’s top defensive teams. Loyola-Chicago ranks fifth nationally in scoring defense by allowing 62.4 points per game, while Michigan is eighth at 63.1. Taking the under was the correct play in 17 of the Ramblers’ 29 available games entering the tournament and in each of their first three tournament wins: 64-62 over Miami, 63-62 over Tennessee and 69-68 over Nevada.
After those three narrow wins, what was the only appropriate thing that could happen in this unpredictable tournament, with Loyola-Chicago facing another defense-first team in the Elite Eight? Obviously a runaway Ramblers win, with their 76-62 victory over Kansas State eclipsing the 126-point line by 12.
In other words, hitting on tournament bets requires a combination of skill and often wild luck -- and nothing beats winning big when the longshot pays off. In each of the first three rounds, that $150 Loyola-Chicago bettor was at risk of losing in the closing seconds. The Ramblers managed to pull out the win each time, though, and have now put themselves in position to make history.
No. 8 seed Villanova in 1985 remains the lowest-seeded team to win the tournament, so Loyola-Chicago could be the first double-digit seed to ever pull off the feat. And if they do, somebody will be $45,000 richer for casting their lot with the Ramblers prior to their first tournament game.
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Handful Of Loyola-Chicago Bettors Still In Position To Hit NCAA Tournament-Jackpot
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