Thursday, March 27, 2003
Copyright ? Las Vegas Review-Journal
More bettors playing totals in NCAA tourney
Twenty-seven of first 48 games go under
By KEVIN IOLE
REVIEW-JOURNAL
There have been several shootouts in the first two rounds of the NCAA Tournament.
Such games, like Arizona's 96-95 double-overtime victory over Gonzaga on Saturday in Salt Lake City, tend to stick in the mind. But the under has been coming in quite well. Of the first 48 games played, 27 (56.3 percent) went under the total.
Bettors have been wagering NCAA Tournament totals more than they have in the past. Eric St. Clair, the race and sports book director at the Rampart and The Cannery, said totals account for almost half of his business on the tournament.
"We get heavy action on the totals," St. Clair said. "It's not fair to say half of our bets are totals, but a large percentage of them are. A lot of people would rather root for scoring or not scoring than having to try to figure out whether or not a team is going to win by more or less than eight points.
"You can just root for misses and bricks, or root for teams to go up and down the court. People are tending to bet that a lot more, and that's an area where we have some growth potential."
St. Clair has had to move his total on three of today's games. The Marquette-Pittsburgh total has been bet to 136 1/2 from 135 1/2, Notre Dame-Arizona moved from 156 to 158, and Duke-Kansas went from 157 1/2 to 156. Kentucky-Wisconsin has stayed at 130.
Handicapper Scott Spreitzer (nss.net) cautioned against basing wagers on the results of the first two rounds, saying bettors must break down each game individually.
But Spreitzer said he thinks a proliferation of quality point guards has caused so many games to go under, and he likes Marquette-Pitt to go under 136 1/2.
"I don't care whether we're talking a one seed or a 16; it seems there are a lot of point guards out there, and they're the guys who make the smart decisions and tend to take care of the ball," Spreitzer said. "These kids are so athletic, too, and they're playing great defense."
Another factor, Spreitzer said, is a coach's ability to control tempo. He said three of the best at that are Kentucky's Tubby Smith, Duke's Mike Krzyzewski and Utah's Rick Majerus.
Spreitzer said Majerus did a good job helping the Utes slow the pace in Sunday's loss to Kentucky.
"The game was starting to get away from Utah when Majerus said `Whoa,' and all of a sudden, things turned around," Spreitzer said. "Kentucky went from being up 16 to being up 9 and Utah had the ball. Tubby called timeout and got his guys to push it again. When you're playing a total, and you have coaches like that who are so good at adjusting, it's a big edge.
"I like to look for teams that have good guards, that play a halfcourt game and tend to rebound well, then you can go under in those games. That's why I like Pitt and the under. Pitt has very good guards: They don't sprint up and down the floor, and they rebound well. I don't like playing unders, because every basket makes you wince, but that game really looks like an under to me."
Copyright ? Las Vegas Review-Journal
More bettors playing totals in NCAA tourney
Twenty-seven of first 48 games go under
By KEVIN IOLE
REVIEW-JOURNAL
There have been several shootouts in the first two rounds of the NCAA Tournament.
Such games, like Arizona's 96-95 double-overtime victory over Gonzaga on Saturday in Salt Lake City, tend to stick in the mind. But the under has been coming in quite well. Of the first 48 games played, 27 (56.3 percent) went under the total.
Bettors have been wagering NCAA Tournament totals more than they have in the past. Eric St. Clair, the race and sports book director at the Rampart and The Cannery, said totals account for almost half of his business on the tournament.
"We get heavy action on the totals," St. Clair said. "It's not fair to say half of our bets are totals, but a large percentage of them are. A lot of people would rather root for scoring or not scoring than having to try to figure out whether or not a team is going to win by more or less than eight points.
"You can just root for misses and bricks, or root for teams to go up and down the court. People are tending to bet that a lot more, and that's an area where we have some growth potential."
St. Clair has had to move his total on three of today's games. The Marquette-Pittsburgh total has been bet to 136 1/2 from 135 1/2, Notre Dame-Arizona moved from 156 to 158, and Duke-Kansas went from 157 1/2 to 156. Kentucky-Wisconsin has stayed at 130.
Handicapper Scott Spreitzer (nss.net) cautioned against basing wagers on the results of the first two rounds, saying bettors must break down each game individually.
But Spreitzer said he thinks a proliferation of quality point guards has caused so many games to go under, and he likes Marquette-Pitt to go under 136 1/2.
"I don't care whether we're talking a one seed or a 16; it seems there are a lot of point guards out there, and they're the guys who make the smart decisions and tend to take care of the ball," Spreitzer said. "These kids are so athletic, too, and they're playing great defense."
Another factor, Spreitzer said, is a coach's ability to control tempo. He said three of the best at that are Kentucky's Tubby Smith, Duke's Mike Krzyzewski and Utah's Rick Majerus.
Spreitzer said Majerus did a good job helping the Utes slow the pace in Sunday's loss to Kentucky.
"The game was starting to get away from Utah when Majerus said `Whoa,' and all of a sudden, things turned around," Spreitzer said. "Kentucky went from being up 16 to being up 9 and Utah had the ball. Tubby called timeout and got his guys to push it again. When you're playing a total, and you have coaches like that who are so good at adjusting, it's a big edge.
"I like to look for teams that have good guards, that play a halfcourt game and tend to rebound well, then you can go under in those games. That's why I like Pitt and the under. Pitt has very good guards: They don't sprint up and down the floor, and they rebound well. I don't like playing unders, because every basket makes you wince, but that game really looks like an under to me."
