The Semi-Sweet Twenty-Four

Good morning everyone.  I still owe you a full post from yesterday, but I want to get today's action up before the day gets away from me like it did yesterday, and I end up giving you nothing.  Of the 12 teams that I made prop bets on to reach the Final Four and win the championship outright, 9 are still alive.  Many of those teams are in action today, heading into their second games of the tournament.  With 24 teams remaining in the tourney, these are the 9 that I made the prop bets on, with their payoffs for reaching the Final  Four and winning the whole thing...


Team/Final Four Odds/National Champion Odds

Florida - 17/10 - 5/1
UCLA - 10/1 - 40/1

San Diego State - 9/1 - 50/1
Baylor - 14/1 - 100/1

Michigan State - 9/4 - 6/1
Virginia - 3/1 - 12/1
North Carolina - 14/1 - 40/1

Louisville - 8/5 - 13/2
Kentucky - 12/1 - 33/1


I bet $1.00 on each team, both to reach the Final Four and to win the National Championship, for a total investment of $24.00.

As I wait to see how this little experiment plays out, I'm still making bets on individual games.  I went 3-3 yesterday, but I came out $1.23 ahead (each bet still being $1.00) because I took Dayton at (+300) to beat Syracuse (I took a "Flyer" on it, so to speak)...  Ba dump, ching!  ;)  I was VERY CLOSE to being 5-1 on the day, as I took Oregon (+5 1/2) and Michigan State (-7 1/2).  Oregon lost by 8 and Michigan State only won by 7.

I made bets on all of today's games because they're on t.v. (do not try this at home!)...  :P  Some of the bets are actually hedges against my prop selections (i.e., if I win the bet today, I get some of my money back for my prop pick not advancing further in the tournament).  Interesting fact:  I checked a few days ago to see how many of my 12 teams could meet each other in this 'Round of 32' if they had all won their first game in the tourney, and NONE OF THEM would have met, even if they had all advanced.  That means that I could still have 9 of the teams in the 'Sweet 16' if everyone that has a game above wins today.  Joey and myself will be back on Wednesday with our 'Five Best Bets' for the 'Sweet 16' - in the meantime, he's too busy working at the sportsbook at Palace Station and betting real money on the games, so I'll go ahead and give you my bets for today...

 

Stanford (+7) vs. Kansas - I think the Cardinal can hang around...
Kentucky (+180) vs. Wichita State - Good value as the Shockers face a real team...
North Carolina/Iowa State (Under 158) - Didn't have the heart to hedge against my Heels...
Mercer (+8) vs. Tennessee - If you can beat Duke outright, you can cover for me...
Stephen F. Austin (+9) vs. UCLA - I could win this hedge and still have the Bruins advance...
Creighton (-3 1/2) vs. Baylor - A hedge here, but I hope the Bears go on...
Virginia (-6 1/2) vs. Memphis - Felt no need to hedge as I don't see Tigers covering...
Gonzaga (+290) vs. Arizona - Good value here with a team that can get streaky hot...


The way they scheduled the first weekend of the tournament games this year, these things will be running ALL DAY LONG (starting about an hour from now).  For those of you who did fill out brackets for this craziness this year, I hope that you still have some life.  Have a great day of hoops, and I'll see you again soon...