Wilt Chamberlain’s famous quote of “Nobody roots for Goliath” may especially ring true for sportsbooks heading into Monday night’s NCAA Tournament final between UConn and Purdue.
UConn is seeking to become the first team to repeat as NCAA Tournament champions since Florida in 2006-07. The Huskies have run opponents off the court in all 11 tournament games getting to this point, winning each of them by double figures while covering the spread all 11 times.
The public, which has fared well against the sportsbooks in this edition of March Madness, has clearly jumped on the Huskies bandwagon, driving the spread as high as -7.5 points in some places after it opened between -5.5 and -6.5 at most sportsbooks. In addition to the game itself, many bettors are riding UConn futures with Monday night’s championship tilt, with a good portion of them grabbed at plus money if they were placed before the start of the NCAA Tournament.
Purdue and UConn have given bettors wins at each stop en route to the title game, with five wins and five covers apiece. Favorites have covered at a 59.7% clip against the spread (37-25) in the 64-team field, highlighted by an 11-5 performance in the second round. In addition to favorites going 3-1 in the regional final, the public jumped on the bandwagon of No. 11 seed NC State, which upset No. 2 seed Marquette and No. 4 seed Duke in the South regionals en route to its first Final Four appearance since 1983.