For the first March Madness that Kentucky sportsbooks could offer lines on the most popular one-month event in sports, a preponderance of Wildcats' fans went all in on their beloved team.
At four prominent books, the University of Kentucky dominated activity on the futures market, with more than 50% of the handle on the Wildcats to win the national title. After all, Kentucky ended the regular season on a tear, notching three top-15 wins, including a four-point victory over then-No. 4 Tennessee on Senior Night in Knoxville.
The No. 3 seed in the South Region, Kentucky entered the NCAA Tournament as a chic pick to cut down the nets at next month's Final Four in Arizona. But last Thursday, Oakland guard Jack Gohlke drained 10 3-pointers en route to a shocking upset, as Kentucky fell to a double-digit seed for the second time in three years.
“This team, I really felt, could have done so much more,” said Kentucky coach John Calipari during the postgame news conference. “To define our season with this game, it’s the sport we’re in. But this one hit me hard because I thought I had a team that could do some stuff.”