Tuesday, March 28, 2006

Weekend Upset Fuels Final Four Frenzy

UConn Bettors Take a Loss But Millions Wager on NCAA Championship

Online sportsbooks were busy taking bets from confident UConn bettors last week but after the weekend’s surprise Huskies loss to long shots George Mason U., those punters are left wondering where to put their money this weekend. 11th seed George Mason seems an unlikely choice – but then, a couple of days ago, not many expected them to even make the Final Four.

“A lot of guys just assumed UConn would go through to the Final Four,” said SportingbetUSA.com Manager, Tony Delgado, “Odds were 2-1 that they’d go all the way. George Mason?! Where’d they come from all of a sudden? We had them at 100-1 last week and now they’re real contenders at 9-2.”

"We weren't supposed to make the Tournament and we did," said George Mason point guard Tony Skinn in a post-game interview on Sunday. "We weren't supposed to beat Michigan State and we did. We weren't supposed to beat North Carolina and we did. We definitely weren't supposed to beat UConn and we did. We don't mind being a Cinderella."

The Patriots have made it past the Huskies, but they’ve still got Florida to deal with. The Gators trounced Villanova this weekend and are at 8-5 to go all the way.

NCAA Basketball odds were updated immediately following the weekend action and will be updated through the week. Current Final Four odds, as posted March 26 on SportingbetUSA.com:

George Mason 9-2
Florida 8-5
UCLA 3-1
LSU 5-2

Tons of team and game props will be added through the week.

"America loves betting on March Madness. It’s actually bigger than the Super bowl since it's so many teams over so much time,” says Delgado. “But everyone has their local or alumni favorite to back, and as the teams are eliminated, they look to bet against their team's biggest rivals. March is when America bets; SportinbetUSA.com is where America bets."