Post Action Betting
march madness 2024

Bettors’ hammering of UConn over Purdue could be a bloodbath for sportsbooks

By
Social Links for Erich Richter
Published April 8, 2024, 11:41 a.m. ET
Sharps are hammering UConn ahead of the national title game.
Sharps are hammering UConn ahead of the national title game. Getty Images

Sharps hammered the Huskies.

After opening as 5.5-point favorites Saturday, the UConn Huskies received massive amounts of money to push the line to 7.5 for Monday’s NCAA national championship against the Purdue Boilermakers.

BetMGM Sportsbook tells The Post that UConn has brought in 64 percent of the bets against the spread (ATS) and 73 percent of the money.

The Huskies’ moneyline also received some interest from big bettors, as the moneyline opened at -250 and sits at -300 at the time of writing.

UConn has received 31 percent of moneyline bets, but the Huskies still garnered 44 percent of the handle (total money bet), signaling that some bettors with deeper pockets are favoring Dan Hurley’s group.

An outcome involving the UConn Huskies to win March Madness would likely be brutal for all sportsbooks.

Favorites are usually the apple of the eye of the public bettor.

UConn generated 21.5 percent of the money to win March Madness this year, having opened at 12/1 last summer and opening the tournament at +350.

This does not include the substantial amount of money placed on UConn since the matchup with Purdue became official.

Dan Hurley has a repeat circled.
Dan Hurley has a repeat circled. Getty Images

When it’s all said and done, UConn is in a spot where it garnered public love on the futures market all season long and could be ripe to make good on that as sharps hammer them ATS and — to a lesser extent — moneyline.

One of the biggest wagers was made by none other than Barstool founder Dave Portnoy.

Portnoy wagered $600,000 on UConn to win March Madness before the beginning of the tournament.

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He stands to win $2.16 million on DraftKings Sportsbook Monday evening.

Portnoy and Hurley will be on the same side on Monday night, as UConn looks to be the first repeat winner in college basketball since coach Billy Donovan led the 2006-07 Florida Gators to two consecutive national title wins.