Tag: BetFTW

Explaining why Isaiah Collier may fall in the 2024 NBA Draft after his season at USC

What is going on with Isaiah Collier right now?

Every year, there are players expected to hear his name called early in the draft but who fall lower than initially anticipated. One of the players in the 2024 NBA Draft who could deal with such a slide is Isaiah Collier.

While he was projected the No. 1 overall pick in the 2024 NBA Draft on HoopsHype’s Aggregate Mock Draft as recently as just a few months ago in January, a lot has changed since then. Now, the projections are far lower.

Here is what you need to know: Collier was the Naismith Prep and Morgan Wootten National Player of the Year in high school. He was the MVP of the McDonald’s All-American Game and named Mr. Georgia Basketball. Some recruiting services had him as the top player in the class.

Collier was pretty impressive at some points during an otherwise very disappointing campaign USC. But he especially struggled in December and he suffered from a hand injury that forced him to miss significant time.

He eventually returned to the court and played much better, earning his spot on the Pac-12 All-Freshman Team. He averaged 16.3 points, 2.9 rebounds and 4.3 assists per game per game during his one-and-done campaign in the NCAA.

So why do many feel that his draft stock is sliding? Here are some of the latest reports.

Decision-making and shooting

Jonathan Givony (via ESPN): “Collier does have interest from teams in the late lottery, but there are realistic scenarios in which he falls toward the back of the first round. It can be difficult for competitive teams to find minutes for a point guard whose key areas for improvement are decision-making and long-range shooting — logically, Collier might need G League time, particularly if he lands with a playoff-level team.”

Team success

Eastern Conference scout, to David Aldridge (via The Athletic): “Like Whitmore [at Villanova], their team didn’t do well, and there’s not a touchy-feely love story to them. Isaiah’s obviously got a few issues here and there. We all make excuses for the guys we like, and we do the opposite as well. It’s easy to dismiss those guys because of their persona.”

Measurements

Marc J. Spears (via Andscape): “The Trojans listed Collier at 6-feet-5 and 210 pounds on their roster, but at the NBA pre-draft camp, he measured 6-2.5 without shoes, 204 pounds, had a 6-4.75-foot wingspan and a maximum vertical jump of 34 inches. One NBA scout told Andscape that those measurements and shooting questions affected Collier’s draft status. He worked out for eight NBA teams and also turned down several workouts, a source said.”

Other on-court concerns

Raphael Barlowe (via NBA Big Board): “His disappointing start to the season raised concerns about his inconsistent shooting, questionable basketball IQ, and puzzling turnovers.”

Collier still has plenty of upside and self-creation skills and could make a team very happy. But he may just have to wait a bit longer to hear his name than he once hoped.

At BetMGM, the over/under on Collier’s draft position was set at 18.5 and he was +160 to go in the top 20.

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Every Kentucky Derby winner since 2000

A look back at some Kentucky Derby history, including a couple Triple Crown winners.

The Kentucky Derby is one of the biggest and most prestigious horse races in the world, and it has a rich history leading into Saturday’s 150th running.

It’s nicknamed “The Most Exciting Two Minutes in Sports” because the 1.25-mile race on Churchill Downs’ dirt track often produces riveting racing and thrilling finishes. Even in the 2022 Kentucky Derby, Rich Strike appeared seemingly out of nowhere to steal the victory, despite the longest odds in the field at 80-1.

So ahead of Saturday’s 150th Kentucky Derby, here’s a look back at some Derby history with all the winning horses, plus jockeys and trainers, since 2000.

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Kristaps Porzingis’ Celtics injury might open the door to a closer Eastern Conference title race

The Knicks are definitely watching Kristaps Porzingis’ injury situation closely.

The Boston Celtics were comfortably the best team in NBA basketball during the regular season. After going up 3-1 on a shorthanded Miami Heat team in the first round, the Celtics should be glowing about being on the verge of advancing to the Eastern Conference Semifinals soon.

Instead, they’re holding their breath about center Kristaps Porzingis’s status.

During Game 4’s blowout win in Miami, Porzingis appeared to hurt his calf on a non-contact injury while handing the ball off to Jaylen Brown. It did not look good as the Boston center left the game to go to the locker room and didn’t return after playing just 14 minutes. ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski reported that Porzingis will undergo further testing on Tuesday but that early indications are that he didn’t suffer an Achilles injury.

That said, it does not nearly mean Porzingis or the Celtics are out of the woods:

Even if Porzingis avoided a disastrous season-ending injury, it does not seem like he’ll be back in the Boston lineup any time soon. If Porzingis is forced to miss any significant time, the Celtics are capable of winning and making a deep postseason run. Still, they are decidedly much more vulnerable without their starting big man, who was the team’s third-leading scorer, second-leading rebounder, and leader in blocks during the regular season.

You don’t just replace that kind of scoring, rebounding, and rim protection by playing hard and together with the players you still have available. These Celtics are more or less dependent on Porzingis taking pressure off of guys like Jayson Tatum, Brown, and Derrick White. He is too big of a piece to their title aspirations to simply wave off any possible extended absence.

All of this to say: Porzingis’ health status might open the door to a legitimate upset in the Eastern Conference title race, let alone the NBA championship.

Per oddsmakers with DraftKings, the Celtics are still heavily favored with -245 odds to win the East. Meanwhile, the tough New York Knicks come in second with +400 odds, while the young Indiana Pacers have the third-best odds at +1100. But those odds might not yet be accounting for Porzingis’ injury:

If I’m gonna be honest, I wouldn’t have entirely trusted the Celtics against a hard-nosed Knicks team, even with Porzingis in a potential Eastern Conference Finals matchup.

The Knicks are one of those teams that defends incredibly, has a real superstar in Jalen Brunson, and constantly makes all the little winning plays. They already had the capacity to beat a full-strength Celtics team. If that feasible matchup happens without Porzingis (just about three weeks from now), I’d be very comfortable betting on the Knicks’ chances of pulling off the upset.

If you’re looking for a good longshot bet to upset these seemingly vulnerable Celtics, the Pacers might not be a bad idea. (Especially since they appear likely to play the Knicks in the second round.) Tyrese Haliburton has grown up before our eyes in his first postseason, while Pascal Siakam and Myles Turner give Indiana the requisite size to abuse a Boston team that could be without its starting center.

The Celtics are likely to advance to the second round of the NBA playoffs for the sixth time in the last seven seasons. But if they don’t have Porzingis moving forward, it’ll be much harder to count on their run through the Eastern Conference lasting as long as they hope.

Caleb Williams’ ‘likely only visit’ with the Bears makes him sound like an absolute lock for the top 2024 NFL Draft pick

There is a 99.9999 percent chance Caleb Williams becomes a Chicago Bear at this point.

If you’re a Chicago Bears fan, you should probably start preparing yourself for the arrival of a former Heisman Trophy winner later this month. At this point, all signs show that former Southern California superstar Caleb Williams will be drafted No. 1 overall by the Bears in the 2024 NFL Draft.

Now, you might say this was obvious. Anyone with a brain could see the Bears were zeroed in on Williams becoming their next hopeful face of the franchise. But after a report from NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport stated that Williams’ visit with the Bears earlier this week will likely be the “only visit” he makes to see any team during this draft cycle, well … duh:

If you still want to make a lot of money on a Williams bet to Chicago, it’s probably too late. Right now, oddsmakers with BetMGM have Williams at -5000 to be drafted by the Bears at No. 1 overall. That means you’d have to bet $5000 just to make $100. If you have that kind of scratch, good for you! But I sure don’t think it’s worth it for anyone.

For all intents and purposes, the market is reading the obvious tea leaves. Williams is virtually guaranteed to be wearing an orange C on his helmet very soon.

How many perfect March Madness brackets are left after Day 1 on ESPN, Yahoo and more

Here’s how many perfect March Madness brackets were left after Thursday’s action.

As we get set for the rest of March Madness, we can safely say that it’s amazing that there are any perfect brackets out there.

After all, the odds of a completely perfect bracket are soooo high, so you can imagine after Day 1 that going 16-0 is near-impossible given the upsets, although Atlanta Falcons running back Bijan Robinson has a perfect bracket so far.

So: how are everyone’s brackets doing as of Friday morning? Great question.

The NCAA reports the number is less than 1 percent (!). ESPN says it’s got just 1,825 out of over 22 million brackets that are perfect, and Yahoo says they have 116 left. WOW!

Bijan Robinson amazingly still has a perfect March Madness bracket after Thursday

WOW! The Falcons RB went 16-0 on Day 1 of March Madness.

Bijan Robinson, tell us your secret!

We know that the odds of a perfect March Madness bracket are astronomical (just ask Warren Buffett, he gets it). And while I’m not sure about the odds of a perfect 16-0 bracket after one day, I do know that the number of remaining perfect brackets is very, very low.

But there’s Atlanta Falcons running back Bijan Robinson, who has himself a perfect 16-0 bracket after Thursday’s action — he nailed the NC State upset, the Oakland win over No. 3 seed Kentucky, the Duquesne win … all of it! He has Texas winning, which makes sense for the Longhorns alum.

Congrats, and keep it going!

Let Warren Buffet’s old $1 billion offer for a perfect March Madness bracket remind you how impossible that is

Remember: A perfect bracket is impossible.

We haven’t heard in years if Warren Buffett is still offering his Berkshire Hathaway employees $1 billion or $1 million a year for life or whatever the reward is for filling out a perfect March Madness (and hey, his beloved Creighton is in it again this year!).

But here’s what we do know: this is your annual reminder that a perfect bracket is imposssible.

Oh, sure. It COULD happen. But you know the odds, right? If you choose with some knowledge, it’s 1 in 120 billion. Heck, getting even the first round perfect is ridiculously rare.

So don’t worry so much if your bracket gets busted by the time the first games are over on Thursday.

The 2024 NCAA women’s tournament printable bracket: Get in on March Madness fun

Get your bracket for the 2024 NCAA women’s tournament!

March Madness season is officially here!

We now know the full 68-team list that is headed to college basketball’s premier tournament, which means it’s time to fill out your March Madness brackets! The first round of the 2024 NCAA women’s tournament begins on March 22, so there’s not much longer until the action begins.

IT’S BRACKET MADNESS: Enter USA TODAY’s NCAA tournament bracket contest for a chance at $1 million prize.

If you’re looking to fill out a bracket of your own, here’s a printable blank one — courtesy USA TODAY — for you to use as you see fit! You can download the blank PDF file here.

SURVIVOR POOL: Free to enter. $2,500 to win. Can you survive the madness?

A reminder that the March Madness odds prove a perfect bracket is impossible

This is IMPOSSIBLE.

Editor’s Note: This post was originally published on March 13, 2023, but the math remains the same. It’s pretty much impossible to fill out a perfect bracket.

This is an annual reminder as you get ready for to fill out your March Madness brackets — you can do it with USA TODAY’s bracket game! — in the hopes of winning lots of money and respect, that a perfect bracket is impossible.

I don’t mean that figuratively. I mean it’s ALMOST literally impossible.

The odds of getting your bracket completely perfect are astronomical. Those who have done the math have figured out that to get every single game from first round to the final, you’d need to hit on one in 9 QUINTILLION (that’s 18 zeroes, friends) odds.

But that’s if you choose randomly, which we know some people do. If you use your knowledge to do it? It’s “only” one in 120 BILLION WITH A B:

THE BRACKETS ARE BACK: The USA TODAY Sports Bracket Challenge is back. $1 MILLION grand prize for a perfect bracket.

Those numbers are backed up by NCAA.com. So: Don’t feel so bad about things when your bracket immediately gets torched on Day 1.

SURVIVOR POOL: Free to enter. $2,500 to win. Can you survive the madness?

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Last 4 in, first 4 out for the 2024 men’s March Madness bracket: Good news for Virginia, bad news for Indiana State

Here are the first four in and last four out in the 2024 NCAA men’s basketball tournament.

It happens every year in men’s March Madness bracket reveals: The selection committee unveils which teams were the last four in. You know, the ones who can breathe a sigh of relief.

But there are also the first four out, and they’re the teams that were *this close* to making it before falling just short.

It’s also a peek inside what the committee was thinking.

After the 2024 men’s March Madness bracket was revealed Sunday, we learned which teams were the last four in and the first four out.

The last four teams in the men’s 2024 tournament: Boise State, Colorado, Virginia and Colorado State.

The first four teams out of the men’s 2024 tournament: Oklahoma, Seton Hall, Indiana State and Pitt.

IT’S BRACKET MADNESS: Enter USA TODAY’s NCAA tournament bracket contest for a chance at $1 million prize.