Tag: Final Four 2022

Sideline has bettors sick as late KU blunder fails to cover spread

A late turnover leads Kansas to miss covering the spread (-4.5).

If you had Kansas covering the spread (-4.5), close your eyes!

You almost had it.

It didn’t look good for a while. North Carolina built up a 15-point halftime lead and it seemed unlikely that the Jayhawks would pull off the biggest comeback win in NCAA Tournament Championship Game history. But they did, thanks to a furious second-half rally that included stifling defense, timely baskets, and the heart of a champion.

While Kansas had the moneyline bettors covered, it had 4.6 seconds to save the bettors who had KU covering the spread. All that needed to happen was the Jayhawks to get the ball inbounds securely, accept the incoming UNC foul, and go to the line and sink two. Easy, right?

Well, a silly little sideline got in the way and Jayhawk guard Dajuan Harris Jr. stepped on it a few times. So UNC got the ball back and one last Hail Mary three left all zeros on the game clock.

Tough pill to swallow for whoever had those KU -4.5 bet slips?

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Dawn Staley won another national championship and did so in style, literally

Dawn Staley’s stylish outfit was the talk of social media.

The South Carolina Gamecocks defeated the UConn Huskies 64-49 in Sunday’s national championship game, which means Dawn Staley just handed Geno Auriemma his first loss as a head coach in 12 national championship appearances.

She also became the first Black coach in the history of Division I basketball to win multiple national championships.

And she did it all while dripped in some expensive designer brand clothing that only someone of Dawn Staley’s pedigree could ever pull off.

The price tag? Well, let’s just say it’s in the price range of someone who earned a seven-year $22.4 million contract extension.

Apparently, her players are huge fans.

Ask yourself — how cool and confident does one have to be to show up to the year’s biggest game in LV?

Shout out to coach Staley and the Gamecocks on winning their second national championship and for having swag while doing it.

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Coach K’s career ended so predictably and not enough of us saw it coming

Maybe we should’ve seen this coming.

Not many foresaw it, but the way Mike Krzyzewski’s career ended Saturday was the way it was always supposed to end — the only acceptable alternate to the storybook finish he was carving out.

If Duke couldn’t win a title in Coach K’s final game, the only other fitting ending was for him to lose to North Carolina. And the basketball gods delivered big time with Duke-UNC in the Final Four, a national semifinal that was more than improbable.

As it turned out, UNC’s first win over K this season was the lift it needed to chart this path. Had Duke just taken care of the Tar Heels as 11.5-point favorites in Krzyzewki’s final game at Cameron Indoor, North Carolina maybe doesn’t make it this far. Instead, Duke lit the fuse to a bomb that blew up in its own hand. This time as 4.5-point favorites, the Blue Devils were upset by the Tar Heels to send Coach K home for good.

After how they looked in previous rounds, many of us were riding Duke’s moneyline to the end — 60% of bettors at Tipico Sportsbook picked Duke to beat UNC. But maybe we should’ve seen this coming. It’s a poetic, even if bitter ending to a legendary career. No one had better perspective on how it ended than the man himself.

“I’ll be fine,” Krzyzewski said after the game. “I’ve been blessed to be in the arena. And when you’re in the arena, you’re either going to come out feeling great or you’re going to feel agony, but you always will feel great about being in the arena. And I’m sure that’s the thing, when I look back, that I’ll miss. I won’t be in the arena anymore. But, damn, I was in the arena for a long time. And these kids made my last time in the arena an amazing one.”

In 42 years as Duke’s head coach, Krzyzewski has a 1,129-308 record, 13 ACC regular-season titles, 15 ACC tourney titles, 36 NCAA tourney trips, 101 tourney wins, 13 Final Fours and five national titles. He’s widely regarded as one of, if not the greatest coach ever. And through it all, UNC has been there to make sure none of it went unchallenged.

The Tar Heels’ win pulled them to an even 50-50 against Duke in the Coach K-era (Krzyzewski didn’t coach two losses in 1994-95). They also have the same number of titles since he took over in 1980. And just when it looked like he might break that tie, they forced the first NCAA tournament meeting between these teams and sent him into retirement a game early.

If any team was going to send Coach K off into retirement, it was always going to be them.

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Caleb Love’s incredible clutch second-half performance sent Coach K into retirement

Probably UNC’s second-half gameplan: Give Caleb Love the ball and get out of the way!

Sweet 16, Final Four, UCLA, Duke, it doesn’t matter. Caleb Love loves the second half.

Love played possum again in the 20 minutes of North Carolina’s Final Four matchup against Duke as he did just eight days ago against UCLA — two points against the Bruins, six against the Blue Devils. And while he didn’t put up 27 after the break, he left his mark all over this rivalry game.

It took just less than three minutes into the second half for Caleb Love to get in his bag of tricks. He opened the scoring for the Tar Heels with 3-pointer and another shortly after.

We knew what time it was after that.

He’d erupt for 22 points in the second half, which included a dagger three to put the Heels up four with under 30 seconds remaining. It was all free throws from there to put the game on ice as North Carolina ended Coach K’s career with an 81-77 win to advance to the championship game.

YOU LOVE TO SEE IT.

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The Final Four picks are in and bettors don’t see Coach K ending his career with a loss to UNC

Looking at how people are betting on Saturday’s Duke vs. UNC game.

Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski’s farewell tour has stolen headlines for much of the season. But as the NCAA Tournament arrived, the question everyone needed to know was when it would all end. Actually, seemingly more and more people became hopeful for his downfall, rooting against the Hall of Fame coach. However, as much as people want to see Coach K lose, not many were willing to bet on it.

Not much has changed.

The Final Four has arrived, and most bettors are picking Duke to advance.

To be precise, 60 percent of bet slips coming in at Tipico Sportsbook have Duke at the moneyline, while 61 percent of bets have the Blue Devils covering the spread (-4.5). Such outcomes would fall more closely in line with what happened in Duke’s 87-67 at UNC back in early February, than the 94-81 loss that Coach K suffered during his final game at Cameron Indoor.

And if either of those prior two high-scoring matchups from this 2022 season is indicative of what’s to come in the first-ever Duke-UNC NCAA Tournament matchup on Saturday, the 60 percent of bet slips that took the over (150.5) should be in for a treat.

This game should be an epic one.

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Justin Moore’s torn Achilles might be too much for Villanova to overcome against Kansas

Moore’s injury is a tough blow for the Wildcats.

Villanova guard Justin Moore suffered a torn Achilles late in the team’s win over Houston on Saturday. The exact nature of the injury was unclear in the immediate aftermath of the game, though signs—including his emotions on the bench after the win—pointed toward it being serious.

Worst fears were confirmed a day later when Villanova announced the injury mere hours after its Final Four opponent, Kansas, defeated Miami in the Elite 8. Now, the Wildcats prepare to play the Jayhawks on Saturday as 4.5-point underdogs, likely in part due to Moore’s absence.

And even that spread feels a little generous.

Moore is Villanova’s second-leading scorer behind senior Collin Gillespie at 14.8 points per game. He’s also second to Gillespie in assists at 2.3 per game. His presence as a secondary ball-handler and playmaker on offense alleviates the stress placed on Gillespie to create for the team. Without him, Villanova doesn’t have another player who averaged over two assists per game.

Additionally, Moore shoots nearly 36% on 3-pointers while attempting and making the second-most on the team. His absence means Kansas will have one less offensive threat to worry about. Fourth-leading scorer Caleb Daniels can step into the starting lineup and provide similar, if not better shooting from the outside, but that eliminates the team’s best and only real offensive threat off the bench.

Moore also defends at a high level, another area Kansas should be able to exploit without him. He could’ve taken on the assignment of guarding Jayhawks leading scorer Ochai Agbaji, but that responsibility will likely fall on someone less capable now. Kansas has other perimeter players like Christian Braun and Remy Martin, who Moore also could’ve helped defend.

Villanova’s starting lineup may still be effective against Kansas. And coach Jay Wright has earned the benefit of doubt that he and staff will be able to scheme up something positive. But the team’s depth takes a hit without Moore. Don’t be surprised to see the Gillespie-Daniels-Jermaine Samuels-Eric Dixon-Brandon Slater lineup play almost the entire game.

Kansas plays at a faster tempo, however, and if they’re able to control the pace of this game, those guys may eventually wear down. It’s easy to see a deeper Kansas team eventually pulling away for the cover. As a No. 1 seed, Kansas was likely to be favored in this matchup anyway, but the outcome would’ve been a fun debate. With Villanova down a man, it’s tough to imagine how Kansas doesn’t come out on top.

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