Photo by Stacy Revere/Getty Images. Pictured: Ayo Dosunmu, Illinois Fighting Illini
One of the biggest liabilities in the NCAA Tournament is headed home early after the Illinois Fighting Illini became the first No. 1 seed to fall in an upset loss to Loyola-Chicago, 71-58.
It was all Ramblers from the start of the game and they led start-to-finish, covering the 7-point spread with ease and hitting at +255 on the money line. Head coach Porter Moser’s scheme limited Illini All-American Ayo Dosunmu to nine points and held the Illini to a season-low 58 points.
Sportsbooks overall are happy with the result as Illinois winning the national title was one of the most popular bets ahead of the tournament.
At BetMGM, the Illini were the most-bet team to win it all, while other books had Illini in the top five.
In addition to the futures market, Illinois was the most popular play of the day at BetMGM, taking 73% of bets and 75% of the money in the early matchup. No team had a higher bet percentage or handle than the Illini.
Illinois covering 6.5 was the biggest liability at PointsBet. Over 80% of bets at FanDuel came in on Illinois. William Hill took a $55,000 bet on Illini to cover seven points.
It wasn’t just the spread that proved profitable for books. Over 90 percent of bets were on over 133 points at DraftKings with the total finishing at 129.
It’s important to note none of the action on the Illini is actually coming from the state of Illinois. It’s illegal to bet on Illinois games in the state, which has a great impact on number of bets that would’ve come in on Illinois if it were legal. Instead, Illini fans in Illinois had to drive to Indiana or Iowa to place a legal wager on their favorite team.
The Illini were one of the national title favorites all year and were second behind Gonzaga on the odds board entering play on Sunday.
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