Photo by Gregory Shamus/Getty Images. Pictured: Max Abmas
Bettors didn’t have to wait long for the first major upset of the 2021 NCAA Tournament.
Oral Roberts, the No. 15 seed and 15-point underdog, beat Ohio State outright in the opening round of the tournament on Friday, 75-72.
It was the 9th time in tournament history a No. 15 seed has taken down the No. 2 seed, but it’s the first time since Middle Tennessee State beat Michigan State 90-81 in the 2016 tournament.
It was a two-man show for Oral Roberts as Max Abmas and Kevin Obanor combined for 59 of the team’s 75 points. Abmas, the naton’s leading scorer scored 29 while Obanor led all scorers with 30.
It was the 8th-largest upset in tournament history.
In addition to the +15 spread, which opened even higher, moneylines were available at around +1125 ($100 bet nets $1125). At halftime, Oral Roberts led by three but was still +350 to win the game.
The result proved costly for many bettors.
The Buckeyes were the 8th-most bet team at DraftKings to win the entire tournament. Just before game-time, William Hill in Las Vegas took $100,000 on Ohio State to win it all. That would’ve been a payout of $2 million.
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