Basketball Betting: What NOT to do
Don’t follow my lead on betting on basketball games. I watch hundreds of games each season and I have my favorite teams and favorite conferences. I’m not an idiot though and I know that the BIG EAST is currently the best in the land. They play some incredible basketball and are very deep. I took all that knowledge and went to Vegas with it, sure that I would come back with more money in my pocket than before. DIDN’T HAPPEN.
I thought Clemson would beat Michigan. I saw both team play over 8 times each this season and I was sure that Clemson’s press would get Michigan to play faster. I was convinced that Clemson was better inside and outside and only had to cover by 4.5 points. Michigan won and I was immediately down.
Then, how could Cleveland St even think of beating Wake Forest? Wake was number 1 earlier in the year and was more talented at every position. I never gave up on Wake until 3 minutes left and after they had been down by 15 nearly the entire game. Cleveland got up and never relented. I was down some more.
I had some small wins but not enough to cover my losses. I ended by feeling desperate and picking Carolina and UConn to win. Those bets paid next to nothing if they won but everything if they lost. I felt safe and was justified in it. Then when I started to look at the ticket I realized I had been given another game incorrectly. It was Gonzaga vs Western Kentucky with Gonzaga to win. They were favored but the casinos had so much action on Western Kentucky to win that the spread was changing very quickly. I felt sick. When I realized that Gonzaga was on my ticket there was 2 minutes left in their game and the Bulldogs from Gonzaga were up 9 points. I’ve been through some disheartening losses in my career as a Cub/Illini fan so i never felt safe. Western came back and tied the game before Gonzaga hit a shot with a second left for the win. It was exhilarating. I actually fell to the floor and had to catch my breath.
Even the ‘easy’ ones end up being difficult in Vegas in March. I’d do it all again tomorrow if I could afford it.
