NCAA Tournament: Kentucky Busts Brackets, Costs Bettors In Upset

Coach John Calipari and the Kentucky Wildcats, the No. 2 seed in the East Region, were dealt a shocking first-round exit against No. 15 Saint Peter’s in the NCAA Tournament on Thursday night.

The loss by the Wildcats undoubtedly busted an extensive number of brackets while survivor league players that took Kentucky were dealt a quick exit. In addition to those playing along at home, Kentucky costed gamblers — those with wagers on the single game and futures — a lot of money.

The Peacocks were +1800 on the moneyline, as noted by NESN betting analyst Sam Panayotovich on Thursday. It means a modest $10 wager on Saint Peter’s would have made one lucky longshot bettor $180 richer.

There weren’t too many to do do, however.

WynnBET Sportsbook shared that nearly 75% of spread bets were on the Wildcats to cover their 16-point spread, which accounted for 84% of the spread handle, or total money wagered. Kentucky also was responsible for 97% of the moneyline bets and 98% of the moneyline handle at WynnBET.

PointsBet Sportsbook revealed much of the same. Seventy-three percent of the spread bets (82% spread handle) and 95% of moneyline bets (98% of moneyline handle) were on the Wildcats. Five percent of bettors placed a wager on Saint Peter’s to win the game, and the handle indicated they were, to no surprise, rather small amounts.

Kentucky was tied for the most moneyline bets of any team in the first-round as Kansas also earned 95% of the moneyline handle before the top-seeded Jayhawks faced off with No. 16 Texas Southern on Thursday night in the Midwest Region.