March Madness ‘Upsets’ No Huge Surprise: Bookmaker
With top March Madness favorites like Arizona, Purdue, and Kansas already eliminated from this year's Big Dance, upsets seem normal.
These games have thrown a wrench into everything from March Madness betting to office brackets.
What’s going on in college basketball?
Gambling.com asked Las Vegas handicapper Casey Lewless, now managing Penn Entertainment sportsbooks in Louisiana, to assess the bracket busters so far this year.
Below is his answer, with some suggestions for improving the college game.
5 Ways To Improve College Basketball
We are in the midst of figuring out the best chances to win March Madness, and all I hear is “upset this and upset that.”
But are these really upsets?
Let’s break down the game I love, college basketball, and examine whether these early “upsets” are really a surprise.
Here are the things that got us to where we are:
- The officials appear to be younger but not better. The fact that the players only get five fouls is a factor.
- All of a sudden, coaching at the D-1 level has become almost nonexistent. Undisciplined play and stupid mistakes are everywhere.
- Teams like Furman, Princeton, or Florida Atlantic would beat the Power 5 schools 3-4 times out of 10 in the regular season, but the Power 5 schools won’t play them — or the smaller schools have to go to places like Chapel Hill. That being said, there are fewer nonconference games for Power 5s nowadays because of larger conference schedules.
- Do spectators want to see the best play the best? Of course, they do, but for some reason, the NCAA seems reluctant to add a sixth foul. I’m not saying the NCAA needs to be like the NBA, but this would help teams that aren’t as deep.
- One of the biggest factors in college basketball is the transfer portal. Basically, free agency now exists in college sports with no salary cap, thanks to NIL money. Team depth is rare. Most good teams are a solid 1-7, but the 8-12 players enter the portal and move on for perceived greener pastures. When the coaches look down at their benches, there isn’t much. This past weekend, who really went deep on their benches?
So I say again, were these really upsets?
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