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STN Sports Weekly Rundown

April 3, 2024

Guests Can’t Quit UConn & LSU/Iowa Women’s Historic Handle

In the NCAA men’s tournament, underdogs are continuing to lay more eggs than an Easter bunny, which is not a recipe for success for STN sports books. As was the case in the first weekend of the tournament, the guests seem to be getting the better of the house.

“The Sweet Sixteen was a little bit better for us because you had a little bit more parity and some ‘dogs winning, but the Elite Eight kind of returned to a form with favorites,” said Chuck Esposito, Station Casinos’ Race and Sports Book Director. “UConn won again and covered. The bettors are riding them and backing Purdue.”

Through the first two weeks of March Hoops, favorites have gone 35-25 against the spread. They were 3-1 in the Elite Eight games. Of the four teams left —UConn, Purdue, Alabama and NC State — the Book has a little liability on UConn but is sitting pretty if any other teams wins out. With all that in mind, let’s quickly look back at the past week in sports and peek at what’s ahead on the STN Sports app and at the STN Sports Books…

UConn Do It

Dating back to last year, UConn has covered nine straight tournament games and they enter the Final Four as a double-digit favorite over Alabama. The number, by the way, has already risen from the opening line. The betting, to no surprise, has been fairly one-sided. In fact, the ticket count is two-to-one in favor of UConn.

“They don’t take their foot off the gas and bettors have kind of realized that, and that’s why they continue to ride them,” Esposito said. “I thought Illinois was a live dog against them and I thought they could at least present a challenge. To me, nine and a half points was really high against Illinois, but UConn sure proved me wrong.”

How dominant has UConn been in the guest’s mind? Shortly after the UConn/Illinois line was posted, STN Sports Books had less than 10 tickets on the Fighting Illini. In the end, more Illinois money came in, but 75% of tickets were on UConn.

Purdue or PurDon’t?

Like UConn, No. 1 seed Purdue enters the Final Four as a heavy favorite over NC State, a team that only made the Big Dance because they won the ACC Tournament. The Wolfpack won five games in five days in the ACC, and they’ve been hotter than Mijos’ sizzling fajitas. In the Elite Eight, State dumped Duke like a high school boyfriend.

“I thought NC State would be winded. I didn’t think they had it in them to make some noise in the tournament,” Esposito said. “They’re absolutely a live dog in this game, so channel your inner Jimmy Valvano.” Early action has been on NC State, and conventional wisdom says the number will go down. “I do think NC State poses a challenge for Purdue,” Espositosaid. “It wouldn’t surprise me if we’re Purdue fans at tip off in this game just because of the Cinderella story and the size of the number.”

Last Man Standing

Of the 2,970 entries that began the Last Man Standing contest for the men’s NCAA tournament, only 30 remain heading into the Final Four. A shining paycheck of $59,975 awaits the winner, but there will be an aggregate payout if multiple people are left standing after the cuts are cut down next week. “An educated guess at this point is the majority of the people remaining will take UConn regardless of what the spread, so a UConn non-cover might reduce that number substantially,” Esposito said.

Girls, Girls, Girls

Let’s hear it for the girls! You’re an April Fool if you haven’t been paying attention to the women’s tournament. Smartly, everyone seemed to be watching and wagering on Monday night’s two women’s games.

“The LSU/Iowa game was probably the largest handle I’ve ever seen for a women’s college game,” Esposito said. Not only that, it was the most-watched women’s college basketball game on record, pulling in 12.3 million viewers. Heck, it was ESPN’s most watched basketball game in six years, and that includes NBA games and men’s college games! All hail the queens!

Bets To Know

Largely because of talents like Caitlin Clark, Angel Reese, and Paige Bueckers, interest in the women’s game has gone up like a gas price. And interest in betting on these games has up as well! The STN Sports App has had multiple prop bets tied to Clark, Reese and Bueckers, and more props will be available this weekend for the Women’s Final Four games.

Weekly Winners

One STN Sports App bettor had one heck of a Saturday after turning $60 into $34,457. The guest hit a 10-leg parlay that included a mixture of college women’s games and baseball games. In all 10 bets, the guest bet the over. The UCLA/LSU hit with just 12 seconds left, eventually covering by 2.5! The legs:

UCLA/LSU NCAAW o144.5

Iowa/Colorado NCAAW o156.5

Phillies/Braves o8

Marlins/Pirates o8.5

A’s/Guardians o7.5

White Sox/Tigers o8.5

Orioles/Angels o8.5

Rangers/Cubs o9.5

Padres/Giants o7.5