Gonzaga/Baylor vs. field prop popular at William Hill
Less than three weeks until Selection Sunday, Gonzaga and Baylor clearly have separated themselves from the pack in college basketball and appear to be locked in a two-horse race to win the NCAA championship.
Will No. 1 Gonzaga or No. 2 Baylor win the national title? Bettors can wager on that prop at William Hill, where the field is -125 and the Bulldogs and Bears are +105 after the price opened Feb. 13 at -120/Even.
“We’ve got dead two-way action on it. Good action, too,” William Hill sportsbook director Nick Bogdanovich said. “Most people think it’s one or the other. But I think all sorts of teams can win this thing.”
No. 1 Gonzaga (22-0) is riding a 26-game winning streak and has won 19 consecutive games by double digits. The Bulldogs are the +180 favorites at the Westgate sportsbook to win it all and are +250 at William Hill.
No. 2 Baylor (17-0), which is 13-4 ATS, is the +350 second choice at William Hill and 4-1 at the Westgate.
Gonzaga leads Baylor in tickets and money wagered at the Westgate and William Hill, where the nation’s remaining unbeatens account for the vast majority of futures action.
“They’ve definitely got the most money, by far,” Bogdanovich said. “No one’s even close to either of them.
“We win a little with Gonzaga and lose a little with Baylor.”
It’s the opposite scenario at the Westgate, which is in good shape with Baylor but has a pretty big liability on Gonzaga.
“Gonzaga we have been getting popped on all along,” Westgate sportsbook director John Murray said. “Bettors are seemingly not price sensitive when it comes to the Zags.”
The Westgate took a $4,300 wager to win $60,200 on Gonzaga at 14-1 and a $5,000 bet to win $50,000 at 10-1.
“Those are great bets, but these guys taking (+250) and 2-1 aren’t getting away with anything,” Murray said. “We did finally go to (+180) due to the large liability.”
Michigan bad for books
Michigan is the 7-1 third choice at William Hill and the Westgate. The No. 3 Wolverines (16-1, 13-4 ATS) also represent the largest liability at both books.
The Westgate took a $500 wager to win $50,000 on Michigan at 100-1 and a $500 bet to win $40,000 at 80-1.
“We definitely don’t need Michigan to win,” Bogdanovich said. “We’ve got a huge liability on Michigan. And they look like the third-best team.”
Ohio State is the 12-1 fourth choice at William Hill, followed by Illinois (15-1), Villanova (16-1), Iowa (16-1), Texas (20-1), Alabama (22-1) and Houston (28-1).
Body blow to books
Las Vegas books lost big Saturday when underdog Oscar Valdez knocked out Miguel Berchelt with one second left in the 10th round of their WBC super featherweight title fightd.
“There was a lot of action on Valdez,” Bogdanovich said. “They took him at 4-1, 3-1, +250 and 2-1.”
William Hill lost six figures in what Bogdanovich said was the biggest decision of the weekend.
Contact reporter Todd Dewey at tdewey@reviewjournal.com. Follow @tdewey33 on Twitter.
