The March Madness Big Dance has provided us with some incredible upsets, none bigger than the ones recorded by Saint Peter’s. The No. 15 seed went on an unreal run. Having said that, Vegas avoided a nightmare with UNC beating Saint Peter’s in the Elite Eight. With the Tar Heels heading to the Final Four, it prevented some Las Vegas sportsbooks from losing millions.
Throughout the tournament, Saint Peter’s, a small university located in New Jersey, went on to fool so many. They opened things in the first round with a stunning upset of No. 2 Kentucky. Virtually no one saw this coming, as Saint Peter’s had incredibly low odds of getting this done. However, led by the strong play of Doug Edit, the Peacocks somehow found a way to beat the Wildcats.
Then after that, Saint Peter’s kept things going with the second-round win over Murray State. Then in the Sweet 16, which again no one ever figured they’d come close to playing in, Saint Peter’s matched up with Purdue. Once again, SP recorded an upset win to set up an Elite Eight matchup with North Carolina. The winner of that game would punch their tickets to the Final Four.
With Saint Peter’s being a Cinderella team, this led to countless people jumping on the bandwagon and picking them to stun North Carolina. Despite UNC being a No. 8 seed and SP a No. 15, fans figured the good times would keep rolling. However, UNC was able to end things for Saint Peter’s, as the Tar Heels took care of business to set up a Final Four game with Duke. Despite all of that, Saint Peter’s still cost Vegas plenty of money.
For those that decided to gamble in such a big way, the Saint Peter’s run had people winning a wild amount of money. Keep in mind that the Jersey City school was a massive underdog for all of the games they played in. Starting with the matchup going up against No. 2 Kentucky for their region, Saint Peter’s had 1,000-to-1 odds to win that game. People, if they were wild enough, cashed in on that bet.
Leading up to the Sweet 16 matchup with Purdue, Saint Peter’s had 200-to-1 odds. However, by this point, people were strong believers in the Peacocks and decided to take a gamble on them. Those bets paid off, with Saint Peter’s winning. This team captured so many hearts, and also made people some money once they believed in them. It was awesome to see.
Chris Andrews, a sportsbook director in Las Vegas, told Forbes that people all over Sin City were having a great time betting on Saint Peter’s. The three wins they recorded over Kentucky, Murray State, and Purdue were out of this world. Having said that, a win over North Carolina would have provided his company with a seven-figure hit, he told Forbes in a recent interview.
“People saw a lot of New Jersey kids who were tough,” Andrews told Forbes on Saint Peter’s historic run in the 2022 NCAA Tournament. “And when it came down to it, they had a lot of balls and they rose to the occasion. They had a helluva story and the public woke up to it and it caught on pretty good.”
With only four teams left in the big dance, Duke is now the new favorite to win March Madness. This would be a great way to send out Mike Krzyzewski, as Coach K is getting ready to retire at the end of this season. Krzyzewski will go down as one of the best coaches in college basketball history, as what he’s been able to do with the Blue Devils has been remarkable.
Later this week, Duke and North Carolina will indeed go to battle in what should be an incredible Final Four matchup. This contest will be so incredibly intriguing, as Duke vs. UNC is one of the best rivalries out there. Making it to the National Championship game will be made so much sweeter for Duke and Coach K if they’re able to take down the Tar Heels in the process.
“We’ve had great continuity, and in order to do that, I stayed on the job and I still wanted to coach,” Krzyzewski said while discussing his retirement, while also talking about the UNC matchup. “So this wasn’t about getting recognized. Although that’s what you get. That’s what you get if you live in this neighborhood.”
As things stand, Duke holds the best March Madness odds, which are set at +160 for them to win it all. Behind them, the best-rated sportsbooks have Kansas at +180, Villanova is +450 and the Tar Heels are at +500. All eyes will be on the Blue Devils to see if they can send out Coach K in style. Right now, they look like a serious threat to capture the glory. It’d really be an amazing story if they can cut down the nets next week.
