by Michigan State defeated Ole Miss tonight in a competitive Sweet Sixteen matchup by a score of 73-70. The Spartans will now face top seeded Auburn on Sunday night. For Tom Izzo, this will be his 11th trip to the Elite 8 in 28 years as the Michigan State head coach. While all of that is a cool story in its own, it pales in comparison to the last second shot by Ole Miss Matthew Murrell that ended up costing gamblers millions of dollars worldwide.
Ole Miss came in as a 3.5-point underdog, and until Matt Murrell hit what seemed like a meaningless last second heave from half court, the Spartans had been covering with ease, up 73-67 and sitting on a comfortable lead as the game had 4 seconds left in it. Not only did the improbable shot go in, but it cost gamblers who bet on the Spartans to cover, millions of dollars.
Early word has it that over 167 million dollars moved to Ole Miss betters on that one shot alone. The NCAA Tournament is the most gambled on sporting event of the entire year. With 67 games played over 2 plus weeks, it screams money moving in many different ways. From office pickems to squares, there are countless ways to bank on the tournament.
Not only did the wild shot cost people who bet Michigan State giving the points to lose millions, it also cost those who had Top Seed or Winner 3 and Lower Seed or Loser 7 on their square. If you had lower seed 7, you were sitting pretty until that shot went in, costing you big.
The one line it didn’t move was the over under, but it sure came eerily close. The games over under was 144.5 and that shot, made it a final total of 143 points. So, it didn’t effect anything and if you bet the under, you still won despite the launch landing in the hole. Still however, how crazy that Vegas nearly nailed it, literally missing by 1.5 That is why you don’t see many casinos closing folks.
Enjoy the tournament as it continues Saturday night with the first two games of the Elite 8.
