College Basketball

2024 College Basketball bad beat: Late free throws doom Duke bettors

Updated Feb. 25, 2024 5:09 p.m. ET

Wake Forest was a 3-point favorite at home against No. 8 Duke in Saturday's ACC men's college basketball showdown.

The Blue Devils are considered a "public team" among bettors, meaning they are frequently heavily bet (think: Dallas Cowboys).

At DraftKings, 68% of the bets were on the Blue Devils +3 points.

The betting public suffered a devastating "L" as a pair of free throws with one second left lifted the Demon Deacons to an 83-79 win to cover by the slimmest of margins.

Here's how the game ended:

Duke's Kyle Filipowski (more on him later) sank a 3-pointer with 43 seconds left to trim Wake Forest's lead to 81-79.

Wake Forest's Andrew Carr missed a jumper with 12 seconds to go and Duke rebounded, but Tyrese Proctor turned the ball over with three seconds left.

Much to the chagrin of Blue Devils bettors who took the three points, Proctor fouled Hunter Sallis of the Demon Deacons with a second to go.

Sallis, a transfer from Gonzaga, sank both free throws.

Duke +3 bettors failed to push by one point.

Wake Forest improved to 18-9, Duke had a five-game win streak snapped to fall to 21-6.

More bad news for the Blue Devils: Center Filipowski, the ACC Rookie of the Year last season, was injured when Wake Forest fans stormed the court.

What's the best thing that you can do if you were one of those bettors who took a bad beat? Shake it off, and hope you get the break on your next wager.

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