College Basketball

College Basketball odds: How 6 major upsets impacted futures lines

Updated Feb. 28, 2022 2:39 p.m. ET

The sports wagering community was aflutter (not to mention going wild about it on Twitter) when college basketball's top six teams lost Saturday. It was the first time the tops six teams (and seven of the top 10) in The Associated Press poll lost on the same day.

Sports wagering sites said no one has come forward with that six-team moneyline parlay from Saturday's games. Had someone picked all six winners in a parlay, a $100 wager would've paid at least $32,734.

For more, from gambling-friendly schedules featuring live, updating odds to expert analysis and the day's most-bet games, check out the college basketball section on the FOX Sports App and FOXSports.com!

To recap, No. 1 Gonzaga lost at No. 23 Saint Mary's 67-57; No. 2 Arizona lost at Colorado 79-63; No. 3 Auburn lost at No. 17 Tennessee 67-62; No. 4 Purdue lost at Michigan State 68-65; No. 5 Kansas lost at No. 10 Baylor 80-70; and No. 6 Kentucky lost at No. 18 Arkansas 75-73.

Before you storm the court to celebrate the upsets, some perspective is needed.

"Although historical, it was not as crazy as it seems," FOX Bet associate trader Steven Hemke said.

Hemke pointed out that all six "underdogs" have winning records, four are ranked — it's not like No. 16 UMBC beating No. 1 overall seed Virginia in the 2018 NCAA Tournament — and all six were playing at home.

"Professional gamblers take advantage of home teams playing conference games catching points in revenge spots all the time," Hemke explained. "What looked to be a crazy day of upsets to recreational players may not be as surprising to the sharp bettors.

"Add to the fact that five of the six losses were against teams firmly in the NCAA Tournament field already — Arkansas, Tennessee, Saint Mary’s, Michigan State and Baylor. The only outlier was Colorado."

So with Selection Sunday for the NCAA Tournament set for March 13, here's a look at the top betting favorites to win it all:

ODDS TO WIN THE NCAA TOURNAMENT (via FOX Bet)*

*Odds as of 2/28/2022

Hemke offered a couple of other observations after Saturday's upsets:

– When word gets out that no one cashed the huge payout, bettors will consider multi-team parlays in the final stages of the college season.

"This could help parlay action sure, but we always have players taking a shot at winning big money on parlays each day," Hemke said. "That’s the draw of wagering — the chance you can win big betting smaller amounts. Results like this can only help for the tournament."

– Gonzaga (24-3), the preseason No. 1 team, should still be popular with bettors to win it all after finishing second last season. The Zags have spent more time at No. 1 the past four seasons (32 weeks) than any other team (Duke is second with 11 weeks).

"I don’t think it will affect action on them going forward as sometimes a loss can help keep the team focused before the tournament," Hemke stated. "If anything, more recreational players will try and bet the Zags in their brackets or future betting markets, which is exciting."

– The wild Saturday may create more bettor interest come tournament time.

"From an industry perspective, parity is always good for recreational players," Hemke said. "The more teams that can win, the bettor action will be spread across the board. This should drive March Madness for both the recreational and professional players."

– Hemke's dark horse to watch down the stretch? The Arkansas Razorbacks, coached by Eric Musselman. He has two head NBA coaching stints (Golden State, Sacramento) on his resume. They also have a strong team, led by senior guard JD Notae. He leads the Hogs in scoring (19.1 points per game), assists (3.6) and steals (2.2).

"You can get them around 60-1 on FOX Bet currently," Hemke said. "At 23-6, they are ranked in the top 20 on KenPom and have won 13 of their last 14 games in a tough conference (Southeastern), their only loss coming to Alabama by one point (68-67 on Feb. 12) in that stretch."

March Madness will be here before you know it, so if you are throwing a few bucks down on who will hoist the NCAA men's basketball trophy, head over to FOX Bet to place your wagers.

Play FOX Super 6 every week for your chance to win thousands of dollars every week. Just download the Super 6 app and make your picks today!

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