The Saint Peter’s Peacocks are the first 15-seed to ever reach the Elite 8 of the NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament. The Peacocks were only the third 15 seed to reach the Sweet 16 and have been gaining fans every round of the tournament.
Many now support the 15 seeds to continue to do the unthinkable and win the National Championship.
What happened: President Joe Biden picked a 15-seed to advance to the Elite 8 in the 2022 NCAA Men’s National Tournament. Turns out Biden just picked the wrong one, through his University of Delaware alma mater Fighting Blue Hens to select, and not the Saint Peter’s Peacocks.
In their historic run, the Saint Peter’s Peacocks knocked off 2-seed Kentucky for the first time with an 85-79 overtime win. The team then defeated 7-seed Murray State with a 70-60 win, becoming the third 15-seed ever to advance to the Sweet 16.
On Friday, the Peacocks defeated 3-seed Purdue 67-64. The victory came on a holiday known as National Peacock Day, which, in conjunction with the basketball team, celebrates a… become a best-selling t-shirt.
Bets are pouring in: Saint Peter’s have been massive underdogs in all three of their games so far in the NCAA tournament. The team was offered odds of +1400, +290 and +650 to beat Kentucky, Murray State and Purdue, respectively.
The Peacocks competed in the 2022 NCAA Men’s National Tournament with a 1000/1 or higher chance of winning the National Championship.
As the number of remaining teams has dwindled, Saint Peter’s odds have improved. Being the underdog and winning the love of the crowd has also helped increase the Peacocks’ chances of winning the National Championship.
Some sportsbooks are reporting that big bets are coming in or have already been placed on Saint Peter’s to win it all. Caesars Entertainment (NASDAQ: CZR) took a $2,000 bet on Saint Peter’s to win the championship at odds of +20,000, which would yield $400,000. The bet was placed on March 24.
Saint Peter’s is the second largest single bet liability, next to a bet on Villanova that would pay out $540,000.
Chances of winning the National Championship by Saint Peter’s were offered at 1000/1 to start the tournament in Caesars. The odds were halved to 500/1 after beating Kentucky and have now dropped to 50/1 after beating Purdue and could fall further.
BetMGM, a unit of Entain and MGM Resorts Worldwide (NYSE:MGM) reported that Saint Peter’s is now the third most betting team of those remaining at 4.4%. Only Duke (8.1%) and Kansas (5.1%) have more tickets at the sportsbook than outright champion.
BetMGM opened the odds at Saint Peter’s at 3,000 to 1 to win and has now lowered them to 30 to 1.
BetMGM has a $4,000 ticket at Saint Peter’s to win the championship that would pay out $800,000 to the bettor.
FanDuel, a unit of Flutter Entertainment (OTC: PDYPY), has reported 45% of all tournament winner tickets were posted to Saint Peter’s after the Elite 8 was established.
The public has gradually increased their love for Saint Peter’s in individual games. Caesars had Bet 54% of the tickets and 50% of the money on Saint Peter’s in their game against Murray State.
Against Purdu, the crowd was… support Saint Peter’s and the +12.5 or +13 spread over 60% of bets through money wagered on DraftKings, FanDuel, WynnBet and Caesars. DraftKings was one of the highest reported, with 68% of the money wagered on Saint Peter’s and the points.
Kentucky was selected by 95.6% of the people to win the first round match against Saint Peter’s in ESPN’s Tournament Challenge, a division of The Walt Disney Co (NYSE:DIS).
Related link: Perfect March Madness Bracket? Don’t count on it: the longshot and potentially impossible odds
What’s Next: Saint Peter’s will take on 8-seed North Carolina on Sunday, March 27 at 5:05 PM EDT. The game will air on CBS, a unit of Paramount Global (NASDAQ:PARA) (NASDAQ:PARAA).
Saint Peter’s is an eight point underdog and is being offered at odds of +270 to win the match at DraftKings Inc (NASDAQ: DKNG).
Saint Peter’s victory over Purdue was the biggest Sweet 16 all-time upset, based on the 12.5 point spread. The second and third largest Sweet 16 disturbances (Indiana 2002, Arizona 1997) both made it into the National Championship game.
Kansas won the National Championship in 1988 after opening the tournament with an odds of 20 to 1 to win the tournament, which is its greatest chance since qualifying for the tournament began in 1979.
The state of New Jersey, where Saint Peter’s is located, does not allow betting on colleges in the state. If Saint Peter’s advances to the Final Four, BetMGM will Pay the team in second place (North Carolina in that case) as the winner to everyone who bet on winning the region.
Photo: Courtesy of telwink on Flickr
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This post (DKNG), Caesars Entertainment Corporation (NASDAQ:CZR) – National Peacock Day: Saint Peter’s Breaks Record, Here’s How Much The Underdog Support For Huge National Champion Payout
was original published at “https://www.benzinga.com/general/sports-betting/22/03/26312140/national-peacock-day-saint-peters-breaks-record-heres-how-many-are-backing-the-underdog-fo”
