Normally I don’t complain about bad beats, they happen. Sometimes you are on right side of the backdoor cover and sometimes you’re not, usually it’s not worth complaining about. However, the ending of yesterdays Illinois vs Wisconsin basketball game is worth noting because this is by far the most ridiculous over being hit in basketball history.
Let’s start with the actual Over/Under, it was 135.5. For the most part, that’s a pretty average line for a college basketball game, but with Illinois having their star player out and Wisconsin playing a very slow style, I thought the under was a no brainer. And for the first 37 minutes of the game I looked like a genius. Neither team was having any luck putting the ball in the hoop, and at halftime, the score was 37-26 with Illinois holding the lead. They combined for 63 points so I thought this under was money in the bank and had already started looking at other bets for later in the afternoon. I was keeping an eye on the score in the second half, but again, nothing made me think there was even the possibility of a loss here. With 3 minutes to go in the game, the score was 60-47 with Illinois still in control, and with a 28 point cushion, I turned on the UNC game to see how the Tar Heels were looking. A couple minutes later, the final score flashed across the bottom and showed Illinois winning 74-69.
In what has to be the highest scoring 3 minutes in NCAA history, somehow the teams combined for 36 points. To put that in perspective, if they would have kept that pace for a full game, the teams would have combined for 468 points….yes that’s the correct math, 468 points.
Honestly, sports gambling should create something to reward gamblers who take a bad beat like this. Casinos already do that in the poker room, for example, they usually have a progressive bad beat jackpot where if you have a Full House or better and lose, you win the jackpot. Not sure exactly how you could do this for sports betting but I think I deserve something.
Side note, someone needs to tell the Wisconsin players/coaches, if you are going to ruin the Over/Under in such a ridiculous fashion, you may as well as win the game too. Any story of an epic comeback is only told if you actually win the game, nobody cares that you almost won.
