College Basketball Thread 2024-25 Season (General)

[mpaer]

You hope.

I bet we get no more than 2 No. 1 seeds in the Final Four.

Folks would arugue the 2's are not far behind

 

[aGDevil2k]

I have 1 1-seed. Not telling who it is LOL

 

[Heelsandeers]

Seems like the strongest group of 1 seeds we’ve had in a while

Good 2s too. It’s that 3-6 range that feels fairly weak

 

[GeeWhy]

I have 1 1-seed. Not telling who it is LOL

I misread that as 11-seed. Then I looked over at your handle. Knew immediately that I misread it.

 

[aGDevil2k]

I misread that as 11-seed. Then I looked over at your handle. Knew immediately that I misread it.

I am getting older so I make stupid ass mistakes all the time. Not this time. But more often.

 

[GeeWhy]

Difference is I hope the 11 part isn't a mistake.

 

[Calheel]

I saw Duke is the favorite at +350 to win the tournament. But that means there is roughly an 80% chance Duke won't win the tournament, which was reassuring.

 

[aGDevil2k]

I saw Duke is the favorite at +350 to win the tournament. But that means there is roughly an 80% chance Duke won't win the tournament, which was reassuring.

It's been 10 years. We need it in the time of Trumpian gloom

 

[uncsig]

“After reporting that they lost more money than usual during the most recent NFL season and last year’s March Madness, sportsbooks like DraftKings and Flutter Entertainment’s FLUT FanDuel hope to be more profitable during this year’s “Big Dance.”

And there will be a lot of money at play. An estimated $3.1 billion is expected to be legally wagered on the men’s and women’s college basketball tournaments this year, a 14.81% increase from $2.7 billion in 2024, according to the American Gaming Association, a gambling-industry group. That figure is more than double the $1.39 billion estimated to have been wagered on 2025’s Super Bowl LIX.

Sportsbooks hope to keep hundreds of millions of the dollars being wagered on the basketball tournaments, particularly given the companies’ poor performances during the most recent NFL season. …

… While the $3.1 billion in bets will be a record, the total amount wagered on March Madness will be even higher than estimates show, because those only account for legal wagers made through licensed sportsbooks. Illegal wagers made through offshore unlicensed sportsbooks, as well as bets made through office pools or squares contests, should take the total amount much higher. …”

https://www.marketwatch.com/story/why-sportsbooks-really-need-march-madness-bettors-to-lose-this-year-e97f321a?mod=dist_amp_social&link=sfmw_tw

John Oliver's Main Topic this past Sunday night was sports gambling. Very interesting.

 

[Calheel]

John Oliver's Main Topic this past Sunday night was sports gambling. Very interesting.

Yes it was. The casino sports books have a lot of guardrails to prevent abusive predatory behavior. The gaming apps, available on everyone's phone, have no such guardrails and can employ all sorts of technology to be even more predatory. It combines the addictive behavior of social media companies with the stacked odds and expense of sports gambling.

 

[4thgenheel]

It's been 10 years. We need it in the time of Trumpian gloom

 

[UNCatTech]

I have 1 1-seed. Not telling who it is LOL

Who could that possibly be...

You don't seem like an SEC guy, so I'm going to say Houston?

 

[gregh1]

The uniforms for 16/16 Saint Francis and Alabama St have me thinking bills v pacers.

 

[BillyL]

This 1st game has been entertaining . .

 

[mpaer]

This 1st game has been entertaining . .

score?

 

[gregh1]

And not a bad opening game for the tourney (if we are now considering these early games as part of the tourney, which I now am)

 

[BillyL]

score?

68 - 68 . .

 

[gregh1]

Tied 68 31 seconds

 

[SnoopRob]

Or have the show Monday

You can't do that if you're gonna have teams play on Tuesday night in Dayton. You have to give them time to travel, do press, have a practice, and get settled.

 

[BillyL]

Tied at 68, 11.8 secs to play.