The Vegas books love Sparty's result, didn't like Bucky's

I love reading stories like this, which comes from the always-interesting "ESPN Chalk" page on sports betting. Looks like the Vegas books had a great start to their weekend, especially after the maddest upset for this March - 16 1/2 point underdog Middle Tennessee State's shocker over Michigan State.

William Hill's Nevada sportsbook took 78 money-line bets on Middle Tennessee, the largest a $265 wager that netted $5,300. A disappointed Spartans bettor risked $150 on the money-line at -7,000 odds. The wager would have netted $2.15.

The Spartans were the most popular bet to win the NCAA Tournament at the Westgate SuperBook in both money and number of tickets after the bracket was released. Michigan State, the No. 2 seed in the East Region, was the tournament favorite or co-favorite at most sportsbooks with odds around 9-2. Middle Tennessee could be found as long as 2,000-1. The Westgate took one $5 bet on the Blue Raiders to win it all.

And I was one of those that had Sparty winning it all in my (now-useless) brackets. Just a stunning result for them to go one-and-done, given how successful Izzo and company have been in the Big Dance in recent years.

Fortunately, another Big Ten team didn't go one-and-done on Friday, despite playing some of their worst offense of the season. And ESPN says UW's comeback last night helped to reduce some of the books' gains.

Things turned around for bettors in the late slate with Notre Dame and Wisconsin rallying in the second half to win and cover the spread.

Northern Iowa's half-court buzzer-beater that knocked off Texas sent a roar that could be heard throughout the MGM Grand hotel. Sixty-one percent of the money was on Northern Iowa at William Hill. Oregon, Xavier and St. Joe's winning and covering also was good for bettors at most shops.

"Not a good day, lost everything late," CG Technology vice president of race and sports Jason Simbal said late Friday. "Wisconsin and Notre Dame were the main public parlay sides."

Interestingly, Vegas only has Bucky as a 4-point dog vs Xavier (up to 4.5 as I post this), which is below where I would have put it, so it gives me a bit of heart going into tomorrow. After 2 days of long hours at the bars, it's not so bad to take a break and just hunker down in front of the TV tonight. But it's sure a lotta fun, isn't it?