[h=1]Bookmaker roundtable: Sweet 16 sharp bets, biggest line moves[/h]Ben FawkesESPN Staff Writer
With another huge gambling weekend on the horizon, ESPN Chalk asked some of Las Vegas' top oddsmakers where the action is coming in on the NCAA tournament's Sweet 16 games so far.
[h=2]1. What teams do you have the greatest futures liability on right now?[/h]Nick Bogdanovich, director of trading, William Hill: Kansas. The house does fairly well with every remaining team besides the Jayhawks. Kansas makes up 33 percent of the total dollars wagered and 12 percent of the total future tickets of the 16 teams still alive.
Jay Kornegay, head oddsmaker at Westgate Las Vegas SuperBook: We have the most liability on Syracuse, which opened the tournament at 300-1.
Jason Simbal, vice president of race and sports, CG Technology: Indiana and Kansas are not great for us, but now our biggest liability is on Gonzaga. We took a $3,000 wager on them at 37-1 last week.
[h=2]2. What Sweet 16 games have had the biggest line moves?[/h]Bogdanovich: Out of all the Sweet 16 games, the only game that has moved more than a half a point is Duke-Oregon. Oregon opened -1 and the line kept moving, a half point at a time, all the way to -3 (where it stands now).
Kornegay: The largest line move has been on the Duke-Oregon game. We opened Oregon -2 and currently Oregon is -3.
Simbal: We opened Oregon as a 2-point favorite over Duke and moved it to -3. Kansas opened as a 7-point favorite over Maryland and we quickly moved it to -6.5.
[h=2]3. Which games have you had the most public action on?[/h]Bogdanovich: Most public action right now is the Kansas-Maryland game where the public favors Kansas. Eighty-two percent of the point-spread tickets for the game and 86 percent of the total point-spread dollars wagered are currently on the Jayhawks.
Kornegay: The public likes Kansas vs. Maryland with a 5-1 ticket count, followed by Oklahoma vs. Texas A&M (8-1 ticket count) and Villanova vs. Miami (2-1 ticket count).
Simbal: The public is really backing Oklahoma. Despite the Sooners failing to cover the spread in their first two tournament games, the public isn't shying away from their matchup against Texas A&M. The next game the public likes is Kansas, but it's not really close to Oklahoma thus far.
[h=2]4. Which games have you had the most sharp action on?[/h]Bogdanovich: Most sharp action at this point is on the Duke-Oregon game because of the line movement. Fifty-eight percent of the point-spread tickets for the game and 87 percent of the total dollars wagered are on Oregon.
Kornegay: Sharp play has come in on Virginia -5 against Iowa State and Gonzaga -4 against Syracuse.
Simbal: We saw them come in on Maryland +7 against Kansas, which moved the number to +6.5. That move was likely because we opened that game a shade too high. Also they have bet Iowa State early against Virginia, moving the number down to +5.5 from +6.
[h=2]5. What is the biggest Sweet 16 bet you've taken?[/h]Bogdanovich: We took a $7,700 bet on Miami +4.5.
Kornegay: So far, the largest wager has come in on Virginia -5 for our house limit. We expect more action as game times draw nearer.
Simbal: So far, the biggest has been a $10,000 wager on Oregon against Duke,. We are hoping for bigger bets to come in from the fans staying at our strip properties beginning Thursday and Friday.
With another huge gambling weekend on the horizon, ESPN Chalk asked some of Las Vegas' top oddsmakers where the action is coming in on the NCAA tournament's Sweet 16 games so far.
[h=2]1. What teams do you have the greatest futures liability on right now?[/h]Nick Bogdanovich, director of trading, William Hill: Kansas. The house does fairly well with every remaining team besides the Jayhawks. Kansas makes up 33 percent of the total dollars wagered and 12 percent of the total future tickets of the 16 teams still alive.
Jay Kornegay, head oddsmaker at Westgate Las Vegas SuperBook: We have the most liability on Syracuse, which opened the tournament at 300-1.
Jason Simbal, vice president of race and sports, CG Technology: Indiana and Kansas are not great for us, but now our biggest liability is on Gonzaga. We took a $3,000 wager on them at 37-1 last week.
[h=2]2. What Sweet 16 games have had the biggest line moves?[/h]Bogdanovich: Out of all the Sweet 16 games, the only game that has moved more than a half a point is Duke-Oregon. Oregon opened -1 and the line kept moving, a half point at a time, all the way to -3 (where it stands now).
Kornegay: The largest line move has been on the Duke-Oregon game. We opened Oregon -2 and currently Oregon is -3.
Simbal: We opened Oregon as a 2-point favorite over Duke and moved it to -3. Kansas opened as a 7-point favorite over Maryland and we quickly moved it to -6.5.
[h=2]3. Which games have you had the most public action on?[/h]Bogdanovich: Most public action right now is the Kansas-Maryland game where the public favors Kansas. Eighty-two percent of the point-spread tickets for the game and 86 percent of the total point-spread dollars wagered are currently on the Jayhawks.
Kornegay: The public likes Kansas vs. Maryland with a 5-1 ticket count, followed by Oklahoma vs. Texas A&M (8-1 ticket count) and Villanova vs. Miami (2-1 ticket count).
Simbal: The public is really backing Oklahoma. Despite the Sooners failing to cover the spread in their first two tournament games, the public isn't shying away from their matchup against Texas A&M. The next game the public likes is Kansas, but it's not really close to Oklahoma thus far.
[h=2]4. Which games have you had the most sharp action on?[/h]Bogdanovich: Most sharp action at this point is on the Duke-Oregon game because of the line movement. Fifty-eight percent of the point-spread tickets for the game and 87 percent of the total dollars wagered are on Oregon.
Kornegay: Sharp play has come in on Virginia -5 against Iowa State and Gonzaga -4 against Syracuse.
Simbal: We saw them come in on Maryland +7 against Kansas, which moved the number to +6.5. That move was likely because we opened that game a shade too high. Also they have bet Iowa State early against Virginia, moving the number down to +5.5 from +6.
[h=2]5. What is the biggest Sweet 16 bet you've taken?[/h]Bogdanovich: We took a $7,700 bet on Miami +4.5.
Kornegay: So far, the largest wager has come in on Virginia -5 for our house limit. We expect more action as game times draw nearer.
Simbal: So far, the biggest has been a $10,000 wager on Oregon against Duke,. We are hoping for bigger bets to come in from the fans staying at our strip properties beginning Thursday and Friday.
