Wake and Rake: Early Professional Money Jumping on NIT Matchup
Joe Nicholson-USA TODAY Sports
While declaring that recreational bettors aren't overly enthusiastic about the NIT isn't exactly breaking news, the lack of action on tonight's slate is quite startling. Based on our number of bets statistic, public bettors are basically ignoring tonight's college basketball matchups and are instead focusing on Thursday's round of Sweet 16 games.
However, NIT winners pay just the same as NCAA Tournament winners. Sharp bettors don't care about the prestige of the tournament, only the potential value offered by soft betting lines. Looking at current college basketball betting data, professionals have already made a play on tonight's Utah-Saint Mary's (10:00 p.m. ET) matchup.
The Utah-Saint Mary's total opened at 139.5 across the market and betting has remained relatively split, with 51% of tickets currently on the under. While the percentages are balanced, the total has increased to 140 at many offshore sportsbooks and even up to 140.5 at Bookmaker.eu.
According to Sports Insights' Bet Signals — which track sharp action in real time across the sports betting market — a Steam Move on over 139.5 was triggered at Pinnacle, a market-setting sportsbook that accepts high-limit wagers from professional bettors.
The public wants no part of tonight's boring slate, but wiseguys have already found value with the Utah-Saint Mary's total.
Top Photo: Utah Utes forward David Collette (13) celebrates with forward Chris Seeley (11); credit: Joe Nicholson-USA TODAY Sports
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