Cincinnati Bearcats Most Bet on Side Friday

Unlike Thursday where no one team stood out in getting significant betting action, Friday's March Madness late had a clear public favorite in the Cincinnati Bearcats.

START YOUR OWN SPORTSBOOK FOR JUST A SMALL FEE PER WEEK PER PLAYER HERE

Some of this most likely stems from their much publicized home court advantage.  The Bearcats will be facing Iowa a mere hour-and-a-half from where they are based, in Columbus, Ohio.  Should the Bearcats advance to the Sweet 16, they would play in another nearby city of Louisville. 

75% of the spread action was on Cincinnati for this 12:15 pm EST matchup.  It's the first game of the day.

The line on this game has drifted slowly up from Bearcats -3.5 to -4.5. A closer analysis shows the line is moving in conjunction with the action coming in.

Cal Irvine is clearly the second most wagered on side of the day at +4.5 with upwards of 65% of the action against Kansas State.

Here we would anticipate the line moving downward, and indeed it has off the -5.5 to -4.5.  Any move back to -5 would be reason to pause and consider KSU.  The line has stalled at -4.5.

The Buffalo Bulls are another highly wagered on side seeing some 80% or more of the action.  The number here is trending upwards from -4.5 to -5.   It is interesting that we have seen the number at -5.5 earlier but books are holding pat at -5 Friday morning.  There is a slight hint at an opinion favoring Arizona State.  Sagarin indicates that the Bulls should be no more than a -4 point favorite. Gambling911 is giving ASU a 55% chance of covering but has not pulled the trigger in picking the Sun Devils just yet.  Any move back towards the -4.5 will be monitored carefully throughout the day.  This game goes off at 4 pm EST.

Mississippi may be the only team in this year's March Madness tournament in which not a single bet has come in for them to win the NCAA Men's College Basketball Championship, the wagering public does like the Rebels to win in the short term.  As a -1.5 favorite versus Oklahoma, Ole Miss was seeing better than 60% of the spread action.  Oklahoma is clearly the better team here by 2 points according to the Sagarin Ratings.  The line is going in the wrong direction.  Gambling911.com is giving the Sooners a 55% chance here but will not officially be picking Oklahoma.  Instead, all eyes will be on Arizona State to see if we do ultimately get down on the Sun Devils.

- Don Shapiro, Gambling911.com