Just as we in the sports betting community love to see the Cinderella story in every NCAA Tournament, we have to admit that we also revel in seeing the odd choke job, agreed? Here are my picks for the biggest bust teams this year. Keep your money — and your bracket picks – away from them!
Connecticut Huskies
I’m starting to see more and more bettors worry about UConn. At first, the hype machine revved in the Huskies’ favor. After all, they won the Big East Tournament last week and Kemba Walker is playing as well as anyone in the country. However, a closer look suggests Connecticut could be ripe for an upset. It played an exhausting five games in five days last week. How much will that take out of the Huskies and, more specifically, out of Walker? This is not a deep team. No contender is more reliant on its star. These are all ominous signs for UConn as it prepares to battle Bucknell.
Texas Longhorns
Will you find many places other than this sports betting blog picking Texas to fail? Maybe not. But I think sometimes Texas’ reputation outshines its performance. While some of the personnel have changed over, the coach hasn’t, and Rick Barnes’ boys choked in round one last year. In fact, Barnes-coached Texas teams have been bounced in the second round or earlier seven times in his 12 seasons with the Longhorns. Sometimes Texas’ guards force too many shots. If the Longhorns start to panic – say, in a second-round matchup with Arizona – that might happen again.
Wisconsin Badgers
Many signs point to Wisconsin being ousted as a No. 4 seed in the first round. The Badgers lost their last two games entering the tourney. In the most recent defeat, they were one-and-done in the Big Ten tourney after losing 36-33 to Penn State. Worse yet, Wisconsin struggles to defend against three-pointers and potential Cinderella pick Belmont is second in the country in three-pointers. Gulp.
Georgetown Hoyas
Does this one count as a bust? It’s borderline. Arguably, the Hoyas bandwagon emptied long ago, as Chris Wright was lost to injury, and Georgetown wound up an underwhelming No. 6 seed in the Southwest Region. But I put them on the bust list anyways as a warning to any college basketball betting fans who are easily swayed by the high-profile, “brand-name” teams.