College Basketball

NCAA Tournament odds: Kentucky suffers historic loss

Updated Mar. 18, 2022 1:10 p.m. ET

One of the most beautiful things about betting on March Madness (or any sport) is that every single game matters — a lesson that was reinforced with resounding strength on first day of the 2022 NCAA Men’s Tournament.

The Kentucky Wildcats (+800) were a favorite to win the tournament, holding the third-lowest odds behind the Gonzaga Bulldogs (+300) and Arizona Wildcats (+650).

FOX Bet's Senior Basketball Trader Timme Wesselink states, "We laid Kentucky from +700 to +2500 to win the national title throughout this college season. After Gonzaga, Arizona and Duke, they were the most bet team in the tournament field."

However, those hopes came to a grinding halt when UK was defeated by Saint Peters (+95000) — the longest odds to win the title — on Thursday night, falling 85-79.

Two-seeded Kentucky — a 17.5 point favorite — was outplayed by 15-seeded Saint Peter’s from the opening tip in the Round of 64. The Peacocks shot 47% from the field and 56% on 3-pointers in the first half, flustering the 'Cats defense with their accuracy.

The second half was no different as Kentucky never gained momentum. After star freshman Tyty Washington missed a potential game-winning jumper to end regulation, the Wildcats faltered down the stretch with missed free throws and ineffective offensive sets. Saint Peter’s pulled away in overtime for the bracket-breaking upset.

The Peacocks win as +1100 underdogs (bet $10 to win $120 total), paying off a hearty sum for the historic victory — this is only the 10th time a No. 15 seed has beaten a No. 2 seed. In addition, this is the fourth-largest upset in tournament history and the largest since UMBC defeated Virginia in the 2018 NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament.

On the bright side, Kentucky backers that took the over in the over/under (132.5 points) hit as 164 total points were scored.

Wesselink shared his thoughts on the impact on sportsbooks.

"Kentucky’s loss has been very good for our pregame hold on the game. The Wildcats were featured in many parlays and spread bets," he said, adding, "Live betting shows up as a small loss on the event with bettors siding with the big priced underdog."

So, what's the best thing that you can do if you were one of those Kentucky bettors who took a bad beat on the first day of action? Shake it off and get right back in the saddle at FOX Bet.

Play FOX Super 6 every week for your chance to win thousands of dollars every week. Just download the Super 6 app and make your picks today!