Theodor Geisel, better known as Dr. Seuss, was quoted as saying, “Sometimes you will never know the value of a moment until it becomes a memory”. While that’s true about a lot of things in life, it doesn’t really apply to the Most Memorable Sports Betting Moments of 2025.
Our Top 10 list will be broadcast on a special one-hour show airing from 1 p.m. to 2 p.m. ET on Tuesday, January 27, hosted by Tim Murray with special appearances by the hosts that were most affected by the moments on the list. And I assure you that they knew the value of the moments in question based on the impact that they had on their betting tickets and bankrolls.
While you can Watch or Listen to that show live on our website, you can also catch the show live on SiriusXM Channel 158, on our YouTube TV Channel as part of the Sports+ Package, or on the VSiN Watch App, you can also see or hear the archived version on our YouTube page, or on our podcast feeds on Spotify or Apple Podcasts.
To whet your appetite for the moments and give you an idea of what didn’t make the Top 10 cut, this will be a list of Moments 11-20, with No. 11 getting some special honorable mention on that one-hour broadcast. As you look through this list, consider how these moments weren’t even enough to be in the Top 10, which our VSiN hosts voted on and ranked, and how all of this happened in just one calendar year.
Most Memorable Sports Betting Moments of 2025 Nos. 11-20
20. A Grade-AA Upset Special (Illinois State beats North Dakota State in FCS Playoffs)
In fairness, this is a betting countdown, but if this were just a sports countdown, this was a wild moment that would be much higher up the list. The Cinderella run of the Illinois State Redbirds ended in overtime of the Division I-AA National Championship Game in Nashville against the Montana State Bobcats, a game that featured our own Stormy Buonantony on the sidelines.
To make such a run possible, though, Illinois State needed to win four playoff games, including a Second Round game against North Dakota State, a team they lost to 33-16 at home during the regular season. The Bison, an annual FCS powerhouse, were a 23.5-point home favorite and even priced at -200 vs. The Field to win the Natty.
Here’s how Illinois State won 29-28:
The Redbirds would go on to beat UC Davis and Villanova before losing 35-34 to Montana State in an instant classic, but this upset will be remembered for a very long time.
19. Goal, Knights, Goal (VGK beats Wild 4-2 in Game 1 First Round)
Twitter, or X as they call it nowadays, is a hellscape, but it, too, has had some memorable moments. Like this @jon_bois tweet that lives on every year from April-June.
Empty-net goals to cash bets or cover pucklines aren’t all that rare, but there’s a little something extra to one that does both in the Stanley Cup Playoffs.
The host Golden Knights were favored in the -250 range against the Wild in Game 1 back on April 20 and the Over was 5.5 juiced to -120 or -125 across most of the market. There was some pretty heavy line movement on Vegas that night on the moneyline, and also on the puckline.
The Wild trailed 3-2 after scoring their second goal with 11:46 left and the game would stay that way until there was 0.1 second left on the clock when Brett Howden scored from 144 feet away to give Vegas a 4-2 victory that covered the puckline and hit the Over.
Condolences to Under bettors on that one.
18. Coors Chaos (Rockies beat Pirates 17-16)
Bullpen meltdowns are hard to swallow, which is one of the reasons why one of our more popular sayings around here are that “you need a full bottle of whiskey and a revolver to sweat baseball”, a quote provided by longtime oddsmaker Nick Bogdanovich during one of his appearances several years ago. We even had shirts made!
Even with the elevation in Denver, a full bottle of whiskey might not be enough for Pirates backers reliving the August 1, 2025 game against the Rockies.
The Pirates sent 14 men to the plate in the first inning and took a 9-0 lead before most spectators found their seats. Colorado chipped away and trailed 12-6 going into the top of the fifth when the Pirates scored three more runs. Another insurance run in the sixth felt safe at 16-10. It wasn’t.
After a two-run homer in the eighth, the Rockies came up in the bottom of the ninth trailing by four runs. Leadoff hitter Ezequiel Tovar struck out. With two outs left, the Rockies went HR, BB, 3B, 1B, HR to walk it off 17-16. The Pirates were around -140 pregame.
Quite the highlight for a team that improved to 29-80 with that win.
17. Aces Up (Aces win WNBA title, A’ja Wilson makes history)
GOAT is a term that we probably throw around a little bit too often, but it’s fair to say that A’ja Wilson is the GOAT as far as the WNBA goes. The bar is high on an annual basis for Las Vegas and they met those expectations by winning their third WNBA Championship in four seasons.
But, it wasn’t easy. The Aces were as high as 25/1 to win the title when they started 14-14 for the season, but ripped off a 16-game winning streak to go into the postseason as the No. 2 seed. Wilson and her teammates won Game 3 in the best-of-three Quarterfinals, Game 5 in the best-of-five Semifinals, and then swept the Mercury to win the title.
Wilson became the first player in WNBA history to win the title, the regular season MVP, the Finals MVP, and the Defensive Player of the Year. She also hit the game-winning shot in Game 3 to set up the sweep.
16. The Bad Beats of Bowl Season (2025 New Mexico Bowl)
Bowl season has changed a lot of the years, especially with the NIL and the transfer portal. The 2025 New Mexico Bowl on December 27 is the latest entry of the calendar on our list of the Most Memorable Sports Betting Moments of 2025.
Bowl game lines are up for a long time and especially for games after Christmas. This line could’ve been a script for a M. Night Shyamalan movie with all the twists and turns. North Texas mostly opened -6.5, but as head coach Eric Morris left for Oklahoma State, questions arose about all of the players and coaches he would take with him from Denton to Stillwater. Based on some of that speculation, and a few announcements, the line dropped to North Texas -2.5.
But, then we found out San Diego State starting QB Jayden Denegal wasn’t going to play, while Mean Green QB Drew Mestemaker was going to finish what he started with his team. In the end, the line closed -7 or -7.5. Ultimately, North Texas would take a 42-20 lead going into the fourth quarter and everything looked safe for Mean Green backers at any number…until it didn’t.
As Scott Van Pelt likes to say in his Bad Beats segment with Stanford Steve, “THEY SIGNED UP FOR 60!” And the Aztecs did, scoring on a 14-play, 82-yard drive with one second left to cover all numbers. There were way more moments than just the touchdown. And I’ll give SVP and Stanford Steve the floor.
15. Yoshinobu Yama-almost-no-no (Orioles beat Dodgers 4-3)
No-hitters are among the rarest accomplishments in all of sports and Dodgers pitcher Yoshinobu Yamamoto was one out away from one against the Orioles on September 6. The Dodgers held a 3-0 lead with single runs in the third, fifth, and seventh innings. It was a lost season for the O’s, who entered the game 65-76, a major disappointment given the young talent on the roster.
Yamamoto struck out leadoff hitter Alex Jackson and Coby Mayo flew out to CF to start the ninth. He had thrown 108 pitches with 10 strikeouts and a couple of walks as Jackson Holliday stepped to the plate.
It was a hit anyway, but a ball that barely left the yard. With 112 pitches and the no-hitter gone, manager Dave Roberts went to Blake Treinen, who brought matches with him from the bullpen and set the mound on fire. Treinen went 2B, HBP, wild pitch, BB to push the second run across and load the bases.
Roberts trudged back out to the mound to get Tanner Scott and Emmanuel Rivera, now a career .245 hitter, did this.
When Mayo flew out for the second out, the Orioles had 0.5% win probability per Statcast. The Dodgers closed around a -130 favorite.
14. Pardon My French (Alcaraz beats Sinner in French Open Final)
We cover it all here at VSiN and my Senior Editor Zachary Cohen sent in this tennis submission, as we had one for the ages in the French Open Final between Carlos Alcaraz and Jannick Sinner. Two heavyweights of the sport came together for a five-hour, 29-minute match that set a record as the longest French Open men’s final ever and the second-longest Grand Slam final ever on the men’s side.
Alcaraz trailed 4-6, 6-7 (4), 6-4, 3-5 and was down 0-40 on serve in the fourth set, needing to win each of the last two sets. Sinner was -50000 (99.8%) to win with triple-championship point.
Alcaraz would go on to take the fourth and fifth sets to win the title, as called by Brian Anderson of TNT.
13. A Major Surprise (J.J. Spaun Wins U.S. Open)
In a world where Scottie Scheffler exists, it is surprising anytime somebody other than him wins a golf tournament. But, sports are full of surprises – and memorable moments, as it turns out – and we had one at Oakmont Country Club back in June.
Spaun locked in his PGA Tour card late in 2016 and had one tournament victory to his name, a two-shot triumph in the 2022 Valero Texas Open. But, Spaun had been playing well in 2025, even losing in a playoff to Rory McIlroy at The Players Championship, and he qualified for the U.S. Open by virtue of being in the Top 60 of the Official World Golf Ranking as of May 19.
He was the Day 1 leader after an opening-round 66 and was second after 36 holes and tied for second after 54. The weather was miserable on that Sunday, as rain halted play for over 90 minutes during the final round. To Spaun, though, it was the best day of his professional career, even after starting the day with five bogeys in six holes.
On 18, Spaun had two putts to win. He only needed one.
Pre-tournament markets had Spaun around 125/1 to 150/1.
12. Cleveland Rocks (Guardians, 150/1 at All-Star Break, win AL Central)
Look, I’m biased, but I’m the one writing up this list, so this one goes to No. 12 for me (the hosts voted on the Top 10). The reigning AL Central champs found themselves 12 games back at the All-Star Break, sitting just 46-49, but on a bit of a heater, as they were 15.5 games out earlier in the week.
While many cite the All-Star Break price, it is important to note that the Guardians were 12.5 games back as late as August 25. They swept the Tigers in Detroit from September 16-18 and took two out of three in a mammoth series at home during the final week of the season.
As it turns out, the Tigers lost on the final day of the regular season and the Guardians had the head-to-head tiebreaker, so they were hugging and high-fiving in the dugout before Game 162 was decided. Still, it always looks better to win the division with a better record than just holding the tiebreaker.
As had been the case for weeks, an unlikely hero rose to the occasion when called upon. This time, it was Brayan Rocchio.
Yes, the Tigers got the last laugh with the AL Wild Card series victory, but we may never see another division comeback like this.
11. MSG Magic (Pacers beat Knicks in Game 1 of Eastern Conf. Finals)
Home-court advantage was not on display in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference Finals when the Pacers and Knicks settled their differences in overtime thanks to the most generous road team bounce we’ve ever seen.
As you would expect from teams that finished the season one win apart, Game 1 was a pretty tight affair throughout, at least until the fourth quarter, when the Pacers hit the coldest of cold snaps. A 94-92 game all of the sudden became a 108-92 game, as Indiana trailed by 16 with 7:19 left, getting outscored 14-0 in the span of less than three minutes. They still trailed by 14 with 3:15 left, but battled back, just in time for a 23-footer from Tyrese Haliburton sent the game to overtime.
The Pacers closed +4.5 in Game 1 and would ultimately win the series in six games before losing the NBA Finals in seven games to the Thunder.
Top 10 Most Memorable Sports Betting Moments
Tune in on Tuesday, January 27 at 1 p.m. ET (Prop Points timeslot) for host Tim Murray and appearances by VSiN hosts Dave Ross, Jensen Lewis, Stormy Buonantony, Jonathan Von Tobel, Mitch Moss, Matt Youmans, Mike Palm, Mike Somich, and Dustin Swedelson as they share their thoughts on the moments that affected them most in 2025.
