I’m always interested in what happens when you give a bunch of gamblers a free roll.
That’s what happened on a Saturday afternoon at the Circa Sportsbook: A free roll on the NCAA tournament champion in the Derek Stevens/Mike Palm Bracket Buster.
A field of 16 played four rounds of blackjack to determine the draft order and what their voucher was worth: From $20,000 to $1,000.
After the contest winner went with Duke (+315), VSiN’s very own Mitch Moss – definitely on a heater of late with his recent video poker winnings – used his $15,000 voucher on Florida (+725).
After Alabama (+1300) and Texas Tech (+3000) were chosen, VSiN’s Jonathan Von Tobel, who was on the air at the time of the draft, put Mitch in charge of using an $8,000 voucher on Auburn (+340).
Houston (+700), St. John’s (+2500), Clemson (+6500), Missouri (+5500) and Tennessee (+1500) were chosen next. Then at No. 11, VSiN’s Stormy Buonantony selected Michigan State (+3000), disappointing The Ringer’s Raheem Palmer, who settled for Iowa State (+2500). Long shots finished off the final four spots: UConn (+7000), Illinois (+7000), Georgia (+40000) and Marquette (+7500).
For validation, I checked in with Brent Musburger:
I love Mitch’s pick.
I asked Brent how he would have drafted:
In order: Florida, Duke, Houston, Auburn, Alabama and St John’s.
Today in College Basketball
The first NCAA automatic bid was awarded last night (Ohio Valley champion SIU-Edwardsville) with four more on the line today:
Big South (Noon ET, ESPN2): High Point (-7.5) vs. Winthrop (click for matchup page)
Atlantic Sun (2 ET, ESPN2): North Alabama vs. Lipscomb (-4.5)
Missouri Valley (2:10 ET, CBS): Bradley vs. Drake (-2.5)
Summit (9 ET, CBS Sports Network): Nebraska-Omaha vs. St. Thomas (MN)
Greg “Hoops” Peterson has five Best Bets for today’s menu.
>Greg’s handicapped lines for every game here and the latest episode of his Coast-to-Coast Hoops podcast here.
More college resources
>Preview for the Southland Conference, which starts today.
>Links to all of the tournament previews on this page, usually 48 hours in advance of tip-off. They include brackets, power ratings and predictions.
>Josh Appelbaum will post his Sharp Report later this morning.
>Adam Burke will have his Best Bets later, too.
>Steve Makinen‘s power ratings with estimated scores
>DraftKings/Circa Betting Splits.
Circa Challenge results
Week 4 of the Circa College Hoops Challenge is in the books.
VSiN host Tim Murray and Texas pro bettor Paul Stone are tied for the lead with 14 points.
>>Updated standings and graded picks.
Today in NASCAR
Steve Makinen has uploaded his final simulation for today’s NASCAR race at Phoenix and shared his analysis:
William Byron becomes the first driver of the young season to pace both the initial and final race simulations after a strong Saturday of qualifying and practice at Phoenix. He has become a pretty hefty favorite, with an average finish of 3.395 on the simulation runs. Next closest is Joey Logano, followed by Tyler Reddick. Logano won the fall race here in securing his series championship. Ryan Blaney, Denny Hamlin and Christopher Bell should also be top contenders.
The Phoenix handicap-ability grade is B, the best we’ve seen so far so hopefully the results will shadow the simulation well. As such, my projections for Sunday are as follows:
Top 5: Byron, Logano, Bell, Blaney, Larson
Top underdogs: Beuscher, McDowell, Jones
Favorites to struggle: Busch, Bowman, Briscoe
Quick Hits
NBA: Zach Cohen will have his plays later this morning.
NHL: Jonathan Davis will have his Best Bets later, too.
Tennis: Zach has his Best Bets for today’s action at Indian Wells. Zach and Gill Alexander post their plays on our Tennis Picks page.
Soccer: Nigel Seeley has two plays for today’s Premier League menu.
This is The VSiN Daily newsletter for Sunday, March 9. Sign up for this free email and get picks and insights delivered to your in-box every morning.
