Adam Pullen, assistant director of trading at Caesars Sportsbook, joins Cheddar News to recap day one of March Madness.

Between Bells

March Madness Round One Recap 

Welcome back to between Bells day one of March Madness was filled with plenty of bracket busters, Kentucky fans are somewhere sliding down a wall after Saint Peter's beat the Wildcats, outshooting them 85 to 79 in overtime. ST Peter's became the 10th number 15 seed to knock off a number two seed. And now the fun starts all over again with 16 more games lined up today. Joining us. Now to discuss is adam Poland, assistant director of trading at caesars Sports book adam, welcome to the show. There were so many upsets last night. What would you say were the biggest for those betting on these games? Well obviously you mentioned the ST Peter's win over Kentucky was just huge. Uh talking from a betting perspective over 90% of people had Kentucky just to win the game straight up. So that was definitely a shocker for those in the know followed college basketball like we do all throughout the year. We knew ST Peter's was a good team going into the tournament. Wasn't too happy that they drew Kentucky but they certainly proved proved everybody wrong. And it didn't matter whose name was on the front of the Jersey. And it's definitely one of the better upsets we've seen in the N. C. A. Term in Kentucky was the third choice for a lot of people to possibly cut down the nets in new Orleans and for them to be out on the opening day certainly was a shock to a lot of people and that's why they call it March Madness. Yeah there's a lot of disappointment in my house because Yukon didn't make it. But that's another story for another day at this point. Does seating even matter when looking at where to place your bets during the tournament? Quite simply? No, I think that's probably the biggest mistake a lot of people make look, the teams have to be seated somewhere. I think for this year, the 13, 14, 15, even 16 seats are better than their seating indicates. And as we've seen before, just because the team is seated lower than another, uh, it doesn't matter. They might be the favorite in the game, according to the oddsmakers. And we saw that yesterday with a few teams. So you've got to look past the seating, you got to delve deep into the teams. Look, we follow All 358 Division One College basketball teams throughout the year. Uh, public maybe not so much. You know, you have a lot of, maybe newer people are novices to sports betting and they see the name on the front of the jersey, They see the seed attached to them and they think that's something that to go on when making their bets, but that's not a, not a good way to look at it. You got to dig deep into the teams and, and just because you have a double digit seed does not mean That's in the indication of how good a team they are. We saw Georgia state team who was a 16 seed yesterday. Who was tied with Gonzaga with about 10 minutes left even though they ended up getting blown out? That just shows you the depth in college basketball and especially in this tournament with even those teams that have the double-digit seeds attached to them. I'm so glad you mentioned Gonzaga because I was going to ask about it after yesterday. I mean they are really the favorite to win right now after yesterday. Are there chances still pretty high? What are people betting on there? Yes, Gonzaga's, they've been the favorite all year and deservedly so we knew coming in that they have another strong team. Just a matter of them finally getting that elusive national championship, but they've got a solid team. Drew, timmy's great, Chet Holmgren, the fabulous freshman. Uh, but look, they don't have an easy road. They've got a tough game coming up against Memphis tomorrow. Uh, that's not going to be an easy game for them. So they are the favorite, but you're not getting a lot of bang for your buck if you bet Gonzaga, but it figures that they're going to be one of the teams to make it to New Orleans and possibly cut down the nets finally for them. But yeah, they've been the deserving favorite all year and still are holding steady as the favorite? What are some big upsets you're watching for today's first round games. Do you think Loyola is a top one to watch? Well loyal. It wouldn't be too much of an upset. That's basically a toss up game as far as the odds go. Uh, there's some possible chances. Teams like Chattanooga, U A B. Colgate. Those are teams that are 13 around 13, 14 seeds and they're in the single, single digit underdogs. So they have a lot of respect. As I said before, we have teams that for high seed, double digit seeds that are very good teams. So those three teams have a good chance of causing an upset. And there's some teams later today, like a Delaware, a Yale or right state that maybe can make maybe not win the game but certainly make things very interesting for those higher seeded teams. Like I said, the depth in this tournament I think is a, it has been one of the best ones in recent years. Just so many good teams. Even for those teams that are playing those higher seeded teams round two kicking off tomorrow. Where what are your tops against the spread bets for tomorrow. I think you have a lot of interesting games I mentioned obviously the Gonzaga Memphis game. I think Gonzaga might be in for a tough matchup Memphis as a team that's gritty and tough, uh, their pre season, they were picked to do very well this year. Had a little rough patch but definitely gained steam as the season went on. That's not going to be an easy out for Gonzaga. So they're going to have their hands full, defending national champion Baylor against north Carolina, another great matchup Tennessee and Michigan and you have the upset minded peacocks looking to take on Murray state to get to the sweet 16. So that's another game. That should be good. I mean, just so many good matchups again, the depth of this tournament, uh, is great and it should lead to more good second round matchups and these higher seeded teams, whether you're one or two seed, they're not going to be easy. So they're gonna have their hands full and it should make for great for great games. What other prop bets is caesar seeing, anticipate, is seeing to and anticipating throughout the tournament here adam, Well, we have different prop bets for winning the region, uh, certain player proposition bets so you can bet before teams to progress further than others. So as we get down to the Sweet 16 and further, there'll be more of those unique bets to make for those games as they get more and more important as we go down the road. But now we're looking, it's gonna be a great tournament. I mean, as I said, the matchups are going to be fantastic and the action judging by yesterday's indication it should be great as we progress throughout the tournament. So we don't have many bidding options and look, the public will get more involved. You know, the first round is great because when we get deeper and deeper into the games mean more and more, that's when all the action's gonna progress. A lot more and more action will come in. Once you get down to the final Final Four in the championship Game. Adam Poland, assistant director of trading at CAesars Sports Book, Thanks so much for the insight adam.