Just one year after Saint Peter’s became the first team to make the Elite Eight of the NCAA Tournament as a No. 15 seed, Princeton is attempting the same.
The Tigers took down second-seeded Arizona and seventh-seeded Missouri in the first two rounds and will face sixth-seeded Creighton in the South Region semifinals Friday in Louisville, Ky. And the betting public likes the Ivy League champions’ chances.
At BetMGM, the Tigers are attracting 80 percent of the total bets and 76 percent of the money as a +400 moneyline pick against the Bluejays, the sportsbook said Tuesday. The Tigers opened as +375 underdogs.
Against the spread, Princeton (+9.5) has garnered 66 percent of the tickets and 63 percent of the handle.
The same tilt is happening at BetRivers, which said Tuesday that Princeton had raked in 83 percent of the bets and 62 percent of the handle against the 9.5-point spread. But the Tigers were less popular as a +380 moneyline bet, just 34 percent of the tickets going to them.
Princeton (23-8) is coming off a dominant 78-63 win over Missouri. The Tigers never trailed by more than one point against Missouri, made twice as many 3-pointers (12 to six) as their opponent and dominated the boards 44-30.
Creighton (23-12) beat third-seeded Baylor in the second round, 85-76. Ryan Nembhard went for 30 points and the Bluejays made 45.8 percent of their 3-pointers (11 of 24) and 100 percent of their free throws (22 of 22).
Elsewhere in the bracket, some bettors like fifth-seeded Miami against No. 1 seed Houston in the Sweet 16. Miami (+240 moneyline) has attracted 76 percent of the bets and 63 percent of the handle at BetMGM.
–Field Level Media