The Ohio State Buckeyes (13-17) are in the midst of a college basketball season to forget, but they have shown some signs of life with back-to-back wins against Illinois and Maryland on their home floor. Those wins were enough for one bettor to take a chance on the Buckeyes to win the whole damn thing. On Friday night, one absurd Ohio State NCAA Tournament bet surfaced on the internet.
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Bettor Takes Lowly Ohio State Buckeyes to Win NCAA Tournament
According to VSIN’s Ben Fawkes, one bettor over at Caesars Sportsbook decided to place a $500 wager on the Buckeyes to win the NCAA Tournament at 300-1 odds. The bet would pay out a whopping $1.5 Million.
One @CaesarsSports bettor in New York wagered $500 on Ohio State to win the Men's NCAA tourney at 3000-1 odds.
Bet would win $1.5 million
That bettor is about to be $500 poorer
— Ben Fawkes (@BFawkes22) March 3, 2023
The Buckeyes dug themselves a hole, and would only be able to make the NCAA tournament if they were to somehow win the Big Ten Tournament next week. While the opening odds for the tournament have not dropped yet, the Buckeyes will undoubtedly be heavy underdogs to win the trophy and receive an NCAA Tournament bid. According to Team Rankings, Ohio State has a 1.9% chance to make the tourney.
Still, it is worth commending the Buckeyes for being able to rally during an unfortunate season in order to win back-to-back games against two strong Big Ten teams. Ohio State coach Chris Holtmann said his team has never lost faith despite going through a long nine-game losing streak during Big Ten play.
“I think they have to have a belief that we will see some results even though we were getting run out of games. you’ve got two options there — you can say I’m going to do my own thing and become independent or I’m going to lean in together, be a part of a team and be highly coachable. It really has been about focusing on the work and the work in front of us each and every day,” Holtmann said, per On 3.
“We’ve tried to communicate to them if we do that enough, you have to trust we will see the results. We’ve said that for three weeks and I’m glad we’re seeing some.”
While the wins lately might make Holtmann and the younger players more confident that there is light at the end of the tunnel for the program, it is hard to imagine anyone within the university considers the team a real threat to compete in March.
However, one bettor will be going all out for the Buckeyes to win the Big Ten and ride that momentum into the NCAA Tournament. Definitely not the wisest bet we’ve seen come through, but be sure to check out OddsShopper tools for some sharp value plays for the rest of the college basketball season!
