When two teams are seeded one spot apart, you expect a close game.
That’s exactly what fans got, as No. 5 San Diego State edged No. 6 Creighton 57-56 in a South Region Elite Eight game in Louisville on Sunday.
[RELATED: Aztecs earn first trip to Final Four]
The final 34.2 seconds had bettors on the edge of their seats, with Bluejays backers (-2.5 points and -154 moneyline, bet $10 to win $16.54 total at FOX Bet) ultimately suffering heartbreak, while Aztecs bettors (+110 moneyline, bet $10 to win $21 total) gleefully cashed in and celebrated the first Final Four appearance for SDSU.
Here’s how bettors sweated out the final 34.2 seconds:
It shouldn’t be a surprise the teams were in a close battle. The Bluejays beat the Aztecs 72-69 in overtime in a first-round game in the Midwest Region last season.
The Aztecs led 56-54. SDSU’s Adam Seiko, on the sideline in front of the Creighton bench, lobbed an inbounds pass to the lane that Bluejay Baylor Scheierman stole and made a layup, tying it made at 56 with 32.4 seconds to go.
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“What’s the major no-no in basketball? Do not bring that inbounds towards the opposition’s basket,” said CBS color commentator Jim Spanarkel, a guard on the Duke team that finished second in the NCAA Tournament to Kentucky in 1978.
The teams traded timeouts, then the Aztecs inbounded the ball with 6.7 seconds left. Aztecs guard Darrion Trammell drove the lane and got fouled by Ryan Nembhard with 1.2 seconds to go.
Trammell, a 74% free-throw shooter, missed the first.
Did someone say overtime?
Trammell swished the second to make it 57-56.
Scheierman, a high-school quarterback who had a state-record 59 touchdown passes as a senior in Nebraska, threw a length of the court inbounds pass. SDSU’s Aguek Arop and Creighton’s Arthur Kaluma jumped and battled for the ball, which landed out of bounds as the horn sounded.
Was there any time left? Does Creighton (and its bettors) still have a chance?
The officials checked the monitor and ruled time had expired.
The Aztecs are off to the Final Four in Houston.
The Bluejays are headed home.
Some bettors cashed in, others ripped up their tickets.
Ben Fawkes of VSiN tweeted one Creighton bettor suffered a significant loss.
That’s why it’s called March Madness.
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