No. 12 Illinois was favored by eight points over Penn State Wednesday and led by seven with under a minute to play. A basket on their next possession would have put the Illini on track to cover the spread. If they didn’t score, no big deal, they still had a better than 96 percent win probability, according to ESPN Analytics.
Those might have been the final words before the game went up in smoke.
Illinois missed a jumper with around 40 seconds left, gave up a 3-pointer, turned the ball over, gave up a layup, missed two free throws, then fouled on a 3-pointer. Penn State’s Zach Hicks made all three free throws to complete the comeback.
FOULED ON A 3. TO THE LINE. DRAIN ALL 3.
PENN STATE COMPLETES THE COMEBACK FOR THE W! pic.twitter.com/lVTaXvUnHN
— FOX College Hoops (@CBBonFOX) February 22, 2024
Illinois was one of the biggest public favorites Wednesday, receiving 62 percent of bets against the spread, according to BetMGM’s John Ewing. And when a team is so heavily favored to cover 7.5 points, you can imagine how its moneyline might be a popular addition to parlays.
The team’s meltdown made for a lot of spoiled bets.
Coleman Hawkins is the reason I hate betting Illinois I throw them in a ML parlay and this dude misses 2 free throws up 2 then fouls on a 3 and they lose by 1
— Jay DiStefano (@jaydistefano) February 22, 2024
Illinois… a 14 point lead with 3 minutes to go and you lose… RIP my parlay
— peerless price (@PayTheFees) February 22, 2024
Ask me if I had Illinois ML (-340) in my only parlay/bet of the day https://t.co/Ivfrxx8eM9
— Ryan🎙️ (@RyanKnowsBall) February 22, 2024
This is the season no bet is safe in college basketball.