LAS VEGAS: 'Solid numbers' hold firm in early action at books

[clevfan]

Monday, March 15, 2004
Copyright © Las Vegas Review-Journal

'Solid numbers' hold firm in early action


Stardust's Scucci sees Spartans-Wolf Pack game as intriguing

By MATT YOUMANS
REVIEW-JOURNAL


The madness was missing Sunday night when NCAA Tournament betting lines were posted at the Stardust sports book. A small crowd surveyed the numbers and most bettors, it seemed, were taking a wait-and-see approach.

After an hour of wagering, only a few of the 32 lines changed significantly.

"Everybody scrambled to get in line and it was over in about 10 minutes," Stardust sports book director Bob Scucci said. "None of the numbers really ran. I think we put up some solid numbers.

"Usually (the bettors) want to get in and pound on one game. There's usually at least one soft spot."

The biggest early move came on Pittsburgh, which opened as a 12 1/2-point favorite over Central Florida before the line was adjusted to 14 1/2.

Support also came in on Mississippi State, which opened as a 17 1/2-point favorite over Monmouth and moved to 19.

Scucci said one game that intrigues him is Michigan State-UNR. The Spartans, a No. 7 seed, opened as 2 1/2-point favorites over the 10th-seeded Wolf Pack, which is 23-8 behind the play of star Kirk Snyder.

Scucci said Michigan State should probably be a smaller favorite, but he made the line predicting how the public will bet.

"I know we're going to get all Michigan State money," he said. "A lot of people don't really know how good Nevada is this year."

The biggest disparity in a line showed up on No. 1 seed Saint Joseph's. Las Vegas Sports Consultants and some offshore books opened the Hawks as 27-point favorites over Liberty. The Stardust posted the line at 23 and it stayed there.

Air Force, the Mountain West Conference regular-season champ, opened as a 7 1/2-point underdog to North Carolina and the line moved to 8.

Scucci said he expects betting action to pick up today after totals are posted, and most of the money will come in when college basketball fans flock to Las Vegas later this week.

On the futures board, the Stardust posted Kentucky as the 3-1 favorite to win the championship. Oklahoma State, a No. 2 seed after winning the Big 12 regular season and tournament titles, is the second choice at 7-2. Connecticut and Duke are both at 4-1.

"If I had to say two teams are playing better than anybody right now, it's Kentucky and Oklahoma State," Scucci said. "As the conference tournaments showed, anybody can win it this year."