College basketball betting: Purdue-Iowa provides awesome late total drama
Thursday was a pretty slow night in the sports world. There were only two NBA games and not many marquee college basketball games. Most of the NHL schedule started at 7 p.m., which left the late-night betting slate feeling pretty sparse. Purdue-Iowa was probably the most intriguing game of the night.
The Boilermakers closed as a 2.5-point road favorite. They won the game by a score of 83-73 and led almost all night. There was no real drama when it came to the spread. The total, however, was a different story.
Late drama in Purdue-Iowa
Betting an under in any sport requires mental toughness. You're going against human nature by rooting for less fun and less activity. You're winning your bet for the majority of the game until suddenly, you're not. It takes a special kind of person to be able to bet unders.
The total for Purdue-Iowa closed at 154.5-points. That's an extremely high total, but it's well deserved. Purdue ranks first in the nation in terms of offensive efficiency while Iowa ranks fourth.
For most of the night, it looked like the total was going to soar over. There were 81 points in the first half. There were 132 points with over nine minutes remaining in the second half.
With 3:11 left in the game, Sasha Stefanovich of the Boilermakers made a layup to make the score 81-68 Purdue. Bettors needed just six points in the final 3:11 of the game to cash the over. Here's how the next few possessions went:
Iowa turnover
Purdue missed layup
Iowa missed three
Purdue turnover
Iowa missed three, offensive rebound, missed shot
Purdue turnover
Iowa turnover
Purdue turnover
Iowa missed three
Suddenly, just 32 seconds remained, over bettors still needed six points, and the point differential was 13 points, not a range where most teams would foul to prolong the game.
Purdue drew a foul and hit both free throws with 32 seconds remaining. Iowa answered with a three. The score was now 83-71 with 18 seconds left.
Then for some reason, Iowa fouled. There's no realistic way they were coming back from down 12 with 18 seconds left, but Purdue was now shooting two free throws with over bettors needing just one point.
Eric Hunter Jr. of Purdue then missed both free throws and it looked like the under was somehow going to be the winning side. Keegan Murray of Iowa had other ideas as he grabbed the rebound and streaked down the court for a meaningless layup with five seconds left.
Over bettors finally got the points they needed. The over was clearly the right side in this game for the majority of it, but out of nowhere, the scoring completely dried up. Bettors needed a minor miracle in the final seconds and some questionable sportsmanship and gamesmanship from Iowa to cash their over ticket.
It's hard to call this a bad beat for the under bettors based on how the game was playing out, but it certainly appeared they were on the right side in the final seconds; until they weren't. What drama. What a finish. This is why we bet.
