Bettors back Duke men and UConn women for national championships

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Bettors back Duke men and UConn women for national championships

2025-04-03 03:47 Last Updated At：03:50

LAS VEGAS (AP) — Duke shines even in a Final Four of all No. 1 seeds.

The early betting money went on the Blue Devils to win their semifinal Saturday against Houston, with the opening line at DraftKings Sportsbook quickly going from 4 1/2 to 5 1/2 points.

Bettors see a Duke team led by sensational freshman Cooper Flagg that has won 15 games in a row, all but three by double digits.

“(Bettors will) continue to play Duke,” said Johnny Avello, DraftKings race and sports operations director. “Duke has been been brilliant through the ACC Tournament right into the big tournament here, and Flagg's playing great. So they'll just continue to put their money on them.”

BetMGM Sportsbook is seeing a similar surge in Blue Devils bets.

Duke by far is drawing the most money at BetMGM, taking in 40.5% of the handle to win the national championship. The next closest is Florida at 11.7%.

It's largely big bets on the Blue Devils because the total number of tickets is much closer, with Duke attracting 14.1% compared to 9.1% for the Gators. One person put $500,000 at that sportsbook on Duke at +350 to win the title.

That turned out to be a good price. Duke opened the season at +1100 at BetMGM to win the championship and now is at -110. Florida had an even more dramatic move, going from +4000 to +300.

The Gators are favored by 2 1/2 points at both sportsbooks to beat fellow Southeastern Conference member Auburn.

“The tournament has gone in the bettors’ favor with favorites consistently winning,” BetMGM trading manager Christian Cipollini said. "The sportsbook is cheering against a Duke-Florida final.”

On the women's side, bettors believe in championship coaches Dawn Staley of South Carolina and Geno Auriemma of UConn to get it done, even though the Huskies are the only No. 2 seed in either Final Four.

UConn, in fact, is attracting 30.3% of the handle and 17.3% of the ticket count to win the national championship, which would be the school's 12th but first in nine years. Paige Bueckers and the Huskies first have to get by UCLA in Friday's semifinal, but they are 8 1/2-point favorites at BetMGM and DraftKings.

The number opened at 10 1/2 points at DraftKings before it was bet down.

“Connecticut's always loaded,” Avello said. “Paige Bueckers is a special player. It will be tough to beat that team because he's an outstanding coach. He knows how to get it done. (Bettors) thought 10 1/2 points was a bit too many.”

South Carolina has won three national championships since 2017, including last year's title. The Gamecocks are in the Final Four for the fifth consecutive season.

They are behind only UConn at BetMGM in terms of money bet (23.9%) and number of tickets (14.8%).

South Carolina is favored by 4 1/2 points in the semifinals at both sportsbooks.

“BetMGM will be pulling for the dogs to cover and hopefully pull off an upset if not two," BetMGM sports trader Hannah Luther said. "Factoring in the futures markets, a Texas versus UCLA final is the best case scenario.”

DraftKings has lines up for the potential men's championship matchups. Duke would be favored by 4 1/2 points over Florida and 5 1/2 over Auburn. The Gators would be 1 1/2-point favorites over Houston, and the Cougars would be a 1-point favorite over Auburn.

Lines weren't available on the women's side, but UConn was a -160 favorite to win it all. South Carolina was +260.

This has been a difficult March Madness for sportsbooks because casual bettors tend to put their money on favorites.

“This hasn't been our greatest tournament revenue-wise,” Avello said. “But we've still got a couple of games to go. I can tell you, the players have a lot of bullets right now, so I expect a lot of action in this Final Four.”

Michigan State bettors had to be cursing when the Spartans beat Mississippi 73-70 in the Sweet 16. Ole Miss' Matthew Murrell made a 3-point — off the back iron, no less — at the buzzer that allowed those betting on the Rebels to cover the 3 1/2-point spread at BetMGM.

AP March Madness: https://apnews.com/hub/march-madness and AP technology coverage: https://apnews.com/technology

Rising rivers threaten US South and Midwest after barrage of rain and tornadoes

2025-04-07 01:54 Last Updated At：02:01

NASHVILLE (AP) — Rivers rose and flooding worsened Sunday across the U.S. South and Midwest, threatening communities already waterlogged and badly damaged by days of heavy rain and wind that killed at least 18 people.

From Texas to Ohio, utilities scrambled to shut off power and gas, while cities closed roads and deployed sandbags to protect homes and businesses.

In Kentucky, downtown Frankfort, the state's capital, was inundated.

“As long as I’ve been alive — and I’m 52 — this is the worst I’ve ever seen it,” said Wendy Quire, the general manager at the Brown Barrel restaurant.

As the swollen Kentucky River kept rising on Sunday, officials closed roads and turned off power and gas to businesses in the city built around it, Quire said. “The rain just won’t stop. It’s been nonstop for days and days,” she said.

Forecasters warned that flooding could persist for days, as torrential rains lingered over many states, including Kentucky, Tennessee and Alabama. Tornadoes are possible in Alabama, Georgia and Florida, forecasters said.

The 18 reported deaths since the start of the storms on Wednesday included 10 in Tennessee. A 9-year-old boy in Kentucky was caught up in floodwaters while walking to catch his school bus. A 5-year-old boy in Arkansas died after a tree fell on his family’s home and trapped him, police said. A 16-year-old volunteer in Missouri firefighter died in a crash while seeking to rescue people caught in the storm.

The National Weather Service said on Sunday dozens of locations in multiple states were expected to reach a “major flood stage,” with extensive flooding of structures, roads, bridges and other critical infrastructure possible.

There were 521 domestic and international flights cancelled within the U.S. and more than 6,400 delayed on Saturday, according to FlightAware.com, which reported 74 cancellations and 478 delays of U.S. flights early Sunday.

The storms come after the Trump administration has cut jobs at NWS forecast offices, leaving half of them with vacancy rates of about 20%, or double the level of a decade ago.

Officials warned of flash flooding and tornadoes Saturday across Arkansas, Mississippi, Tennessee and Kentucky. All of eastern Kentucky was under a flood watch through Sunday morning.

In north-central Kentucky, emergency officials ordered a mandatory evacuation for Falmouth and Butler, towns near the bend of the rising Licking River. Thirty years ago, the river reached a record 50 feet (15 meters), resulting in five deaths and 1,000 homes destroyed.

The NWS said 5.06 inches (nearly 13 centimeters) of rain fell Saturday in Jonesboro, Arkansas — making it the wettest day ever recorded in April in the city, dating back to 1893.

As of early Sunday, Memphis had received 14 inches (35 centimeters) of rain since Wednesday, the NWS said. West Memphis, Arkansas, received 10 inches (25 centimeters).

Forecasters attributed the violent weather to warm temperatures, an unstable atmosphere, strong winds and abundant moisture streaming from the Gulf.

In Dyersburg, Tennessee, dozens of people arrived Saturday at a storm shelter near a public school in the rain, clutching blankets, pillows and other necessities.

Among them was George Manns, 77, who said he was in his apartment when he heard a tornado warning and decided to head to the shelter. Just days earlier the city was hit by a tornado that caused millions of dollars in damage.

“I grabbed all my stuff and came here,” said Mann, who brought a folding chair, two bags of toiletries, laptops, iPads and medications: “I don’t leave them in my apartment in case my apartment is destroyed. I have to make sure I have them with me.”

Izaguirre reported from New York. Associated Press writers Bruce Schreiner in Shelbyville, Kentucky, Andrew DeMillo in Little Rock, Arkansas; Adrian Sainz in Memphis, Tennessee, and Sophia Tareen in Chicago, contributed to this report.