The UConn Huskies are a bookmaker’s nightmare.
The ever-popular playoff darlings were ranked between Nos. 10-15 by oddsmakers over at DraftKings entering the tournament, their head trader Johnny Avello tells the Post, but that hasn’t stopped the No. 2 seed in the East from making the Final Four.
Now, with public bettors piling in and a miracle comeback against Duke fresh in mind, this is a trickier handicap, especially with Hurley’s bizarre interactions with game officials added into the equation.
“They are so good because of his recruiting and coaching,” Avello said.
“The team lost in the conference tournament, had 35/1 odds to win it all entering the tournament. UCLA (Round of 32) – they could’ve lost. Easily could’ve lost to Michigan State.
“Dan Hurley is in a little trouble getting in the ref’s face right now. He gets in the ref’s head. When his team isn’t playing well, he gets in the refs’ heads to turn his team around and it works.”
UConn’s roster isn’t the most talented in the field, yet here they are in the Final Four, still finding ways to survive and keep it rolling with Hurley as the lead puppet master pulling all the strings.
When things aren’t going his way – as they weren’t last weekend against the Blue Devils – he can rally the troops and perhaps intimidate some zebras to control the game’s tempo.
Hurley downplayed his interaction with official Roger Ayers after Braylon Mullins drilled a 30-plus-foot 3-pointer for a 73-72 win.
Ayers was not selected to officiate for the Final Four, in what appears to be a quasi-punishment.
Many clamored for Hurley to be assessed a technical foul for his actions.
Hurley’s value is pretty unquantifiable, all things considered.
None of the players on his roster are superstar prospects, although some mocks have Mullins going in the lottery, yet his teams keep playing up to the competition.
Is Hurley worth anything to the spread?
“He’s worth 1.5 to two points to the spread for this team,” Avello said. “Maybe a little extra. I mean, he’s 10-0 against the spread in the Sweet 16 or later.”
“Take him out of the equation as a coach, and they might have won a few of these but not against Duke,” he continued. “He’s carried them the last three games. Could have lost to UCLA.”
As they set up to face Illinois on Saturday, money is beginning to fly in on the underdog, Avello added.
“We opened at +1.5 UConn, moved to -2.5 for Illinois, but now UConn money is coming in.”
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UConn sits at +1.5 on DraftKings Sportsbook at the time of writing, with some signals that the Huskies are the public darling right now.
Should the Huskies survive against all odds again, they will be a tough group to handicap again come Monday in the national title game against Arizona or Michigan.
“We will probably need the opposite side of UConn in the national championship if they get there,” Avello concluded.
Why Trust New York Post Betting
Erich Richter is a brazilian jiu-jitsu blue belt but he has a black belt in MMA betting. During the football season he’s showcased massive profits at The Post in the player prop market the last two seasons. While constantly betting long shots, his return on investment is 30.15 percent since 2022.