One shot. That’s all it took to flip millions. UConn Huskies guard Braylon Mullins drilled a cold-blooded 3-pointer with 0.4 seconds left, stunning Duke Blue Devils 73-72 and sending shockwaves through sportsbooks across the country. Down 19 points late in the first half, UConn looked finished. At halftime: still down double digits.
Live odds: ballooned to +1800. A $100 bet could’ve returned $1,900. And somehow…It cashed.
After a late turnover by Duke, Mullins buried the game-winner instantly turning longshot tickets into massive payouts.
Sportsbooks Take a Hit
For Caesars Sportsbook, the result was brutal. “That was a monster swing for us,” said trading head Rich Zanco. “We took some healthy six-figure bets on UConn moneyline.”
Key factors:
- Heavy sharp action on UConn pregame (+180)
- Live bettors jumping in at inflated odds
- High-stakes moneyline wagers cashing
Result: Seven-figure loss on the game
Parlays Get Crushed
While Caesars suffered, other books had a different outcome. At SuperBook, the upset actually helped limit damage. Why? Because Duke was the final leg in countless parlays. “Duke losing killed a bunch of parlays,” said risk manager Casey Degnon.
Favorites like:
- Illinois Fighting Illini
- Arizona Wildcats
- Michigan Wolverines
All won setting up Duke as the last domino. And it fell.
A Tale of Two Books
Caesars
- Took heavy sharp bets on UConn
- Suffered a seven-figure swing loss
- Still profitable overall for the weekend
SuperBook
- Needed Duke to lose
- Avoided massive parlay payouts
- Turned a bad day into a manageable one
Bigger Picture: A Wild Betting Weekend
Despite the chaos, sportsbooks still came out ahead overall thanks to:
- Unders hitting in multiple games
- Select upsets breaking public betting trends
- Futures liability teams getting eliminated
“It was bittersweet,” Zanco admitted. “But overall, the weekend was good.” March Madness always delivers chaos. But this? This was financial mayhem. One turnover. One shot. One moment.
And suddenly:
- Bettors cashed life-changing tickets
- Parlays collapsed
- Sportsbooks swung millions
All because Braylon Mullins didn’t miss.
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Robert LaMar is a Deputy Editor for Dice City Sports. You can follow him on X via @RobertLaMar26
