Getty The inside of a March Madness Viewing Party at a Las Vegas sportsbook.
In November of 2018 when Texas Tech came firing out of the gates, oddsmakers still pegged them as a heavy longshot to eventually win the NCAA tournament. One bettor thought otherwise and placed a $1,500 futures bet on Texas Tech to win the national championship at staggering 200-1 odds. Following an incredible march madness run, Texas Tech finds themselves in the championship game and a singular win away from netting the unnamed bettor roughly $300,000.
The bet is something that your average sports bettor only dreams of. At 200-1 odds, should Texas Tech pull off the win, the unnamed bettor would cash in one of the biggest futures bet payouts ever recorded.
How One Bettor’s $1,500 Texas Tech Future Bet Stands to Net Nearly $300,000
In what is almost comical at this point, the unnamed bettor reportedly tried to wager even more money on the future bet. The director of the sports book, John Murray shed a bit of light on his interaction the day the bet was placed.
“He’s a well-known player who takes a lot of futures positions with us,” Murray told ESPN. “He asked for more, to which we said, ‘No.’ I think to win $300K is pretty good.”
The bettor did end up placing another separate $800 wager at 125-1 odds that he wound up selling on PropSwap for a staggering $20,250. The bigger ticket was also listed on PropSwap for a would-be record of $65,000. However, he wound up declining all offers and instead opted to hang onto his ticket.
What Texas Tech Needs To Do To Help Win the Bet
Heading into a national championship showdown with fellow defensive juggernaut Virginia, the game should be a very physical affair where baskets are tough to come by. A major X-factor is going to be just how healthy Tariq Owens is. The graduate transfer has had a monster NCAA tournament while helping to anchor the fearsome Texas Tech defense.
Virginia’s pack-line defense is going to force Texas Tech star Jarrett Culver into passing a bit more than he is accustomed to and it will be on the Texas Tech supporting cast to hit the open looks from behind the arc. The blueprint to beat the pack-line is to attack the basket off the dribble, collapse the help defenders inside and away from the “pack-line” and then kick the ball out to an open three point shooter.
Texas Tech isn’t the best three-point shooting team in the nation but they have shown the ability to get hot and knock them down. They should find their fair share of openings behind the arc in this matchup and if they can knock those down, they should have a very good chance to help make this bettor’s dreams a reality.