Overtime was not kind to bettors who took the No. 11 Baylor Bears and the 2.5 points against the second-ranked Houston Cougars in Saturday’s Big 12 men’s college basketball showdown.
Here’s how the frantic final seconds of regulation (Baylor bettors had hope after a late 3-pointer was ruled after the buzzer) and overtime played out as the Cougars covered, 82-76.
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Bears backers who took the points were fretting as Baylor trailed at halftime 41-25.
Scott Drew’s crew clawed back in the second half, tying the game 69-69 on Yves Missi’s layup and foul with 4.4 seconds left.
But Missi missed the free throw. Cougars bettors thought they covered when Jamal Shead made a jumper from well behind the 3-point line at the buzzer, but replays ruled his shot was late.
Had the shot counted, Baylor wouldn’t have covered the 2.5 points.
On to overtime!
The Bears took their first — and, as it turns out, only — lead on RayJ Dennis’ jumper 22 seconds into OT.
Baylor bettors held out hope when Messi had a putback dunk with 35.3 seconds to go but was ruled offensive goaltending.
Instead of cutting Houston’s lead to 75-74, the Cougars scored five points in a row to pull away.
Baylor missed seven field-goal attempts in a row as Houston covered, 82-76.
The Cougars are now 24-3, while the Bears moved to 19-8.
What’s the best thing that you can do if you were one of those bettors who took a bad beat? Shake it off, and hope you get the break on your next wager.
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