Why sportsbooks will be rooting against the Miami (Ohio) RedHawks in their March Madness debut: 'It's all Miami (Ohio) so far'
Why sportsbooks will be rooting against the Miami (Ohio) RedHawks in their March Madness debut: 'It's all Miami (Ohio) so far'
Ben FawkesTue, March 17, 2026 at 4:25 PM UTC
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The Miami (Ohio) RedHawks have been one of the biggest storylines in the 2025-26 college basketball season, as the team started 31-0 before shockingly losing 87-83 to UMass in the quarterfinals of the MAC tournament.
There was plenty of discussion as to whether the RedHawks — a team without a Quad 1 win this season — deserved a spot in the 2026 NCAA tournament, but the Selection Committee gave them a shot and they'll take on SMU in a Wednesday First Four game between two 11 seeds.
Oddsmakers will be rooting against Miami (Ohio).
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The betting public has been strongly backing the RedHawks so far, as they are the most-bet of any NCAA tournament team in early wagering. At BetMGM sportsbooks, 71% of the wagers and 63% of the total dollars wagered were on Miami (Ohio) to cover the spread as of Tuesday afternoon. The RedHawks opened as high as 8.5-point underdogs, before respected money pushed the line down to a market consensus of 7.
"We opened Miami (Ohio) +8.5 and took a heap of Miami money," Seamus Magee, BetMGM college basketball trader, told Yahoo Sports. "Now we're down to +6.5, where we're starting to see some buy back on SMU -6.5. Certainly plenty of interest on the Miami money line."
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To Magee's point, a whopping 81% of money-line wagers on the game are on Miami (Ohio), which opened a +260 underdog and is up to +225. The RedHawks are the most-bet ML team among any NCAA tournament game so far at BetMGM.
Out in Las Vegas — a popular destination for sharps and tourists traveling in for March Madness — the action was similar.
"It's been all Miami (Ohio) so far in both tickets and money," Casey Degnon, risk supervisor at the Westgate Las Vegas SuperBook, noted. "And I don't think that will change. We opened SMU -8.5, got as high as -9, down to -7 now. As of now, we're rooting for SMU to run 'em out."
As of now, most of the respected money and public bettors have been on the same side, backing the RedHawks to cover — but that could certainly change if the line keeps moving.
"We've had some of our sharpest accounts on the 'dog," Chase Michaelson, college basketball trader at Circa Sports, said. "We've had pretty good two-way action, but overall it's been bet down to a version of 7. This is the kind of game that will divide sharp opinion because on one hand Miami is facing a level of competition it hasn't this season, but SMU has really limped into this spot."
Michaelson also noted that SMU was potentially getting B.J. Edwards — who hasn't played since Feb. 25 with an ankle injury — back for this game and was booking the same as such. Michaelson thought there could be a move towards SMU closer to tip on Wednesday night.
Either way, it will one of the first big decisions for sportsbooks over a wild next few weeks of the tournament.
Source: “AOL Sports”
