A majority of Proline bettors saw the Florida Gators capturing their third NCAA men's basketball championship.
The Gators earned a 65-63 win over Houston on Monday night. Fifty-two per cent of bettors backed Florida's championship win while 64 per cent took the winners on the spread at -1.5 but only 33 per cent of players had the under at 141.5. 500 words.
Florida and Houston advanced to the final with Final Four victories Saturday night. The Gators defeated Auburn 79-73 while the Cougars dispatched Duke 70-67.
Sixty-nine per cent of Proline bettors backed Florida to win while 71 per cent took the winners at -2.5 on the spread. Just 39 per cent had the Under at 160.5.
Houston was certainly a surprise winner as just 14 per cent of players backed them against Duke. Thirty-nine per cent took the Cougars at +4.5 on the spread while 80 per cent had the over that just hit at 136.5 (137 total points scored).
In major-league baseball action, the Toronto Blue Jays split their six games, sweeping the Washington Nationals before being swept by the New York Mets.
New York earned a 3-2 win Saturday, an outcome 33 per cent of Proline players successfully backed. Another 35 per cent supported Toronto +1.5 while only eight per cent had the under at 7.5.
On Sunday, New York earned a 2-1 victory, with 27 per cent of players backing the Mets. Fifty-four per cent of bettors had Toronto at +1.5 runs while 20 per cent had the under at 7.5.
It was a good week for the Toronto Maple Leafs, who won both of their contests last week — 3-2 over Florida on Wednesday and 5-0 versus Columbus on Saturday.
A solid 83 per cent of bettors backed Toronto on Saturday, with 81 per cent having the Leafs on the spread at -1.5, Another 24 per cent successfully took the under 6.5.
Meanwhile in other NHL action, 39 per cent of players backed Ottawa's 3-0 win over Florida on Saturday while 78 per cent had Vancouver's 6-2 victory over Anaheim. And 78 per cent of bettors backed the Los Angeles Kings' 3-0 decision over the Edmonton Oilers.
The Montreal Canadiens edged the Philadelphia Flyers 3-2, a decision 87 per cent of bettors supported. But just 13 per cent of Proline players supported Utah in its 4-1 win over the Jets while 46 per cent of players supported Vegas in its 3-2 win over the Calgary Flames.
But the biggest hockey news came Sunday when Alexander Ovechkin scored his 895th career goal in Washington's 4-1 loss to the New York Islanders. With that, Ovechkin broke Wayne Gretzky's career record.
Sixty-two per cent of bettors backed that Ovechkin would break the record this season (market opened in February) while 24 per cent predicted the Islanders would be the team Ovechkin set the record against.
A Proline digital player turned a $2 bet into a $2,540.92 windfall on a 12-pick parlay. Another earned $1,021.20 from a $10 bet on a four-pick parlay.
A retail bettor won $5,947.20 from an $8 wager on an eight-pick parlay.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published April 9, 2025.
The Canadian Press
