Northeast tournament gambling preview

Erik Buchinger March 4, 2020 8:00 am

Deceptive Speed will break down every single conference tournament from a gambling perspective the day each tourney starts. You’ve lost quite a bit of money this month in the past whether it’s food, drinks, gambling or bracket pools. The goal for 2020 is to make you some money in March for the first time in your entire life.

We are one day into the conference tournament season. Next up, it’s the Northeast tournament. Let’s eat.

The Bracket

The Bracketology

Deceptive Speed Bracketology has Robert Morris receiving the automatic bid appearing in the First Four for the chance to get blown out by Kansas. Best of luck, Bob.

The Odds

St. Francis (PA) +160
Robert Morris +175
Sacred Heart +350
Bryant +1200
LIU Brooklyn +1500
Mount St. Mary’s +2000
Fairleigh Dickinson/St. Francis (NY) +4000

The Suck

If you make the decision to throw some cash on Fair Dick and the New York version of St. Francis, a $10 bet turns into $400. Also, we’ve got a wild situation with this one because the best team in the Northeast aren’t eligible for postseason play. Merrimack went 20-11 overall and 14-4 to win the regular season title, but they’re transitioning from Division 2, putting them in a transition phase ineligible for postseason play. Not sure why that’s a rule, but it is.

The Bet

Without Merrimack in the field, could we go with St. Francis of Pennsylvania? Sure we could, but we’re not. Perhaps Robert Morris is the way to go. Nah, I’ll be investing in Sacred Heart, the 3 seed at +350 odds. You may be thinking, “Hey dumbass, these games are being played on campus sites.”

Yes, I’m aware Sacred Heart is likely to be playing two games on the road, but this is the best road team in the conference at 10-7 away from home. They’ve won 5 of their last six overall, and I’ll be investing in my Sacred Heart fellas to represent the Northeast in the NCAA Tournament.