The TCU/Gonzaga game last night in March Madness was everything you wanted in a game to determine who would move on to the Sweet 16. Both teams made clutch shot after clutch shot. Every player on the court gave it their all for all 40 minutes of game time.
However, there was another big reason for fans to pay attention to the scoreboard. The spread coming into the game was Gonzaga -4.5. Bettors had every reason to watch every second of the game. Even when it became apparent that Gonzaga would win, there was still plenty of interest in seeing who would cover the spread. Gonzaga was up 6 with 0.7 seconds left in the game, after Hunter Sallis hit a couple of free throws. Instead of just picking up the ball and letting the clock wind down, Damion Baugh of TCU let the ball roll to mid court, picked it up, and heaved a half court shot that miraculously went in. The shot counted, and TCU lost 84-81, covering the +4.5 spread.
These are the highs and lows of sports betting. Sometimes you get lucky bounces and sometimes you suffer horrifically bad losses. The lesson should the same regardless: these things can happen when you bet on sports. You can’t let this get the better of you, and you try and chase losses or do some other risky things with your bankroll. Losing happens. Granted, it’s very easy to say this without having action on the game, but keep in mind that EVERYONE suffers losses like this. Sometimes, we even win bets like this. The key is to never get too high or too low, and of course to only bet whatever you can afford to lose.
If you stick to those two guiding principles, you’ll find yourself much better off. You’ll be happier and you’ll be able to bounce back from those tough losses quicker.