Notre Dame Upset by Florida State Saves the Day for Bookies

Written by :

Don Shapiro

Published on :

21 March, 2011

As Gambling911.com reported last week, the bookmakers were holding their respective breaths and praying to God for a Notre Dame loss. They got one last night….at the hands of number 10-seeded Florida State no less.

The number two-seeded Notre Dame Fighting Irish had entered the season as 150/1 odds long shots to win the 2011 NCAA Tournament. There wasn’t much of a change to that price over the first few weeks of the season as the oddsmakers assumed (wrongly) that Notre Dame’s stellar early performance was nothing more than a fluke.

The sports betting public thought better of that concept and pounded Notre Dame. That trend continued as did The Fighting Irish’s top play throughout the season.

The Seminoles, who lead the nation in limiting opponents' field goal percentage, held Notre Dame to 31.7 percent shooting and have held their past six opponents to a combined 34.3 percent Sunday night.

"If we can stay consistent on the offensive end, I like our chances," said Derwin Kitchen, who had 10 points and six rebounds. "We've just been so up and down and inconsistent on the offensive end, it allowed us to stumble at times and lose a few games. If we can stay consistent and execute on the offensive end, I like our chances because we play so well on the defensive end."

It is Florida State’s first Sweet 16 appearance since 1993 and they will be facing upset-minded Virginia Commonwealth University Friday in San Antonio. Number 11-seeded VCU absolutely pummeled number 3-seeded Purdue Sunday night.