Meaningless half-court buzzer-beater ruins cover for Michigan bettors

Every week in the sports world, bettors, sportsbooks or both bemoan some form of a bad beat. 

Whether it’s a spread pick, a moneyline bet, or a wager on the total points scored — there’s always one occurrence that affects a few bets.

In Saturday’s Big Ten college basketball matchup between Michigan and Indiana, it was the point spread that caused bettors some pain. 

Let’s check out how it all went down. 

Meaningless half-court buzzer-beater ruins cover for Michigan bettors

The closing spread for this game was -3.5 with Michigan being favored, and for quite some time, the Wolverines were sitting pretty. Dustin May’s squad went into the second-half up 43-27 behind strong performances from Danny Wolf and Vladislav Goldin.

But the Hoosiers weren’t done.

They came roaring back and tied the game up at 59 apiece with 4:08 left in the game, making this a sweat for Wolverines spread bettors. 

For the rest of the game, Michigan never led by more than six, with the score difference hovering between two and six points for the final stretch. But with 2.5 seconds left in the game and the Wolverines up 68-64, Wolf was fouled and would head to the line for two free throws to all but ensure the victory, as well as the cover. 

The Yale transfer would knock down both free throws, putting Michigan up 70-64 with just 2.5 seconds left in regulation. The 3.5-point spread was a lock at this point, right?

Wrong.

Indiana inbounded the ball at the other end of the basket and did the unthinkable. 

With no chance to win the game, Anthony Leal took one dribble and heaved a meaningless half-court shot. Not only would the shot go in, but it would make the score 70-67, ruining the cover for Michigan spread bettors and creating what is arguably the worst bad beat of this 2024-25 college basketball season. 

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