Duke Bettors Suffer Stunning Bad Beat in Final Seconds of Blowout March Madness Win

An uncontested dunk with four seconds remaining burned those who bet on Duke to cover an 18.5-point spread in its first-round win over Cal State Fullerton.

Coach K’s final tournament started with perhaps the bad beat of the tournament.

No. 2 Duke, favored by 18.5, allowed an uncontested dunk with roughly four seconds left in its 78–61 win over No. 15 Cal State Fullerton to blow a potential cover.

Fullerton (+19) with the backdoor cover against Duke 😱

An easy layup with 3.5 seconds left in the game to lose by 17...
pic.twitter.com/SkQjh0CgtY

— Action Network (@ActionNetworkHQ) March 19, 2022

That’s one bad beat.

Making it worse for Duke backers, it seemed like they had fortune on their side when Duke grabbed a 19-point lead with just 10 seconds remaining in the game.

Cal State Fullerton had scored on its previous possession following a questionable foul to cut the deficit to 17, but Duke scored on an offensive rebound to push ahead by 19.

All the Blue Devils needed was a stop.

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Brynn Anderson/AP

Instead, Dante Maddox Jr. cruised to the hoop for an easy dunk that provided the final points in the 78–61 Duke win. The ultimate backdoor cover.

This one will sting Duke bettors for a long time.

No. 2 Duke will meet the winner of No. 7 Michigan State-No. 10 Davidson on Sunday.

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