Millions swing in Vegas on late FT
A foul that almost wasn't called resulted in a last-second free throw that caused millions of dollars to change hands in Las Vegas. And this time the sportsbooks took the worst of it.
Duke guard Quinn Cook made one of two free throws with 0.7 seconds remaining, capping the Blue Devils' 63-57 victory over Utah on Friday in Sweet 16 action in Houston. Duke closed as a 5-point favorite at the majority of sportsbooks, which were rooting for the underdog Utes.
"It caused a million-dollar swing with parlay liability, to the bad," MGM vice president of race and sports Jay Rood told ESPN.
With Duke leading 62-57, Cook rebounded a missed 3-pointer from Utah forward Jordan Loveridge with 10 seconds to play. Utah defenders tried to tie up Cook to force a jump ball, but nothing was called, and it appeared time was going to run out. The Utes started walking off the court. The Blue Devils began celebrating. But officials whistled a foul on Utah guard Brandon Taylor as the horn sounded. The refs went to the monitor and put 0.7 seconds back on the clock, before calling players back onto the floor for Cook's free throws. The senior missed the first one but made the second to give Duke a six-point win.
http://espn.go.com/chalk/story/_/id/12575347/late-duke-free-throw-causes-millions-dollars-swing-las-vegas