Throughout the entirety of Indy Sportsbook’s (albeit very short) history, we have prided ourselves on our commitment to each issue’s theme. Whether we are making puns about love and sex or examining how gambling can fit into the counterculture, we strive to make our degenerate musings a worthy inclusion. For the first unthemed issue of the year, however, the guardrails are off. There is no way to package this week’s edition as anything but a pure gambling column, so here is where we think your money should be going this weekend.
The most notable sporting event happening this weekend is undoubtedly the Final Four of March Madness. It has been a historically wild tournament with a #4, two #5, and a #9 seed being the only teams remaining. Yet despite UConn, Miami (FL), San Diego State, and Florida Atlantic busting brackets all the way to the semifinals, our colleague Andrew Christie still gave us an insightful tournament preview. He identified Purdue and Kansas as #1 seeds that could fall early, and correctly predicted the remarkable upsets by Furman (#13) and Princeton (#15). Andrew is unfortunately not writing this today, so you will have to put your faith back in us.
For future tournaments, the Indy Sportsbook wonders why bettors do not just bet on lots of upsets, as they seem to always happen. This year more than most however, as no #1 seed made it to the Elite Eight and no top three seed made it to the Final Four. Three of the remaining teams have never won a national title before.
We are willing to bet that remains true and are counting on 2014 champions UConn to defeat SDSU in a close National Championship. SDSU is favored at -134 in their semifinal against FAU and UConn is a -240 favorite in their game against Miami. Expectations have been defied every round, and these money lines seem abstract at best, but things have to even out at some point.
Perhaps the maddest moment of the month was Princeton advancing to the Sweet 16. On one hand, it was nice to see them beat Yale in the conference championship to take the spot in the tournament. Furthermore, it’s always good to show the rest of the country that the Ivy League can compete on the national stage. However, Princeton benefits from this run too much for our tastes; since both Harvard and Princeton recruit from basically the same pool of athletes, this will likely hurt our program for the near future. The Independent Urges NCAA boss Charlie Baker to add another tournament bid to the Ivy League.
While it will receive very little attention stateside, there is another major competition occurring on Sunday: the Tour of Flanders. While we touched on it briefly in last week’s column, it deserves a deeper dive. It is the oldest and most popular cycling race in Belgium, and is arguably second to only the Tour de France in prestige worldwide. The 265 kilometer route consists of numerous short, steep climbs up the iconic cobblestone streets of the Flemish Ardennes. It is on these pitches that the defining moves of the race will occur.
This year, the three main favorites are Mathieu van der Poel (+250), Wout van Aert (+300), and Tadej Pogacar (+350). While another winner is possible, it is extremely likely one of these riders ends the day on top of the podium. At the E3 Saxo Classic—which is a key warm up race for Flanders and features much of the same route—they finished in their own group comfortably ahead of the field, with van Aert winning the sprint for victory. Each of them are superstars of the sport and bring something different to the table.
Van der Poel has the lowest odds for a reason. He is the only former Flanders winner of the three, having done so in both 2020 and 2022. His short-term power and tactical acumen are unmatched by any other rider, and the course suits him very well. He has a history of winning the biggest races and already has one such victory to his name in 2023 with his remarkable performance in Milan-San Remo.
Van Aert is the hometown favorite, and will be desperate to finally add a Flanders win to his resume. He is extremely versatile and would be the favorite if the race came down to a bunch sprint. He is also on the best team in the world, as Jumbo-Visma boast a roster stacked with elite talent. They have been utterly dominant all year and give van Aert a remarkable advantage.
Despite the immense ability of his two rivals, we think Pogacar is the man to pick. In an era of intense specialization, he somehow manages to win the Tour de France and compete in cobbled races like Flanders. In his debut appearance last year he nearly left van der Poel behind on a climb before ultimately being outwitted in the final sprint. If he can get more separation this year he will be almost impossible to catch. We are looking for history to be made.
Declan Buckley ’24 (declanbuckley@college.harvard.edu) and McGavock Cooper ’24 (mcgavockcooper@college.harvard.edu) each know a lot more about one of these sports than the other.