Final Four odds: 5 things – quirky, weird, even essential – to know about the NCAAs

Final Four odds: 5 things – quirky, weird, even essential – to know about the NCAAs By MICHAEL READER

Even for people who don’t gamble, a look at betting odds for major sports events still offers insight and entertainment.
The Final Four, college basketball’s championship weekend, always creates a few quirky bets.
Of course, everyone wants to know the favorites and long shots. This helps build that tension that makes sporting events compelling. If you’re at a Final Four party or sports bar on game night but don’t normally pull for Villanova, Michigan, Loyola-Chicago or Kansas, it’s natural to adopt the underdog.
If you didn’t know already, the Loyola-Chicago chaplain is the runaway breakout star of the tournament. Sister Jean Dolores Schmidt is 98, and probably knows more about basketball than the loudest know-it-all you’ll hear far too many times at your local sports bar on Saturday night.
betDSI.eu has three prop bets just for Sister Jean for the Loyola – Michigan semifinal. This includes not only how many times you’ll hear about or see Sister Jean, but also the bobblehead made in her likeness.
That bobblehead — 10,000 were sold within 48 hour of its release, according to an email from Phil Sklar, the co-founder and CEO of the National Bobblehead Hall of Fame and Museum — is wildly popular.
That’s probably a good indicator of which way to go here. An “over” on any of these seems to be a no-brainer, especially if the game is a dud.