March Madness 2023 Favorites & Odds

The NCAA Tournament bracket is set and March Madness is about to tip off on March 14th. Every year there is at least one team that surprises everyone and becomes a true Cinderella story but most of the favorites always seem to make it through to the Final Four. As the seeding and bracket is set, we also have the betting odds for every team released to inspect as well. Let’s look at the favorites this year and how they may fare in the tournament as well as some teams that could shock the world.

The top seed in the tournament is the Houston Cougars. They are set at +475 to win the championship and are the No. 1 seed in the MidWest Region. The Cougars have been great all season but lost in the American Athletic Conference Tournament to Memphis in a game that wasn’t that close. Marcus Sasser didn’t play in the game as Houston suffered just their third lossof the year. It will be key for them if they are going to make a run to have him playing and healthy. The bracket makers set Houston up with a fairly easy region besides having Texas as the No. 2, who many people thought could have been a No. 1 seed.

Alabama has the second-highest odds to win the championship at +650. They are slated as the No. 1 seed in the South Region. It was a fairly easy year for the Crimson Tide this season as they lost just five games and ran through the SEC Tournament with ease. In the SEC Tournament Finals they beat Texas A&M by 19 points. It is a tough region they got put in thoughas the No. 2 team is Arizona, Baylor is the No. 3, and Virginia is No.4 seed. Brandon Miller has been one of the best players in the country this year and will hope to lead Alabama on a deep tournament run.

Alabama has the second-highest odds to win the championship at +650. They are slated as the No. 1 seed in the South Region. It was a fairly easy year for the Crimson Tide this season as they lost just five games and ran through the SEC Tournament with ease. In the SEC Tournament Finals they beat Texas A&M by 19 points. It is a tough region they got put in thoughas the No. 2 team is Arizona, Baylor is the No. 3, and Virginia is No.4 seed. Brandon Miller has been one of the best players in the country this year and will hope to lead Alabama on a deep tournament run.

The No. 1 seed with the worst odds to win the championship is Kansas. Their odds to win it are set at +1200, which is the same as No. 2 seed UCLA who is in the West Region with them. Thisis arguably the toughest region to be in as a No. 1 with UCLA, Gonzaga as the No. 3 seed with the seventh-best odds of winning it at +1600, and UConn as the No. 4 who have the ninth best odds to win it at +1800. After getting blown out by Texas in the Big 12 Tournament and losing tothem three games before that, many people thought that Kansas would be a No. 2 and Texas would be a No. 1 seed. Leading scorers Jalen Wison and Gradey Dick will look to prove their No. 1 seed status was valid.

With all of these top teams covered, let’s look at some sleepers who could make some noise and a run in the tournament. One of the seeds that was lower than people had expected was Memphis getting a No. 8 seed. The Tigers lost just eight games all season, won the AAC title bybeating the favorite to win the NCAA Tournament in Houston, and lost all their games by eightpoints or less. Memphis is +8000 to win it all. Another sleeper team to look at is No. 8 seed Iowaat +8000. They have had some big wins on the season, including beating Indiana twice who is aNo. 4 seed and Iowa State as well, a No. 6 seed.

After the top two favorites, Houston and Alabama, the other top picks are looking to be:

• Kansas +1200
• Purdue +1000
• UCLA +1200
• Arizona +1600
• Texas +1400
• Gonzaga +1600

It should make for an entertaining and competitive tournament from these top seeds. Every year there are upsets that send some of these high seeds home early and also catapult lower seeds deep into the tournament. Expect the unexpected when betting on the NCAA Tournament.