March Madness 2023 Odds: Who are the NCAA Men’s Tournament Favorites?

Last season, March Madness culminated with Kansas historically defying the odds to rally from 16 down and end North Carolina’s unexpected run to the national championship game in New Orleans.

With the 2023 NCAA Division I men’s basketball tournament set to get underway on Tuesday, March 14, the Jayhawks are considered one of the leading contenders to cut down the nets on April 3 at NRG Stadium in Houston, Texas.

KU is bidding to become the first team to repeat since Florida did so in 2006 and 2007, and they are bidding to also become the first reigning champion to return to the title game the next year since Billy Donovan’s Gators did so.

But who could potentially stand in their way? Let’s take a look at the current odds and favorites, now that the March Madness bracket has been released.

March Madness 2023 Odds

Odds are via FanDuel as of Sunday, March 12, 2023.

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March Madness 2023 Favorites

Houston +500

Kelvin Sampson has turned the Cougars into a perennial March Madness contender, restoring the program to the lofty status it held in the 1980s.

Two seasons ago, Houston reached the Final Four for the first time since 1984, losing to Baylor in the national semifinals. Last year, they lost Marcus Sasser and Tramon Mark early on but still reached the Elite Eight, where they lost to Villanova.

Could this be the year that the Cougars finally win the program’s first national championship? With Sasser and Mark healthy and the addition of forward Jarace Walker, a potential top-five pick in this year’s NBA Draft, Houston has the talent and makeup to be the team to win it all.

Alabama (+750)

After winning the SEC regular season and tournament titles in 2021, last year was a big disappointment for Nate Oats and the Crimson Tide. They were ranked as high as #6 at one point, but they finished with 14 losses and an early March Madness exit at the hands of Notre Dame.

But thanks to fantastic freshman Brandon Miller, who will rack up quite a few accolades at the end of what will be his lone season at this level, Alabama is the best team in the SEC and a serious national championship contender.

Alabama has never been to the Final Four, with their best March Madness result being a lone trip to the Elite Eight as a #8 seed in 2004, when they fell to eventual champs UConn.

Will their drought end this season?

Kansas (+1000)

The odds certainly aren’t in Kansas’s favor, it’s safe to say.

Since Florida won back-to-back national championships in 2006 and 2007, no reigning national champion has even made the Final Four.

Could the Jayhawks finally break that drought? They lost a lot from last year’s title-winning team, but Jalen Wilson has embraced his role as a team leader and has taken his game to another level, and Gradey Dick has been one of the best freshmen in college basketball.

In addition to the March Madness history that is not on KU’s side, the program’s own history isn’t either. Kansas has 16 Final Four appearances, but only twice they have reached the Final Four in consecutive seasons: 1952 and 1953 under Phog Allen and 2002 and 2003 under Roy Williams.

Purdue (+1200)

Since the inception of the Wooden Award for the 1976-77 season, only seven winners have won the award and been a part of that season’s national championship-winning team, the most recent being Villanova’s Jalen Brunson in 2018.

So, that doesn’t necessarily bode well for the March Madness hopes of the Boilermakers and Zach Edey, who will almost certainly be this year’s Wooden Award winner.

But with the 7’4” Edey leading the way, Purdue has a chance to go beyond its best March Madness showing under longtime coach Matt Painter, an Elite Eight appearance in 2019.

If the Boilermakers do make it to Houston, it will be their first Final Four appearance since 1980. That year, they were led by another seven-footer in Joe Barry Carroll, the first overall pick in the 1980 NBA Draft.

March Madness Champions by Year

Other March Madness Content at Betting News

If you’d like to check out our other March Madness betting content, here’s a rundown of what we have put together to help you with your NCAA Tournament betting.

• March Madness Odds
• Final Four Odds
• March Madness Sleepers
• Where to Find the Best March Madness Betting Picks
• Best March Madness Betting Sites
• Best March Madness Bracket Challenges
• Betting News Bracket Mania (Our FREE March Madness Bracket Challenge!)

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