- The top-seeded Alabama Crimson Tide have emerged as the solo betting favorites after the first week of March Madness.
- Alabama opened the Tournament as +500 co-favorites with the Houston Cougars but the Tide are now down to +360 with Houston listed at +400 odds.
- Texas, UCLA, and UConn complete the Top 5 at BetOnline with odds of +650, +750, and +900, respectively.
After the opening week of action, the Alabama Crimson Tide have emerged as the solo betting favorites to win the 2023 March Madness tournament.
Alabama entered the Big Dance as the top overall seed. However, the best basketball betting sites listed them as co-favorites with the Houston Cougars to cut down the nets.
After Selection Sunday, online sportsbook BetOnline had both the Tide and Cougars as +500 odds apiece. But as of March 21st, Alabama is alone on top of the betting mountain at +360 odds with Houston closely trailing them at +400 odds.
Texas (+650), UCLA (+750), and UConn (+900) are the only other teams with title odds better than +1000 heading to the Sweet 16.
Alabama Overtakes Houston as Title Favorites
East Regional No. 1 seed Alabama took the top spot in the last AP Top 25 poll released on March 13, 2023, just before Selection Sunday. The Tide’s 82-63 win over Texas A&M in the SEC title game also earned them their first NCAA Tournament No. 1 seed in program history.
The Tide are led by freshman forward Brandon Miller who is arguably the best player in the field. The 20-year-old forward was named the SEC Player of the Year and Newcomer of the Year after averaging 19.1 points, 8.2 rebounds, and 2.2 assists per game this season.
March Madness 2023 odds: Alabama overtakes Houston as title favorite https://t.co/cByiihw7y0 pic.twitter.com/lkrTBvIkFm
— New York Post Sports (@nypostsports) March 20, 2023
Miller has been slowed down by a recent groin injury and his involvement in a fatal shooting near the University of Alabama Campus last January. Although he has not been charged in the incident, it’s something that is obviously hanging over his head right now.
After going scoreless in Alabama’s first-round win over Texas A&M CC, Miller bounced back with a solid 19 points and 7 rebounds performance against Maryland in Round 2, despite shooting only 5-17 from the floor.
The Tide walloped the No.8 seeded Terrapins 73-51.
With the win, Alabama now heads to the Sweet 16 where they will take on San Diego State Aztecs on Friday. BetOnline currently has the Tide as the heavy -360 moneyline and -7.5 point spread favorite to beat the Aztecs.
Additionally, Alabama entered the tournament with the best odds to enter the Sweet 16 at -350. They were also pegged at -110 to reach the Elite 8, were priced at +150 to win the South Region and advance to the Final Four.
Cougars are the No. 1 Seed in the Midwest Region
Meanwhile, the Cougars are the No. 1 seed in the Midwest Region. The Cougars were the betting favorites to win it all throughout the season and were expected to be the top overall seed in the Big Dance but they were beaten by the Memphis Tigers 76-65 in the AAC title game.
Houston played their conference championship game without their best player Marcus Sasser who suffered a groin injury during their semifinal matchup against Cincinnati. His injury was the biggest concern for the Cougars entering the tournament as Sasser leads the team in scoring at 17.1 points per game prior to March Madness, six more than the team’s next-best scorer.
Sasser saw limited action during the Cougars’ 63-52 win over Northern Kentucky in the opening round of the tournament, playing only 14 minutes while scoring 5 points. However, the senior guard stepped up big time during Houston’s 81-64 second-round win over No. 9 Auburn, scoring 22 points on 5-9 three-point shooting while hitting the dagger that sealed the Cougars’ win.
The Houston Cougars are the #1 seed in the Midwest Region. pic.twitter.com/qbmn3WZ3WB
— V̷a̷t̷o̷r̷ (@Vator_H_Town) March 12, 2023
Next up for Houston is Miami Florida. The Cougars have opened as the -6.5 point spread favorites and are a -360 at the moneyline to advance to the Elite 8.
Heading to the Tournament, the Cougars were a -300 to make the Sweet 16 and a -128 to move forward to the Elite 8. Houston was also a -145 to advance to the Final Four.
BetOnline also pegged the Cougars with the best odds to become the No.1 seed to go the furthest in the tournament at +140 odds, slightly better than Alabama’s +175 price.
UConn and Texas Playing Very Well in Opening Week
But while the Tide and Cougars are the top two favorites to cut down the Nets, the Texas Longhorns and UConn Huskies have played so well in the first two rounds of the tournament that they cannot be overlooked.
Texas was a +1100 heading to the Tournament but those odds are now down to +650. The Longhorns crushed the 2022 National Champions Kansas Jayhawks 76-56 in the Big 12 championship game.
Texas then proceeded to blow out Colgate 81-61 in the opening round of March Madness then defeated Penn State 71-66 to move on to their first Sweet 16 appearance since 2008. Texas is currently a -4 point spread and a -180 moneyline favorite to beat Xavier and advance to the Elite 8. UConn has made the biggest title odds jump since the start of March Madness. The Huskies were priced at +1600 to cut down the nets this year. But after the opening week of the tournament, they are now listed at +900.
UConn beat Iona 87-63 in the first round and then ended St. Mary’s season 70-55 in the Round of 32. They have opened as a -3.5 point spread and -172 favorites to beat Arkansas in the Sweet 16.
On the other hand, UCLA held off Northwestern 68-63 to advance to the Sweet 16. The Bruins will face the Gonzaga Bulldogs on Thursday as the -2 point spread and -140 moneyline favorites. This marks the third straight Sweet 16 appearance for UCLA, a first for the program in 15 years.
