2022-23 NCAA Men’s Basketball Championship Odds

There is one thing that we can guarantee from watching college basketball this season: nothing is a certainty in 2023. Expect a wide-open 2023 NCAA Tournament. Last season, the Kansas Jayhawks were the clear front runners, but there isn’t a consensus No. 1 in 2023. Not for the sport or for the reputable College Basketball betting sites.

Men’s College Basketball Championship Odds

The following College Basketball Championship odds are courtesy of BetOnline.

Depending on which sportsbook you are on, either the Alabama Crimson Tide or Houston Cougars are favored to win the 2023 NCAA Tournament. Houston’s NCAAM Championship odds are consistent from around +500 to +550.

However, the odds for Alabama to win the national title are a bit all over the place. Currently, there are March Madness betting sites that have Alabama as the second favorite at +750, +700, +650, or favored at +500.

Movement of Championship Odds Through 2022-23 NCAAM Season

The 2022-23 NCAA men’s basketball season has been filled with parity and no clear-cut betting favorite heading into the Big Dance. The following graphic represents this parity along with the dramatic changes in NCAA Men’s Basketball Championship odds throughout the year.

The NCAAM Betting Favorites

Let’s further breakdown some of the teams from the infographic above and their chances of winning the 2022-23 National Championship:

Alabama Crimson Tide (+500)

According to BetOnline, Alabama is the betting favorite to win the 2023 NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament. They have the shortest NCAAM Championship odds at +500.

Alabama is coming off an impressive run in the SEC Championship. They blasted The Texas A&M Aggies in the conference title game by a score of 82-63.

With the win, Alabama is 29-5 going into the NCAA Tournament. The Crimson Tide are led by talented freshman Brandon Miller. Many would consider him the best player in college basketball.

He almost didn’t make it here because of his connection to a homicide investigation. Miller supplied the gun involved in the murder case, but was not charged¹.

The freshman has scored 19.5 points on 45.9% shooting this season. He is active on the boards, too, with 8.2 rebounds per game². Miller provides Alabama with athleticism and size in the frontcourt.

In the backcourt, Mark Sears and Jahvon Quinerly provide a steady hand for the offense. Quinerly is coming off a big outing in the SEC Championship. He notched 22 points on 8 of 14 shooting in the win³.

Alabama looks like the best team in the nation on most nights. They are not perfect, though. For instance, in the regular season finale, Texas A&M was the better team in a 67-61 win over Alabama.

The Crimson Tide are a perfect 15-0 at home⁴, but have looked ordinary at times away from Tuscaloosa. They will have to win on neutral courts at the NCAA Tournament.

The defense will have to tighten up in clutch spots. They have been fine, but 69.2 points allowed per game isn’t elite. Alabama does not have the best defense in this tournament.

The No. 1 overall seed might be ripe for an upset. However, nobody is perfect going into the 2023 NCAA Tournament. Any team could fall in any round, including Alabama.

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Houston Cougars (+550)

The Houston Cougars were slated to be the No. 1 overall seed in the NCAA Tournament. Unfortunately, on Sunday, they were tripped up by the Memphis Tigers in the AAC Championship.

Losing star guard Marcus Sasser in the conference semifinals was too much for the Cougars to overcome. Sasser went down in the first half with a groin injury against Cincinnati⁵.

Despite the injury, Houston was able to advance to the AAC Championship. They needed Sasser against Memphis. The Tigers pulled away for a 75-65 win.

It is simple for Houston in the NCAA Tournament. If Sasser returns and is not bothered by his groin, the Cougars will be tough to beat. The loss to Memphis was only their third of the season.

Marcus Sasser says he has a little pain in certain movements. He said he “played it safe today.”

He says the Cougars “are in a very good spot.” pic.twitter.com/XaartHFzyM

— GoCoogs.com (@gocoogs1) March 12, 2023

Strength of schedule has been a criticism with Houston. They did not have a power conference schedule and are being treated like an underdog by some sports pundits.

Given the draw that Houston received in the Midwest Region, they should be in a strong position, though. A big challenge might loom against Texas, but the Midwest appears beatable for Houston.

Fortunately for Houston, the injury to Sasser doesn’t look serious. Sasser announced that he plans to be back for the NCAA Tournament at 100%⁶.

With one of the clearest paths to the Final Four, Houston is a serious contender to win. All roads lead back home to Houston at NRG Stadium for the Cougars.

Kansas Jayhawks (+1000)

Kansas goes into the 2023 NCAA Tournament holding onto the championship titles from last year. According to BetOnline, the Jayhawks are the third most likely team to win the national title.

Currently, the NCAA college basketball championship odds for Kansas are at +1000. There are some vocal fans that do not believe Kansas got a fair draw from the committee.

They believe that Kansas should be the No. 2 seed over Houston. We go back to the strength of schedule argument. Kansas had a tough schedule in the Big 12, while the Cougars had it much easier in the AAC.

There is no arguing against the strength of schedule. Kansas had the tougher road in the regular season. However, the Jayhawks can be too dependent on Jalen Wilson at times.

Wilson is a do-it-all forward for Kansas. He is averaging 20.1 points and 8.4 rebounds per game going into the First Round⁷. A secondary scorer must show up all March and April for Kansas.

Following a 76-56 loss in the Big 12 Championship, Kansas is going into the NCAA Tournament with a record of 27-7. They had a respectable year, but were not as well-rounded or consistent as last season.

There were three starters that scored just 6 points against Texas in the conference championship. Joseph Yesufu chipped in with 11 points, while Wilson had to carry the load again with 24 points⁸.

Will Wilson be forced into putting the team on his back? Gradey Dick was awful in the Big 12 Championship. Expect better from him in the NCAA Tournament, but the tournament comes down to Wilson for the Jayhawks.

Kansas’ NCAAM Championship odds at +1000 or better are worth considering.

Purdue Boilermakers (+1200)

The Boilermakers punched their ticket to the top of the East Region with a win in the Big Ten Championship. Purdue managed to hold off the upset-minded Nittany Lions by a score of 67-65.

Zach Edey was once again the catalyst for the Boilermakers. He recorded 30 points and 10 rebounds in the winning effort. Besides Mason Gills’ 10 points, the rest of the Boilermakers scored 2, 2, 4, and 4 points.

This highlights a serious problem for Purdue. More so than Kansas, Purdue has an issue with being one-dimensional. Their offensive game plan is getting the ball to Edey and letting him work in the paint.

Purdue finished at 29-5 after capturing the Big Ten title. They won a lot of games this season. However, there is a solid blueprint on how to beat the Boilermakers.

Zach Edey had 30 points and 13 rebounds to win the Big 10 conference tournament.

Since 1997, he’s the 4th player to have 30 points and 10 rebounds in back-to-back conference tournament games:

🏀Zach Edey in 2023
🏀Deandre Ayton in 2018
🏀Evan Turner in 2010
🏀Tim Duncan in 1997 pic.twitter.com/3IGIwAap5L

— ESPN Stats & Info (@ESPNStatsInfo) March 12, 2023

There will be a team with solid guard play that disrupts Purdue. An effective full-court press should force Purdue into mistakes.

If Purdue cannot get the ball to Edey around the rim, then they will not have a second option. The tournament is not going to go well if they run into a team that can go up-tempo effectively.

Put Jalen Wilson on this roster and Purdue is the favorite. However, the Boilermakers do not have that luxury. Expect their one-dimensional approach to catch up to them.

2022-23 NCAA Championship Prediction

After Selection Sunday, the Houston Cougars have the easiest path of the top seeds to make it to the Final Four. Obviously, anything can happen between now and then. With that said, Houston’s impressive season, along with a winnable region, make us think that the Cougars are cutting down the nets as the 2022-23 NCAA Men’s Champions.