College Basketball National Championship Odds: A New Number One Out Of The SEC

The Houston Cougars are still the odds-on favorite to win the National Championship come April according to sportsbooks. There are four teams right behind Houston in terms of the futures market. Alabama has taken the college basketball world by storm, moving up to the top ranking in both polls. They're currently priced at +800 to cut down the nets in April. Kansas, at +1200, has gotten back on track and are in a tie for third to win it all. Purdue (+1200) still holds onto value as a top five team in regards to the betting market despite their recent road woes. And finally, Arizona remains in the mix of the elite teams at +1200 despite a head-scratching loss at Stanford on Saturday night. Baylor has jumped back into title contention passing a floundering Tennessee team on the futures board. Baylor has won nine of ten outright, including a pair of Top-25 wins. Tennessee has lost three of four, all to unranked opponents. 

College Basketball National Championship 2023 Betting

There were some very significant losses this week from a futures market perspective. These upsets have rearranged the national landscape of college basketball as well. Some major losses suffered by nationally ranked teams came at the hands of unranked foes included #6 Tennessee losing to both Vandy and Mizzou, #11 Iowa State losing to WVU, #15 Saint Marys losing to Loyola Marymount, #13 Xavier losing to Butler, #20 Providence losing to St. Johns, #24 Rutgers losing to Illinois, #12 K-State losing to Texas Tech, and #4 Arizona losing to Stanford. A glaring fact about these losses is that all but one of them took place on the road. Keep an eye on these games this week that are pitting ranked teams against unranked opponents at home; #19 Miami at UNC, #5 Texas at Texas Tech, #9 Kansas at Oklahoma State, #3 Alabama at #6 Tennessee, and #18 Indiana at Northwestern.

In this last section, I would like to include an up to date breakdown of our Mid-Major market watch. In the Atlantic Sun, Liberty (+30000) and Kennesaw State are atop the standings with a 12-2 record in conference play; these two teams went 2-0 last week and are due for battle against each other on Thursday. The WAC currently has seven teams separated by four games or less; Hawaii has emerged as a serious contender to win the conference. Then in the Horizon League, there is a two-way tie for first, second, and third place. Cleveland State went 2-0 this last week and are major players in the Horizon League tourney. This conference offers a true threat to get a win in the first round of the NCAA Tournament.