Early Favorites for March Madness

As we are nearing the long-awaited March Madness tournament, NCAA basketball regular season is in full swing.

Although defending champions Kansas Jayhawks have been listed among the top contenders for the coveted title of this year’s champion, they still lag behind several other programs when it comes to their odds at taking home a trophy.

Get ready for the madness that is March Madness! On Tuesday, March 14th, in Dayton, Ohio, the “First Four” will be unleashed, and from then on out, it’s a full-on tournament blitz across eight regions of America, with first-round games taking place Thursday, March 18th through Friday, 19th. Finally culminating in Houston, Texas, on Saturday, April 1st, where they’ll host the Final Four before crowning our 2023 champions on Monday, April 3rd’s championship game.

Sportsbooks experience one of their busiest periods of the year during March Madness.

The NCAA Event will be the most heavily bet March Madness tournament in history because internet sports betting is already allowed in over half of the country. You can use Indiana State’s several reputable sportsbooks to place a wager on the event. A variety of wagering apps for Indiana bettors are made available, and they all provide incentives for their users.

Who are the early Favorites for March Madness?

Houston Cougars

Last season, the Houston Cougars set out to prove that anything is possible when they entered the tournament as a No. 5 seed and proceeded to shock everyone by crushing their opponents in all preceding rounds until falling short against Villanova in the Elite Eight; all of this despite two of their top players being sidelined due to injury. They continued into last year’s Final Four before losing to Baylor and now have returned once again for another go at it!

With Sasser and Mark in great form and the Cougars’ stellar 18-2 record, it comes as no shocker that Jarace Walker – one of the top college prospects and talents – has decided to join them. This team is now among the frontrunners for making March Madness a triumphant conclusion of their impressive season!

Gonzaga Bulldogs

Despite the numerous hardships this season, it’s evident that the program does not give in to defeat. With Drew Timme and Chet Holmgren seemingly appearing to have been gone and after a disappointing loss in Sweet 16, one could assume that there would be little hope for success coming out of another dismal campaign. Nevertheless, the team proves to stay resilient.

After much deliberation, Timme ultimately declared his intention to withdraw from the NBA Draft. The Zags have had an incredibly successful past ten games, earning nine wins; they are more than capable of making a triumphant run for their second NCAA title.

North Carolina Tar Heels

Last season, the No. 8 North Carolina Tar Heels had their dreams of a national championship dashed as they let a 15-point halftime lead to Kansas slip away in the National Championship game. Yet this year promises different results with Armando Bacot leading the team in scoring and rebounds along with Leaky Black, Caleb Love, and RJ Davis all returning – this squad is poised to make it even farther into tournament play!

Despite recent losses to Alabama and Iowa State, the Tar Heels had a five-game winning streak prior. Even though they are not yet included in the AP Top 25 rankings, North Carolina is on an impressive four-game run and remains one of the best teams from within their conference.

Purdue

This season, Zach Edey has been unstoppable. At a staggering seven feet four inches tall, the center leads all contenders for the Naismith Player of the Year award with an awe-inspiring 22.1 points and 13 rebounds on average! Having such a prominent figure in the game at this tier is nothing short of invaluable. Nevertheless, having only the best player will not be sufficient to win this year’s March Madness tournament.

Alabama

The Crimson Tide is surging to success thanks to freshman Brandon Miller, who became the first player since Kevin Durant in 2007 to record a 20.1 point and 8.0 rebound average as a freshman!

Beyond their talented leader, Alabama also boasts junior Mark Sears, whose impressive 14 points per game on 41% shooting has been invaluable for the team’s winning streak.