The 68 teams that qualified for the NCAA DI Men’s Basketball Tournament have now narrowed to 16. The two teams leading the pretournament odds for betting on March Madness are still alive, but many lower seeds are stealing the spotlight by advancing.
There are no perfect March Madness brackets remaining at CBS Sports, Yahoo!, ESPN, and other major contest providers.
Two of the eight games being played in the Sweet 16 are 2 vs. 3 matchups. These are the only brackets in the 2023 Tournament where the top seeds advanced accordingly. All other Sweet 16 games feature at least one team that has pulled off an upset or two.
Will the big boys clean house during the Round of 16 or are there more upsets in store for Friday and Saturday? The higher seed is favored at legal online college basketball sportsbooks in all matchups save for one.
Michigan State Spartans (#7) @ Kansas State Wildcats (#3)
- Spread: Spartans -2.0, Wildcats +2.0
- Moneyline Odds To Win: Spartans -130, Wildcats +110
- Over/Under: 137.5
The Spartans knocked off the 2-seeded Marquette Golden Eagles in the Round of 32 and are now favored to upset the #3 Kansas State Wildcats by a basket.
The Kansas Jayhawks are a routine qualifier for the Round of 16, but this year they were eliminated by Arkansas in the second round, leaving the Wildcats as the Bluegrass State’s only remaining hope.
Despite the ousting of several high-ranking teams, there are still plenty of programs remaining that have a history of playing deep into the tournament.
Since the 90s, the Gonzaga Bulldogs have established themselves as a dominant college basketball postseason presence, but they’ve yet to win the whole thing.
Since 2015, the Bulldogs have made it to at least the regional semifinals, losing the Finals twice. They are an underdog to the UCLA Bruins in the Sweet 16, another powerhouse program with several championships under their belt.
Gonzaga Bulldogs (#3) vs. UCLA Bruins (#2)
- Spread: Gonaga +2.0, UCLA -2.0
- Moneyline Odds To Win: Gonzaga +115, UCLA -135
- Over/Under: 145.5
The only college basketball team that has made it to the Final Four more often than UCLA (18) is the North Carolina Tarheels (21). The Bruins can close the gap down to two games if they can get past Gonzaga in the Sweet 16 and also defeat their Elite 8 opponent.
The winner of Gonzaga vs. UCLA will face either Arkansas or UConn.
Who Will Win The 2023 March Madness Tournament?
Current NCAA Basketball betting futures still favor the Houston Cougars to win the 2023 NCAAB Tournament, with the Alabama Crimson Tide coming in second.
2023 NCAAB National Championship Odds
- Alabama (#1) +350
- Houston (#1) +425
- UCLA (#2) +800
- Connecticut (#4) +900
- Texas (#2) +900
- Creighton (#6) +1000
- Tennessee (#4) +1000
- Gonzaga (#3) +1200
- Michigan State (#7) +2000
- Kansas State (#3) +2500
- Arkansas (#8) +3000
- Xavier (#3) +3300
- Florida Atlantic (#9) +4000
- San Diego State (#5) +4000
- Miami Florida (#5) +5000
- Princeton (#15) +20000
Even if the favored Cougars hoist the championship this year, bets placed on them doing so will payout at 3.5-to-1. Of course, those odds will fall closer to even if they make it to the Elite 8, which is why you should place your March Madness bets sooner than later.