I think any sports fan can agree that the 2023 March Madness tournament has been nothing but a wild one. For the first time in tournament history, all #1 seeds were knocked out of the bracket by the Elite Eight. All of the teams that remain had terrible odds to make the Sweet Sixteen let alone the Final Four. Purdue, Kansas, Houston, and Alabama were upset by teams no one thought had a chance to make a deep tournament run. We’ll be discussing each team’s new odds to win the National Championship as well as compare to the beginning of the tournament. (Betting odds were provided by BetMGM.)
UConn Huskies
(-125 to win National Championship)
The favorites to win the National Championship are the UConn Huskies. No surprise here since UConn is the most experienced organization our the four teams with them making six Final Fours and winning four National Championships.
The Huskies started the Tournament ranked the fourth seed (+8000 to win the National Championship at the start of the season) in the Western bracket beating #13 Iona, #5 Saint Mary’s, #8 Arkansas, and upsetting #3 Gonzaga. UConn’s win against Gonzaga was their biggest win of the tournament locking down the Bulldogs 82-54.
With Gonzaga being one of the best teams in the Elite Eight, it’s clear that UConn wants National Title number five and they won’t give it up so easily. UConn (-250) faces Miami(+205) on April 1st with the Huskies projected to win.
SDSU Aztecs
(+400 to win National Championship)
This is where we enter the oddball category of teams that somehow got to the Final Four. The furthest the Aztecs have gone in March Madness before this year was the Sweet Sixteen in 2011 and 2014. Meaning that this is their first time in both the Elite Eight and Final Four.
San Diego State started the tournament ranked fifth (+6000 to win the National Championship at the start of the season) in the Southern bracket beating #12 Charleston, #13 Furman, #1 Alabama, and barely beating #6 Creighton. Their biggest win of the tournament was against #1 Alabama (yes, we’re still recovering) upsetting the Tide 71-64 which seemed to be more of a struggle for the Crimson Tide.
With Alabama being the projected second best team in the tournament behind Houston, the Aztecs have a lot of momentum and morale behind them following this game and their recent win versus Creighton. Definitely, a team to look out for since they will most likely make the National Championship.
U Miami Hurricanes
(+475 to win National Championship)
The Hurricanes have reached the Sweet Sixteen five times in their organization’s history as well as the Elite Eight twice. However, they’ve never made a final-four appearance until this year. Miami was ranked fifth (+8000 to win the National Championship at the start of the season)in the Midwestern bracket, upsetting #4 Indiana, #1 Houston, and #2 Texas. Their biggest win was against Houston outscoring them 89-75.
Only Miami and SDSU are the only teams to have upset a real #1 seed. Miami is the only team to have upset multiple top 5 seeds throughout the tournament, making them the official wild card for the tournament overall. Don’t be surprised if they wound up upsetting UConn in the Final Four.
FAU Owls
(+625 to win National Championship)
Now, this is an interesting one. FAU has never made it passed the Round of 64, Round of 32, Sweet Sixteen, Elite Eight, or Final Four…until this season. Read that again, FAU has never been here before. Upsetting the entire Eastern bracket ranked 9th. Their odds for the beginning of the season were an astounding +15000 to win the National Championship. READ THAT AGAIN. This Cinderella team may have the odds against them. However, they have beaten #8 Memphis, #16 FDU, #4 Tennessee, and #3 Kansas State. For them to beat a team like Tennessee shows that they are not to be pushed aside in this tournament and have as good of a chance as any other team
Overall, this is by far the wildest Final Four we’ve ever seen. With upsets happening left and right, and not even a number-1 seed left in the tournament. All I have left to say is, “You gotta love March.”
Join Jack and Ryan this Sunday, April 2nd @ 2:00 PM to call in and discuss who we think will win the National Championship.
