- Alabama is favored to win March Madness with +350 odds.
- Houston has +400 odds to win the NCAA Tournament.
- Houston went into the tournament favored to win.
LOUISVILLE – Heading into the Sweet 16 of March Madness, the Alabama Crimson Tide jumped the Houston Cougars with the shortest odds to win the National Championship. Both Alabama and Houston though are the only two teams with under +500 odds to win March Madness at this point in the tournament.
2023 March Madness Odds
- Alabama (#1) +350
- Houston (#1) +400
- UCLA (#2) +700
- Texas (#2) +900
- Connecticut (#4) +1000
- Creighton (#6) +1000
- Gonzaga (#3) +1200
- Tennessee (#4) +1200
- Kansas State (#3) +2500
- Michigan State (#7) +2500
The main reason behind online gambling sites listing Alabama as the new favorite to win the NCAA Tournament comes as the South Region of the bracket has been full of upsets.
As for Houston, they still have to face either #2 Texas or #3 Xavier in the Elite 8.
South Region Affecting The Odds
The South Region was expected to be one of the toughest throughout the entire tournament with the top four seeds being made up of Alabama, Arizona, Baylor, and Virginia. All of which had top-20 preseason March Madness odds going into the season. However, none of them remain active with #15 Princeton upsetting Arizona in the first round, #13 Furman also knocking out Virginia in the Round of 64, and Baylor getting bounced in the Round of 32 by #6 Creighton.
Alabama had +510 pre-tournament odds that came down to +475 after Arizona and Virginia were eliminated. They then dropped to +445 following the elimination of Baylor.
The Tide made the swap with Houston after the first round knocking Houston’s +490 pre-tournament odds to +545. Aside from the major upsets that have occurred in the South Region, Bama’ has really been on a roll through the first two games winning both of them by 20+ points.
In the Midwest Region where Houston resides, they are dealing with a Texas team that has the fourth shortest odds to win March Madness (+900) and Xavier team that has shorter odds than both San Diego State and Princeton and are also top-20 in offensive efficiency.
Not to mention, the Cougars still have a Sweet 16 date against the Miami Hurricanes who are eighth in the country in offensive efficiency. There were several takes that Houston was the weakest #1 seed in the tournament and their next two games will make or break that. For now, Alabama will likely remain the favorite to win March Madness.