Chris Boline
The 2022-23 NCAA Basketball season is right around the corner, and with it come predictions for the upcoming March Madness tournament. The 2023 NCAA Tournament is still a while away, but early odds for the NCAA Basketball Championship are readily available on the top college basketball betting sites, as well as the best betting sites for March Madness.
The 2023 NCAA Basketball Championship game is scheduled for April 4, 2023. The game will take place in Houston, Texas at NRG Stadium, with the tip-off time still TBD. Last season, the Kansas Jayhawks ran the gauntlet and took home the national title during the 2022 Men’s NCAA Basketball Tournament. Early on ahead of the season, the Jayhawks are considered among the contenders to win it all, though they’re not the outright favorite.
With Gonzaga (+750) and North Carolina (+800) holding the best odds to win the title, there are some good value picks to be found a bit deeper into the pack. Among those teams are blue bloods Duke and Kansas who, while still in the top-tier of teams according to the odds, are not considered favorites. These two college basketball giants could be good bets for some pre-season NCAA Basketball Futures action ahead of the season. Before you dive in, be sure to look at our NCAA college basketball betting website for some advice and wisdom on the best way to bet on college basketball.
2023 NCAA Basketball National Championship Odds
| To Win 2023 NCAA Tournament |  |
| Gonzaga | +750 |
| North Carolina | +800 |
| Kentucky | +1000 |
| Houston | +1100 |
| Kansas | +1400 |
| Baylor | +1400 |
| Arkansas | +1600 |
| Creighton | +1800 |
| Duke | +1800 |
| UCLA | +1800 |
| Arizona | +2500 |
Duke Blue Devils
A lot has changed for the Duke Blue Devils ahead of the 2022-23 NCAA Basketball season. The program watched five of its star players head to the NBA and get drafted, including the likes of Paolo Banchero, Mark Williams, A.J. Griffin, Wendell Moore, and Trevor Keels. Additionally, legendary coach Mike Krzyzewski bid his farewell to college basketball. With so much turnover on the Duke roster, there’s some logic behind their somewhat long-shot odds to win the title in 2023. Entering the fray at (+1800), sportsbooks don’t seem overly confident in Duke’s ability to stage an NCAA Tournament run. But that doesn’t mean they don’t have what it takes to get the job done with new head coach Jon Scheyer.
The team was active via the transfer portal, bringing in experienced players such as Kale Catchings from Harvard, Ryan Young from Northwestern, and Jacob Grandison from Illinois. Additionally, the Duke recruiting class for 2022 was ranked No. 1 in the nation by 247Sports, and included four five-star prospects. Joining Blue Devils Nation in 2022 will be No. 1 overall recruit Dereck Lively II, No. 2 overall recruit Dariq Whitehead, No. 4 prospect Kyle Filipowski, and No. 22 Mark Mitchell, all of whom are heralded as five-star prospects. They’re joined by four-stars Tyrese Proctor and Jaden Schutt, and three-star Christian Reaves.
While more experienced sides typically have an advantage during the NCAA Tournament, there’s a tremendous amount of talent set to take the floor for Duke this year, and while they may take some time to adjust and begin to gel with one another, if they can get into a strong rhythm before the end of the year, they could make a deep run in the tournament. The current (+1800) odds are great value for a team that has a history of making tournament runs and have recruited three of the four top high school talents in the class of 2022.
Kansas Jayhawks
The reigning champion Kansas Jayhawks also saw some quality talent leave for the NBA, but at (+1400) odds, the Jayhawks wouldn’t be a bad pick to repeat as champions. Among the notable departures for Kansas were Ochai Agbaji, David McCormack, Christian Braun, Remy Martin, and Mitch Lightfoot. Despite that, the Jayhawks will have two key starters returning in 2023, and a handful of talented new faces to help fill the void.
Dajuan Harris Jr. figures to play serious minutes for Kansas once again in 2023 after averaging nearly 30 minutes per game during the 2022 NCAA Tournament run. The star of the show is expected to be Jalen Wilson, who took a back seat to the tandem of Braun and Agbaji last season. Wilson has all the tools to be a star in college basketball and will be a top option on the offense this year. He averaged 11.1 points last year, but that figure should shoot up dramatically now that Agbaji and Braun are out of the picture.
With Zach Clemence, Gradey Dick, and Texas Tech transfer Kevin McCullar filling out the rest of the projected starting lineup in Kansas, this is a team that has a strong mix of experience, talent, and freshness that could be a formula for a strong showing in March and April. Winning consecutive NCAA Tournaments is a difficult thing to achieve, but the Jayhawks could be sneakily equipped for another successful campaign, and at (+1400) odds to win the NCAA Tournament, Kansas could be a strong value pick to win the dance once again.
Pick
The overall safest pick for the NCAA Tournament is the current favorite in Gonzaga. At (+750), the Bulldogs have solid value compared to their chances of winning it all in 2023, with many key players returning from last year’s team that was among college basketball’s elite. That said, between Duke and Kansas, who are my favorite value picks, the Blue Devils seem like the best bet at (+1800). There’s simply so much talent heading to Duke this year, and while they lack experience as a cohesive unit, they’ll have the regular season and conference tournament to iron out the kinks. You can make this bet and more at these top sportsbooks:
