Dean Etheridge
The Indiana Hoosiers start their March Madness campaign against the Kent State Golden Flashes on Friday night. The Hoosiers are the favorites with the best NCAA betting sites, so can they make it through the round of 64 and into the second knockout round? Here we take a look and give you our view with our free NCAAB betting picks.
- What; NCAA Tournament, Men’s Basketball, March Madness – 1st Round
- Who; Indiana Hoosiers vs Kent State Golden Flashes
- Where; MVP Arena, Albany, New York
- When; Friday, March 17th, 2023
- Tip-Off; 8.55 pm ET
The Hooisers are the number 4 seeds, the Golden Flashes are 13th seed. Neither side is expected to win the competition, which is highlighted in the latest betting odds. The best March Madness betting sites make Indiana +5500 to win the 2023 NCAA Tournament, Kent State is the small matter of just +100000.
2023 NCAA Tournament Betting
So who is the favorite to win the competition outright? Well, it’s now the Houston Cougars at +550. The Cougars did fall behind the Alabama Crimson Tide in the betting earlier this week. Then they went joint favorites with Alabama, and now the Cougars are favorites on their own again.
Expect changes on a daily basis now, as the madness has just commenced. But at the time of writing, the Cougars and the Crimson Tide (+600), are followed by Purdue (+1000), UCLA (+1000), Kansas (+1100), and Texas (+1100).
More odds can be found below in our betting table. Here you will find odds from all the best betting sites for college basketball. You can read more about them at our top-rated US sportsbooks reviews page, where you will also find a healthy array of new customer offers to help yourself too.
| NCAAB Tournament Winner Betting 2023 |  |  |  |
| Houston | +550 | +550 | +550 |
| Alabama | +600 | +600 | +600 |
| Purdue | +1000 | +1000 | +1000 |
| UCLA | +1000 | +1000 | +1000 |
| Texas | +1100 | +1100 | +1100 |
| Kansas | +1200 | +1200 | +1200 |
| Gonzaga | +1400 | +1400 | +1400 |
| Arizona | +1400 | +1500 | +1600 |
| Connecticut | +1600 | +1600 | +1700 |
| Marquette | +1800 | +1800 | +1800 |
| Duke | +2000 | +2000 | +2000 |
| Baylor | +2500 | +2500 | +2500 |
| Tennessee | +2500 | +2500 | +2500 |
State of play
This is the Round of 64, or the 1st Round – call it what you like – of March Madness. The Indiana Hoosiers are the number 4 seeds, the Kent State Golden Flashes are the number 13 seeds.
In the regular season, the Hoosiers finished second behind Purdue in the Big Ten with a conference record of 12-8, and an overall record of 22-11. They are on a losing streak of one, which was a disappointing 77-73 loss to Penn State in the Big Ten Tournament last weekend. Prior to the loss, the Hoosiers had won their previous two.
Star turns for Indiana are Trayce Jackson-Davis and Jalen Hood-Schifino. Jackson-Davis was part of the Hoosiers team that exited this competition at the 2nd Round stage last year, and will be looking to make amends for that this season. Along with Hood-Schifino, the pair have the ability to make Indiana’s 2023 campaign more successful than in recent previous years.
They will be up against the Kent State Golden Flashes. The Golden Flashes finished second to Toledo in the Mid-American Conference. Kent State finished the season with a 15-3 conference record, and an overall record of 28-6. Rob Senderoff’s team also comes into March Madness in good form, they are on a six-match winning streak.
So where does this leave them with the NCAA betting sites?
Indiana vs Kent State Betting Odds
The best NCAAB betting sites are favoring the fourth seed, the Indiana Hoosiers. On the moneyline, Indiana is -180, with Kent State priced up at +160.
On the handicap spread, this equates to a 4 points start for Kent State. With the four points advantage, Kent State are -110. Starting at -4, the Hoosiers are the same odds.
Finally, the total points spread is set at 140. Both over 140, and under are priced up at -110.
Our Pick
The statistics show that No.4 seeds have a 121-31 success rate over No.13 seeds. This means roughly one in five No.4 seeds lose. Choosing whether to go on instinct or statistics is one of the million-dollar questions when it comes to sports wagering, and this match is no different.
But here’s some other statistics to throw your way. Jackson-Davis (averaging 20.8 points per game) and Hood-Schifino (13.5) have been lethal this season. To go with their respective scoring stats, they also average 4.1 and 3.7 assists per game, respectively.
As the former stats show, there is a one-in-five chance of an upset here. But the latter statistics suggest that it’s highly unlikely to be this match.
We’re happy to run with this, and we think Indiana will win. But do we take them to win on the moneyline at -180? Or do we take the extra risk for bigger rewards, and pick them to cover the 4 points spread?
Although 4 points might not sound a lot, in a tight game, it is a lot, But we feel that Indiana may have that bit of extra quality to win this game with a bit to spare. And therefore, we feel the better pick is to bet on Indiana to cover the spread.
