Dean Etheridge
One of the betting favorites to win the 2023 NCAA Tournament is the Kansas Jayhawks. On Thursday the number 1 seeds get their campaign to win the West Region and the 2023 Tournament underway when they face Howard Bison at the Wells Fargo Arena. Here we look ahead to their match with our latest NCAAB betting picks.
- What; NCAA Tournament Men’s Basketball March Madness – 1st Round
- Who; Kansas Jayhawks vs Howard Bison
- Where; Wells Fargo Arena, Des Moines, Iowa
- When; Thursday, March 16th, 2023
- Tip Off; 1 pm ET
Betting to win the 2023 NCAA Tournament
The Jayhawks are the defending champions. And they are also one of a number of teams in that cluster of sides just behind the two favorites in the betting to win the NCAA Tournament. The best March Madness betting sites have the Houston Cougars and Alabama Crimson Tide priced up as their joint favorites at +550.
They are then followed by the cluster of teams including Kansas, with Kansas and Purdue both at +1000, Texas at +1100, and UCLA at +1200.
More odds can be found below in our odds table for the winner of the 2023 NCAA Tournament. All these odds are taken from the best college basketball betting sites. More info on these sites is available on our top US sportsbooks reviews page. Including plenty of new customer offers that can be used to bet on March Madness with.
| NCAAB Tournament Winner Betting 2023 |  |  |  |
| Houston | +550 | +550 | +550 |
| Alabama | +550 | +550 | +550 |
| Texas | +1100 | +1100 | +1100 |
| Purdue | +1200 | +1200 | +1200 |
| UCLA | +1200 | +1200 | +1200 |
| Kansas | +1400 | +1400 | +1400 |
| 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 |
Elsewhere in the betting, and the odds to win the West Region, shows just what a tight bracket this really is. UCLA leads the way on +280, and they are followed closely by Gonzago at +375, Kansas (+385), and Connecticut at +400. There is then a significant gap before we get to St Marys at +1100.
Kansas arrive at March Madness on back of disappointing recent losses
In their last ten matches, Kansas are 8-2. Analyzing those stats further shows that Bill Self’s team are 9-2 in their last 11, and 2-2 in their last four. The two defeats both came at the hands of the Longhorns in the Big 12 tournament. The most recent being a humbling 76-56 defeat at home last weekend.
The Longhorns are making a STATEMENT in the Big 12 Championship Game 👀
(via @TexasMBB)pic.twitter.com/7iB879RGCn
— NCAA March Madness (@MarchMadnessMBB) March 12, 2023
Five-match winning streak Bison should be confident of an upset
Kenny Blakeney has led the Bison to first in the Mid-Eastern and they are also on a five-match winning streak heading into their 1st Round showdown with one of the favorites to win the NCAA Tournament.
How does this run of wins stand up to a match against the Jayhawks though? The truth is, it doesn’t really. What it does mean though, is that at the very least the Bison can go into the biggest match of their season with confidence and self belief. Some big names will possibly fall at the first hurdle. So why not Kansas?
Is Kansas there for the taking?
It’s fair to say that recent weeks have been far from plain sailing for the Kansas Jayhawks. They’ve had to make do without head coach Bill Self for health reasons, and they suffered a couple of heavy defeats at the hands of the Texas Longhorns.
So is this a good time to be facing them? Possibly! It’s hard to know how much of a role (if anyl) Bill Self may play, after only recently being discharged from hospital. But that shouldn’t have much of a bearing on the outcome of this match. Whether Self is there or not on Thursday, the Jayhawks would expect to win.
But from the perspective of Howard Bison, they must come into this full of confidence after their five match winning streak. They also have to believe that this could be the best time to face the Jayhawks. Might Bill Self’s team be distracted, and are they possibly already looking ahead to the next round? All these factors could come into play on Thursday. And they may slightly open the door to the Bison pulling off a shock win.
Kansas vs Howard Betting odds and Picks
A look at the betting odds may make you think otherwise though! Even given the distractions, the best college basketball betting sites still can only see one winner.
On the moneyline Kansas is -4000, and Howard is +1500. On the handicap, Howard is receiving a massive start of 20.5 points. With the huge start, Howard is -110. Kansas are the same odds starting from behind. Whilst on the total points spread, the marker is 145.5. Both over and under is -110.
We don’t think that Kansas will be distracted enough to lose this match. But we aren’t going to be betting on them to win at -4000, that’s for sure. Can they beat the handicap spread though? That’s another question.
With the two recent defeats to Texas, and the uncertainty surrounding the head coach, we think it makes more sense to oppose the Jayhawks here. We see them winning. But we don’t see them winning by the 21 or more points required to cover the spread.
As for the total points market. We see a slightly nervy match ahead. So maybe under 145.5 could be the better value bet here.
