The 2022-23 college basketball season tips off in only a month, on November 7. You probably didn’t forget about last season already, but in case you did, Kansas won the NCAA college basketball title with a come-from-behind 72-69 win over North Carolina.
So now, with days to go before the new season begins, the attention turns to this season and who the early favorites are. That honor is held by Gonzaga with +800 odds. Houston is second on the oddsboard at +850.
2022-23 College Basketball Championship Odds
| Team | Odds | Opening Odds |
|---|---|---|
| Gonzaga | +800 | +1000 |
| Houston | +850 | +2000 |
| North Carolina | +900 | +1350 |
| Kentucky | +900 | +1400 |
| Duke | +1400 | +900 |
| Kansas | +1400 | +1150 |
| Arkansas | +1500 | +1400 |
| Baylor | +1500 | +1400 |
| UCLA | +1600 | +1600 |
| Arizona | +2000 | +1600 |
| Creighton | +2500 | +10000 |
| Michigan | +3000 | +3300 |
| Texas Tech | +3000 | +2500 |
| Indiana | +3500 | +10000 |
| Tennessee | +3500 | +2500 |
| Texas | +4000 | +5000 |
| Villanova | +4000 | +1600 |
| Alabama | +5000 | +5000 |
2023 College Basketball Championship Odds
Can this be the year that Gonzaga finally wins a national title? The Bulldogs have gone to the national championship twice in the last six years, losing to North Carolina in 2017 and to Baylor in 2021. They’ve also made an Elite Eight appearance and gone to the Sweet 16 twice in that span. This is a strong program that typically does really well in the regular season and takes that success into the postseason with deep runs.
But again, they’ve never picked up a title. This year, the Bulldogs are favored to finally do it. With Drew Timme and Julian Strawther coming back, they’ve kept a lot of their quality. They’ve also added Malachi Smith from UT-Chattanooga.
Through the 2021-22 season, the six-foot-four guard averaged 19.9 points, 6.7 rebounds and three assists. Getting Smith is a massive addition for the Zags, who were deep and talented before landing him. Now they’re just all that more talented and deep.
College Basketball Best Value Bets
Creighton (+2500)
Looking to build off a strong 2021-22 season, Creighton retains most of that strong squad and adds Baylor Scheierman, who was player of the year in the Summit League. He joins a unit that had three players named to the Big East all-freshman squad in ’21-22.
That’s why their odds jumped from +10000 to +2500 between the conclusion of the 2022 tournament and today. Creighton made it to the Sweet 16 in 2022, falling to Gonzaga 83-65. With the additions they’ve made and the maturation of their young players, it’s a real possibility they go further than that in 2023.
Indiana (+3500)
Another team that made a big jump on the oddsboard is Indiana, going from +10000 to +3500. Why? Well, the Hoosiers were able to retain their star talent in Trayce Jackson-Davis and Race Thompson. Then they picked up Malik Reneau and were able to recruit five-star prospect Jalen Hood-Schifino.
And look, at this time of the year, with no games having been played, the odds are based on squad confidence. And Indiana was able to keep their top guys and complement them with a strong transfer/recruitment window.
Their odds to win the championship are still quite long at +3500, but there’s a lot more confidence in Indiana than existed when the odds opened and maybe you want to follow suit.