A Look at the Early 2023 March Madness Betting Odds

The Kansas Jayhawks’ national title is barely 24 hours old, but it is never too early to look ahead to next season. College basketball said goodbye to one of its legendary coaches. Mike Krzyzewski coached his last game, a loss to rival North Carolina in the Final Four. While Coach K will not be on the bench in 2023, the program that he built appears to be headed in the right direction.

There aren’t too many surprises among the early 2023 March Madness betting odds. There are plenty of the usual suspects among the leaders on the board. There are also a few sleepers worth considering. Here’s a look at the NCAA college basketball championship futures market.

Blue Devils Favored

Coach K leaves and Jon Scheyer takes over as the heir apparent. Duke landed in the Final Four this season, but will probably lose five to six players from this year’s team. Leading scorer Paolo Banchero could be the No. 1 pick in the 2022 NBA draft this summer. 

That shouldn’t matter to Scheyer who will welcome four five-star recruits to Durham. Those recruits are led by Dariq Whitehead, the MVP of the McDonald’s All-American game. Despite the fact that Duke may start four freshmen next season, the Blue Devils are given the top spot on the board listed at +900 at online sportsbooks to win next year’s March Madness.

Blueblood City

The top of the futures board is not surprising as some of the most recognizable college basketball programs are there. The next three on the board are North Carolina, Kentucky, and Kansas. The Jayhawks just beat the Tar Heels in the national championship game on Monday night. Kentucky was an early favorite to make it to this year’s Final Four but fell victim to that amazing run by Saint Peter’s.

Despite the early loss, Wildcats head coach John Calipari will have the talent necessary to win a title. The nation’s leading rebounder, Oscar Tshiebwe could return and that would make Kentucky even better. Calipari will still have Sahvir Wheeler and Keion Brooks in the backcourt. Plus, he gets five-star recruits Cason Wallace and Chris Livingston. Kentucky is given +1200 odds to win it all next year at top rated sportsbooks.

Kansas, the reigning national champion, is given the same odds (+1200). Head coach Bill Self is likely to lose his entire starting lineup. It won’t matter. Self has three recruits among the top 25 in the ESPN 100. All three will most likely start next season and if any one – or more than one – of this year’s roster decides to return in 2023, the Jayhawks will be right in the thick of things again.

Fresh off their national title defeat, North Carolina is actually second on the board to Duke at +1100. Head coach Hubert Davis will get two top 50 recruits and if he gets Caleb Love and/or Armando Bacot to come back, look out. The Tar Heels have done a great job of developing their roster too. Brady Manek was evidence of that.

Sleepers

While they might not appear to be sleepers since they are fairly high on the board, Arkansas and Houston are not typically in the same discussions with Duke, UNC, Kansas, etc. The Razorbacks have gone to the Elite Eight in consecutive seasons now. Head coach Eric Musselman has done a great job with the transfer portal, but he’s also done an outstanding job in recruiting the high school ranks.

Musselman will get three five-star recruits next season and if Au’Diese Toney and or Jaylin Williams decide to return, the Razorbacks will be loaded. Arkansas is given +1400 odds to win it all next season. 

Houston, which nearly made the Final Four again this season, will return most of its lineup from this season. Plus, the Cougars get Marcus Sasser (17.7 ppg) and Tramon Mark (10.1 ppg) from injuries that cut their seasons short. Add in a top 10 recruit in Jarace Walker and another four-star recruit in Terrance Arcenaux and head coach Kelvin Sampson has the recipe for another deep March Madness run. Houston is listed at +1600.