Editor’s note: This article was updated on March 28th, 2023.
The Final Four is here and no one could have predicted that this year would be the wildest, whackiest, college basketball national tournament in history. Below we unveil OddsTrader’s ninth installment of the NCAAB season as we review the updated college basketball odds to find out where the remaining teams began and where they are now as the Final Four showdown looms.
Make sure to check out our College Basketball Power Rankings as well as a whole host of handicapping tools at your disposal including our proprietary computer picks once the season draws closer. OddsTrader puts the power of technology in your hands throughout the basketball season at no cost to you.
Below, you will find the odds for the four teams remaining to win the national championship in 2023. Updated college basketball odds are courtesy of BetMGM as of March 28th, 2023.
Preseason Odds – Where We Started
| Team | Odds to Win National Championship |
| UConn | +8000 |
| San Diego State | +8000 |
| Miami (Florida) | +5000 |
| Florida Atlantic | +20,000 |
Current Odds – Where We Are
| Team | Odds to Win National Championship |
| UConn | -125 |
| San Diego State | +375 |
| Miami (Florida) | +475 |
| Florida Atlantic | +625 |
1. UConn Huskies (-125) – No. 4 West Region
- Record: 29-8
- 2022 March Madness: No. 5 Seed – First Round – Lost to New Mexico State
If you had any doubt as to why UConn is the prohibitive favorite then consider the competition remaining and then contemplate their complete and total domination since the tournament began. The Huskies have defeated their first four opponents by an average of 22.5 points!
And your next question could be, “Well, who have they beaten?” That would be a valid question prior to their Elite 8 victory over Gonzaga in which they held the No. 1 offense in the nation, averaging over 86 points per game, to a mere 54 points! That’s right, they defeated the No. 3 seed by 28 points and have instantly become the odds-on favorite at -120 which is a long way from the +8000 that the oddsmakers hung on them at the beginning of the season.
2. San Diego State Aztecs (+375) – No. 5 South Region
- Record: 31-6
- 2022 March Madness: No. 8 Seed – First Round – Lost to Creighton
San Diego State is not only undefeated in the tournament but is 4-0 against the spread. And although their first two wins over No. 12 Charleston and No. 13 Furman did little more than elicit a stifled yawn, it was their Sweet 16 victory over top-ranked Alabama that shocked the world and put everyone on notice that the Aztecs had arrived.
It would have been understandable if SDS had a letdown after that monumental win over the Crimson Tide but they showed up in their Elite 8 showdown with Creighton and battled to a 57-56 victory after trailing by five points at the half.
“Here we are,” said head coach Brian Dutcher. “We’re making the next step and it’s something we’ve always talked about. I’m sure there were people that doubted we could do it, but we never doubted for a minute.
“Not to say it’s easy to get there or that we would ever get there. But we’re there now, and we’re going to go and try to win the thing.”
3. Miami (Florida) (+475) – No. 5 Midwest Region
- Record: 29-7
- 2022 March Madness: No. 10 Seed – Elite 8 – Lost to Kansas
There was plenty of pre-tournament buzz about No. 12 Drake being a potential dragon slayer and No. 5 Miami would be the first fire-breather to go. Thus, the Hurricanes were installed as a mere 2 ½ point favorite and it looked like the sharps were once again on the right side as the Bulldogs led by five at the half.
But Nijel Pack scored 21 points and spearheaded the rally that propelled the Canes to the second round with a gritty 63-56 win and cashed for all the squares who backed the narrow favorite.
However, that was far from the pinnacle of their journey and the best was most definitely yet to come. The Hurricanes took down No. 4 Indiana (85-69) with ease before pulling one of the most stunning upsets of the tournament when they left No. 1 seed Houston dumbstruck with an 89-75 victory as eight-point underdogs.
Miami’s 88-81 Elite Eight win over No. 2 Texas was almost anticlimactic but obviously critical to their ascension as the top team in the nation if they can win two more games.
And if you’re trying to find anyone on any team who has been to a Final Four in this battle of the misfit toys, Miami head coach, Jim Larrañaga, is the only one who even remotely fits that bill. Back in 2006, Jim Larrañaga, the player, led George Mason to the Final Four where the Patriots bowed to Florida, the eventual champion, by the score of 73-58.
4. FAU (+625) – No. 9 East Region
- Record: 35-3
- 2022 March Madness: Did Not Qualify
Last year the Florida Atlantic Owls, the not-so-proud owners of a 19-14 regular season record, never received an invitation to the Big Dance and were spurned by the NIT as well. So, what was left? A trip to the CBI, a barely-a-blip-on-the-radar postseason tournament that saw FAU bow to the inimitable Northern Colorado Bears in the opening round.
Well, what a difference a year makes as the Owls have been the Cinderella story in a tournament full of fairy tale teams. But, let’s keep everything in perspective. FAU’s journey has not been fraught with a bevy of No. 1 and No. 2 seeded landmines.
A first-round win over No. 8 Memphis as a 1 ½ point dog was a good start followed by a 78-70 win over upstart No. 16 seed Fairleigh Dickinson as 16-point favorites that could only be categorized as underwhelming.
The Sweet 16 saw the oddsmakers install the Owls as 4 ½ point dogs, as they put together an impressive second half after trailing by five points to No. 4 Tennessee en route to a 62-55 victory. And in their Elite Eight performance, FAU outlasted No. 3 Kansas State, 79-76, covering as a 1 ½ point dog.
If you’re wondering if FAU is the highest-seeded team to ever appear in the Final Four, you should be advised that LSU in 1986, George Mason in 2006, VCU in 2011, Loyola-Chicago in 2018, and UCLA in 2021 were all 11th-seeded teams, none of which advanced to the championship game.
In 1985, legendary coach Rollie Massimino would lead his 8th-seeded Villanova Wildcats to a stunning 66-64 victory over No. 1 Georgetown to become the highest seed ever to win a national championship.
Props and Bonuses
You can find a list of prop bets at all of the best U.S.-licensed online sportsbooks found right here at OddsTrader. Online sportsbooks like BetMGM, Caesars, PointsBet, Bet365, Unibet, SugarHouse, BetRivers, SBK, and FanDuel all feature props and futures like conference winners, Final Four participants, and national champions, as well as offering generous signup bonuses.
Shop for Odds
If you want to compare the various NCAA Basketball odds then click on the link and you will see the point spreads, moneylines, and totals at all of the best books in the industry. Remember, it’s important to be able to compare and contrast lines at a glance so that you get the best odds for your betting buck.
NCAA Basketball Power Rankings
Getting keen insight into how each of the playoff teams stacks up is easy when you check out the OddsTrader NCAA Basketball Power Rankings page. Here you will see the average line, the power line suggested by OddsTrader’s AI algorithms, and Bettor’s Edge which is the difference between the two.
NCAA Basketball Computer Picks
If you go to the OddsTrader NCAA Basketball Computer Picks section you can see what the OT algorithms project and how the results compare to those predictions.
College Basketball Betting FAQs
Question: Where can I bet on the 2023 NCAA Basketball National Championship?
Answer: The best online sportsbooks are the safest online sportsbooks, which are those licensed in jurisdictions where online sports betting is legal in the United States.
The top-rated books are BetMGM, Caesars, FanDuel, PointsBet, Bet365, Unibet, SugarHouse, BetRivers, and SBK. All offer a wide variety of NCAAM props, futures, and point spreads.
Question: What types of bets are popular with NCAA Basketball?
Answer: The most popular bet is the point spread bet where the underdog is getting points or the favorite is giving points. However, moneylines, where no point spread is involved have grown increasingly popular, as have over/under, or total bets, where bettors can wager over or under on the combined total of the two teams in that game.
Question: Do I have to bet a lot?
Answer: No, the minimum bet is as low as $1 and accounts can be funded with as little as $10 at many of the books across the nation.
