March Madness is upon us, with the First Four set to commence proceedings on Tuesday night. Once those games are done, we will know exactly what the final bracket looks like, but it’s never too soon to start diving in and picking out the games that look worth wagering on. Most of us will probably have at least one bracket on the go, well aware that putting together a perfect one is nigh on impossible, as there will be upsets along the way, which is all part of the fun of the tournament. What we are going to do here is look at each region and pick out the favorites we like in Round 1. We’ll skip the #1 seeds, as they are all probably moving on without much of a fuss. Check out MyBookie’s college basketball betting odds for the first round favorites.
NCAA Basketball: 2023 First Round Favorites Worth Betting
South Region
Okay, so we have #1 Alabama moving on, but let’s move down the rest of this part of the bracket. #5 San Diego State looks to be a good bet against Charleston, and while Furman could be a handful, I like #4 Virginia to move on. #6 Creighton and #3 Baylor also look like favorites you can hang your hat on in Round 1. Not surprising at all, but I think you can safely put your money on #2 Arizona, who will face Princeton.
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MyBookie Betting Lines for the Game
Midwest Region
Again, we are taking the #1 seed, Houston, to move on without any type of issues, but what other favorites do we like? #5 Miami should be fins against Drake, starting that one as a 2 ½ point favorite. #4 Indiana is a 4-point favorite against Kent State and look like a good bet to get the win and move on to Round 2. #6 Iowa State makes me a little nervous, but #3 Xavier should be fine. #7 Texas A&M and #2 Texas should also be moving on.
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MyBookie Betting Lines for the Game
East Region
Sticking with the theme to this point, we have #1 Purdue moving on without a hitch. Things get a little trickier when you look at the rest of the games. #8 Memphis is a 2-point favorite over FAU, and while this is a risky one, I think they do enough to move on. I think #5 Duke is a great bet over Oral Roberts, as is #4 Tennessee, who are a heavy favorite. There may not be a ton of value there, though. This is one region where I think the favorites look good, so I also like #6 Kentucky, #3 Kansas State, #7 Michigan State, and #2 Marquette.
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MyBookie Betting Lines for the Game
West Region
#1 Kansas are viewed by many as a legit favorite to win it all this year, so they should have no problem moving on. #8 Arkansas is a favorite, but also a bit of a coin flip. I’m passing on that one. #5 St. Mary’s and #4 UConn both look to be a good bet to head into Round 2. #6 TCU should be good, regardless of which #11 seed they end up facing. Rounding things out, I think #3 Gonzaga and #2 UCLA should also be fine.
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MyBookie Betting Lines for the Game
I have read enough, I need to place my bet now. What to do?
