Early Impressions 2022-2023 College Basketball Season

 

Previous Betting News

Starting later this month, the best teams in college basketball take to hoop courts all throughout the country with dreams of winning the NCAA Tournament 2021 runner up Gonzaga enters the season a +600 favorite. Michigan, UCLA, and Duke are second, third, and the fourth choices to take the tile. Check out current NCAAB National Championship odds and an analysis of those odds.

 

Updated CBB National Championship Odds to Win

2022 NCAA Men’s College Basketball Tournament

When: March 15 – April 4

 

Is Gonzaga an underlay or overlay at +600?

The Zags lost Jalen Suggs, Joel Ayayi and Corey Kispert, but Mark Few reloaded big time. The top recruit in the country, 7’ 0” Chet Holmgren, is headed to Gonzaga.  

Holmgren is a crazy tall player with an awesome outside shot and great handle. He’s a better shooting, much taller, Ben Simmons. 

But although Holmgren is the most unique player maybe ever to step onto a college campus, the kid weighs 195 lbs. He’s too light to bang with the top power forwards and centers in college hoops, which means his impact will be limited. 

The Zags must count on returning player Drew Timme and Andrew Nembhard. Gonzaga’s best chance to win the title was last season. This season, they should offer no lower odds than +1000 to cut down the nets. 

 

Which team among Michigan, UCLA and Villanova, who deserves the longer look?

College hoops handicappers love both the Bruins and Wildcats. Of the two, Villanova deserves the longer look.

Coach Jay Wright has won two National Championships. This year’s team can add a third. 

Collin Gillespie, one of the best guards in the nation, returns. So does Jermaine Samuels. Wright believes his team can go 9 to 10 deep, which means nobody is going to beat Villanova by tiring them out. Nova looks strong.

Although favoring Villanova slightly more than UCLA makes sense, the Bruins are also a loaded bunch. Westwood lost a couple of players last season. Neither loss should impact UCLA’s chances to win the title.

Coach Mike Cronin will lean on Kentucky transfer Johnny Juzang, who in his first year with UCLA became an NCAA Tournament star. Cody Riley is a great player and Myles Johnson, a transfer from Rutgers, could end up the best big man in the Pac-12. 

Michigan can win the championship. But the odds are +1000 compared to UCLA and Villanova at +1200. Don’t accept short odds on the Wolverines. 

 

Name one or two teams offering +1400 to +1800 odds that can win the NCAA Tournament?

Kentucky loses players every season. After last season, John Calipari lost a ton of talent. But Coach Cal did something he doesn’t often do.

Instead of recruiting replacements, Calipari headed to the transfer portal. Sahvir Wheeler led the SEC in assists per game last season. Coach Cal convinced Wheeler to transfer from Georgia to Big Blue. 

Oscar Tshiebwe comes over from West Virginia. Because Tshiebwe played for Bob Huggins, he should have no issue stepping in right away and helping Kentucky’s frontcourt dominate.

When nobody pays attention to Calipari and the Wildcats, that’s when they strike. At +1600, Kentucky is a great team to back. 

 

Among Baylor, Florida State, and Illinois, which team deserves the longest look to cut down the nets on April 4?

Florida State lost way too many players. Illinois lost Ayo Dosunmu. Baylor lost four important players, including Jared Butler.

But Baylor has become a perennial Final Four threat, ala the Duke Blue Devils, Kentucky Wildcats, and Kansas Jayhawks. 

Baylor has reloaded and it’s not like Scott Drew didn’t play his bench last season. At the odds, Baylor is worth a long look to win back-to-back National Championships. 

 

 

Previous Betting News

With the start of the 2020-21 NCAA college basketball season approximately one month away, now is  a perfect time to cheek out the latest odds to win the 2021 NCAA March Madness National Championship Tournament. Let’s get some early college hoops insight that could help you cash in all season long against their College Basketball odds.

 

Early Updated 2020 College Basketball Predictions

Odds To Win 2020 NCAA Basketball Championship

Villanova +800

Jay Wright lost blossoming star Saddiq Bey, but he has all four of his other starters back from last season, plus a talented former five-star recruit in Bryan Antoine that rarely saw action as a freshman last season. The Cats added some experience in the form of former Tulane standout Caleb Daniels and Collin Gillespie should challenge for Big East Player of the Year.

 

Kentucky +1100

The Wildcats enter the 2020-21 campaign with the nation’s top recruiting class. To make matters worse, John Calipari could get even more talent and experience with the waiver process till pending. Kentucky is loaded as always, but will they jell by March?

 

Gonzaga +1100

The Zags have been a perennial title contender for years now, having reached the Sweet Sixteen or better in five straight postseasons. Gonzaga has the vast majority of their core players back from last season and added highly recruited freshman Jalen Suggs. Once a mid-major, Gonzaga has a handful of non-conference games against elite opponents this coming season.

 

Baylor +1200

Baylor is loaded with talent and have what looks like the best backcourt in the nation Jared Butler and MaCio Teague. Davion Mitchell and Mark Vital are elite perimeter defenders and the Bears look like they could very well improve on their stellar 26-4 mark from a year ago.

 

Virginia +1300

The Cavaliers enter the season as the ACC favorite and for good reason. Virginia is undeniably one of the best defensive teams in the country and they simply beat a lot of opponents by shutting them down. Jay Huff and Sam Hauser could take this team to the Final Four.

 

Michigan +1400

Senior forward Isaiah Livers should be playing at the next level after this coming season and sophomore Franz Wagner is looking for bigger and better things. Michigan might not be ready to contend for a national championship, but things are looking up for Michigan under Juwaan Howard.

 

Duke +1600

The Blue Devils have a top five recruiting class that consists of a whopping six players. Those young freshmen, combined with experienced players like Wendell Moore Jr., Matthew Hurt, Joey Baker and Jordan Goldwire should give Coach K a squad that should contend.

 

Texas Tech +1800

VCU transfer forward Marcus Santos-Silva will play a leading role right away while teaming with Kyler Edwards and Avery Benson to give the Red Raiders one of the best trios in the country.

 

Michigan State +1800

The Spartans have a ton of talent on the perimeter, but will the Spartans find a capable replacement for former leader Cassius Winston? Joshua Langford is coming off an injury, bu Michigan State gets a talented newcomer in Joey Hauser.

 

 

Previous Betting News

With the 2017-18 college basketball season starting to heat up in a big way right now as conference plays continues all over the country, now is a perfect time for some early NCAAB Championship predictions that could help you cash in on the value-packed college basketball future odds that are currently being offered in our online sportsbook.

If you’re looking to find out which teams look like they’re offering some really good value as far as being legitimate championship contenders, let’s find out right now!

 

Early NCAAB Championship Betting Predictions

Michigan State

• NCAAB Championship Odds: 9/2

The ninth-ranked Spartans (16-3) have lost two of three at the time of this writing, but this team has three likely NBA performers, a bunch of size and athleticism and a great head coach. I suspect Michigan State will start to look and play like a legitimate championship title contender before it’s all said and done!

 

Duke

• NCAAB Championship Odds: 6/2

The fifth-ranked Duke Blue Devils (16-2) may have the top pick in the next NBA Draft on their roster in the gifted Marvin Bagley III (22.0 ppg, 11.7 rpg) and they’re going to be a lot better later on than they are right now. Still, something about the mostly young Dookies bothers me and leads me to believe they’re not going to be a Final Four team once March Madness rolls around.

 

Villanova

• NCAAB Championship Odds: 8/2

I love top-tanked Villanova’s (16-1) elite offense and the way the Wildcats share the wealth at the offensive end of the floor with a whopping five players averaging double figures in scoring and another player just off the mark at 9.9 points per game. More importantly, Villanova plays the game the right way and always makes the pass to the open guy!

 

Wichita State

• NCAAB Championship Odds: 18/1

The Shockers have gone from a program that was once viewed with mostly curiosity to a perennial powerhouse and this year’s team looks quite formidable. Wichita State ranks a stellar 22nd in scoring (84.9 ppg) and solid 86th in points allowed (68.3 ppg) and they look like they’re going to be difficult to dispatch once March gets underway.  

Kentucky

• NCAAB Championship Odds: 18/1

Love him or loathe him, John Calipari has mastered the art of creating power, one-and-done based perennial powerhouses. Kentucky (14-3) is really young (again) and that could derail their championship hopes. However, this year’s team has the look and feel of a team similar to last season’s young squad that got better as the season progressed and was really good by the time the national championship tournament got underway.

 

West Virginia

• NCAAB Championship Odds: 20/1

The Mountaineers (15-3) can score the ball as they rank 47th nationally (81.2 ppg) and they can defend as well as anyone as they limit the opposition to just 65.7 points per game (40th). They also have a great two-way star in Jevon Carter and a head coach that knows how to win games no matter how unlikable Bob Huggins may be. The Final Four looks like a very real possibility to me right now!  

Virginia

• NCAAB Championship Odds: 20/1

Virginia (16-1) may need a little bit more offensive firepower (70.5 ppg, 276th), but they way they play defense (52.9 ppg, 1st) leads me to believe they could literally beat any team in the country!

I mean, just think about it, Virginia held high-scoring North Carolina to a mind-boggling 49 points in their Jan. 6 ACC matchup!

 

Texas A&M

• NCAAB Championship Odds: 20/1

I have no idea why the Texas A&M (11-6) is a 20/1 pick to win anything, but the Aggies look pretty awful right now having lost five straight games while getting blown out by Alabama, Florida, and Tennessee.

 

Oklahoma

• NCAAB Championship Odds: 25/1

Goodness gracious, you’ve got to love the value that the now sixth-ranked Sooners are offering as a 25/1 pick to win it all. The Sooners have the nation’s best player in point guard Trae Young who leads the nation in scoring and assists (30.1 ppg and 9.9 apg) and Oklahoma also leads the country in scoring. Make no mistake about it, this team is dangerous with a capital ‘D’.

 

Texas Tech

• NCAAB Championship Odds: 66/1

When you play defense like the Red Raiders (15-2) do, you’re going to have a chance to beat any team in the country on any given day.

Texas Tech holds the opposition to just 60.8 points per game () and they also have a star in Keenan Evans (17.5 ppg) and several other solid, if not, star-like, players.

 

 

Previous Betting News

With the 2016 March Madness continuing to draw dauntingly closer, we’ve decided to take a randomized sweeping look at a number of title-contending teams and what can be expected of them after Selection Sunday. As is always the case around early February, you will find some teams that have underperformed, but are likely to finish the season strongly, while others that have outperformed in the NCAAB odds are also likely to find themselves scaled down when the heat of conference games proves unbearable. Not to mention, for the first time since 1948-49, five No. 1 teams have lost their hierarchy status before February, so no one is seemingly going to run the table like last year’s Kentucky Wildcats dominated the NCAAB lines from the preseason to the Final Four. Keeping all that in mind, the NCAA Tournament betting analysis below should thus be taken with a pinch of salt.

 

Early March Madness Betting Predictions

Best of the Best: Current Top 4

Oklahoma Sooners

No doubt, the #1 Sooners have largely exceeded expectations to be this highly ranked in February. But then again, what else would you expect from a team with the top Player of the Year candidate in Buddy Hield? It remains to be seen if Oklahoma can continue to win and do so convincingly, but from the current look of things, everything should just be fine. Hield is a key player and the fact that he is hitting over 50 percent of field goals and three will be key for his team’s success. But even if Hield isn’t lights out, the Sooners have enough talent to go around. I mean, this is team that is shooting over 46 percent from 3-point land and is one pace to break the record set by the 2012 Northern Colorado team that is the only team to finish its season with more than 45 percent of its 3’s. With that, standing the test of time shouldn’t be a big deal for this all-rounded team that is hell-bent on making history. March Madness Prediction: Possible Finalists in the NCAA Championship Game, Reaches Final Four at the Bare Minimum.

 

North Carolina Tar Heels

To no one’s surprise, Roy Williams’ North Carolina is the consensus favorite to win the Big Dance title in April, going by the latest NCAA Men’s Basketball National Championship odds. The #2 Tar Heels held the top-ranking in the nation through the first full month of the non-conference schedule, but lost at Northern Iowa, which saw them relinquish their spot atop the polls. After that, the Heels bounced back but again suffered a defeat to Shaka Smart’s Texas Longhorns, followed by another recent defeat at the Yum in Louisville by Rick Pitino’s Cardinals. The three losses have seen an increasing number of pundits start to question UNC’s March Madness credentials, with several criticisms coming against North Carolina’s starting five that has, for a while, been regarded as the best in college hoops. That said, RPI breakdowns and conference standings have Roy’s Boys in safety with a strong résumé for the Big Dance, which currently includes a win over the current Maryland and a stellar 8-1 record against KenPom.com top-100 teams. That should be able to see the Tar Heels earn a top-seed in March Madness, unless they continue to dwindle down with more losses down the stretch. March Madness Prediction: Safe to Reaches at least the Final Four.

 

Villanova Wildcats

Are obviously a good team, but I’ve repeatedly seen them choke when it matters most in the Big Dance, so I won’t waste my breath on them. My best advice is; keep off, if you know what’s good for you. March Madness Prediction: Will be bundled out of the Tournament in the Last 16.

 

Maryland Terrapins

Despite suffering loss to UNC, and a respectable one at that, and also getting another setback in the form of a defeat to the Michigan State Spartans, Maryland has bounced back quite well, starting with the hard-earned victory over the #3 Iowa that preserved their undefeated home record. Since then, the Terps have recorded two more road wins, with the likes of Melo Trimble and Jake Layman shining for the three-loss Terrapins. Assessing the team, Maryland’s savvy outside size on inside should set them up nicely not only for the remainder of the season, but for the March Madness as well. It, however, remains to be seen if the Terps will be able to handle Big-man teams down the stretch of the season. A good way to assess that would be to watch their game against the physical Boilermakers this weekend. March Madness Prediction: Reaches the Final Eight and suffer an upset loss.

 

A Look at the Remaining Top-10 Teams

#5 Iowa: I haven’t been keenly following their on-goings, which probably means they’ll be really good when I start watching and supporting them in the Tourney. March Madness Prediction: Makes it to the Final Four.

#6 Xavier: The Musketeers own the best winning percentage in the country, and have been perennial strong contenders, making them a must-watch team in the Dance. March Madness Prediction: Reaches at Least the Final Eight, with the Possibility of Doing Even Better.

#7 Kansas: Ridiculously good with home advantage and have a good coach with a history of succeeding in the Big Dance. March Madness Prediction: Definitely a Final Eight team.

#8 Texas A&M: Will win the SEC title for first time in school’s history, but struggle to cope with the pressure of the Tourney: March Madness Prediction: Loses in first Big Dance game.

#9 Virginia: Defense, Defense, Defense! (See the 63-47 road win over Louisville for reference). Also undefeated at home. March Madness Prediction: Round of 16 Material.

#10 Michigan State: DENZEL VALENTINE. PERIOD! March Madness Prediction: Repeats Last year’s Feat with Coach Tom Izzo by Reaching the Final Four.

 

Unranked But Good to Go The Distance

Gonzaga: Have the star power of Kyle Wiltjer, a preseason All-American, and forward Domantas Sabonis, and have made 17 consecutive appearances in the NCAA tournament, often staying on their feet for a while when in the Dance Floor. March Madness Prediction: Surprises with a Final Eight appearance.

Ohio State: Have 14 wins already and are tied for sixth in the Big Ten with Michigan State. If they can win test against Wisconsin on the Kohl Center, they’d be rejuvenated to fight for a Tourney spot and play their hearts out to prove worth. March Madness Prediction: Reaches Round of 16.

Duke: Amile Jefferson will return just in time to help Coach K’s team to turnaround their middle-of-the-pack ACC status. And once in the Tournament, the Devil in Duke will take over with an evil genius that takes them at least to the Final Eight. March Madness Prediction: Final Eight it is!

 

Cinderella Schools (Outside the Power Five)

Forgetting about the Cinderella schools that will have their fate decided by invitation by the selection committee in March, the following mid-to-lower majors look the part of being able to earn automatic bid into the Big Dance: Stony Brook (America East), Montana (Big Sky), North Florida (Atlantic Sun), UC Irvine (Big West), UNC-Asheville (Big South), Hofstra (CAA), Valparaiso (Horizon), UAB (CUSA), Yale (Ivy), Akron (Mid-American), Monmouth (MAAC) and Hampton (MEAC), among others!!!

 

Final Remarks

Keep away from the following schools that have been banned from participating in the NCAA Championship or any type of conference tournaments: Alcorn State (SWAC), Cal-State Northridge (Big West), Central Arkansas (Southland), Florida A&M (MEAC), Missouri (SEC), SMU (AAC), Pacific (WCC), Southern Miss (C-USA), Stetson (Atlantic Sun).