2023 March Madness: 2 Best Bets To Win NCAA Tournament

Hey, sports fans, March may seem far off now but look how quickly October flew by, huh?

November snuck up on us fast and that means college basketball season is nearly upon us.

The season officially tips off Monday, Nov. 7th, and I’m already looking to next spring, when Jim Nantz says, “Hello, friends,” one last time before he says goodbye to his Final Four play-by-play duties.

The odds are courtesy of PointsBet, which has a sweet offer for new players: Get two risk-free bets up to $2,000.

But don’t forget about all the other great gambling options and awesome offers available in your state including those from BetMGM, FanDuel, DraftKings and many more.

Also, be sure to check out our guide to online casinos, from Michigan to New Jersey. You can place all your basketball future bets at various sites in several states across the country

OK, let’s get to it. And, remember, this looks like another one of those wide-open men’s basketball seasons. As of Wednesday, Nov. 2, there were 11 teams that were between +1000 and +2000 to win it all.

But the team I like the most to cut down the nets in Houston on Monday, April 3, 2023, is among the favorites, if not the favorite, and that’s …

NORTH CAROLINA (+1000)

The odds at other sites (+900 to +800) are lower and dropping on these mighty talented Tar Heels and it’s easy to see why.

There’s a ton to like about this team and the most obvious thing is that this is last year’s runner-up to national champion Kansas–so the motivation/revenge factors will be high.

Plus, four of last year’s "Iron Five" -- starters Armando Bacot, Caleb Love, RJ Davis and Leaky Black, are back.

Brady Manek, the fifth one, will be replaced by Northwestern transfer Pete Nance which is an upgrade. He’s a 6-foot-10 stretch center who’s a demon on the boards and also shot 45 percent from 3-point range.

Puff Johnson, the younger brother of former Tar Heel and current Phoenix Suns forward Cam Johnson, returns and could be a breakout star for North Carolina.

But the two biggest reasons UNC will get back to the title game and win it are the returns of its two brightest stars, junior guard Caleb Love and senior big man Armando Cabot, both of whom could have turned pro last spring.

In last year’s Big Dance, Love, a junior hybrid guard, scored 30 points against UCLA in the Sweet 16 and 28 against Duke in the Final Four.

Meanwhile, the 6-foot-10 Bacot made history by becoming the first player in tournament history to record a double-double in six tournament games. He’ll be dominant again this spring and lead North Carolina to its seventh national crown. Unless the Tar Heels lose to …

HOUSTON (+1100)

The Cougars followed up their 2021 Final Four berth with an Elite Eight appearance last season. Houston has several problematic players that will be difficult to solve for opposing teams and hey, look, as of right now, they’re all healthy.

Senior Marcus Sasser, who some are calling the best guard in the country and a Player of the Year candidate, was Houston’s leading scorer last season until a foot injury ended his year two days before Christmas. Fellow guard Taron Mark, a double-figure scorer, also had his season end early. Bah-injury-hum-bug!

However, both are back and looking strong, as is another excellent playmaking Houston guard, Jamal Shead, an NCAA Tournament All-Regional Team honoree last season.

But perhaps the biggest reason to think this might be Cougars coach Kelvin Sampson’s year to finally bag the big one is: He has an awesome recruiting class led by Jarace Walker, a fluid bouncy forward who’s the highest-rated freshman ever recruited by Houston and likely a future NBA first-round pick. Fellow freshman Terrance Arceneaux also looks like he’s bound for the next level.

So Houston is clearly loaded for a deep tournament run. And wouldn’t it be cool to be playing in the Final Four in your hometown? To go from the 7,100-seat Fertitta Center – the campus home court for the men’s and women’s basketball teams – to the 72,000-capacity NRG Stadium? Yes, yes it would.

That’s the ceiling for this Cougars team. A national championship. It could happen, and I’m certain that’s what they believe can be accomplished. It would also mark Houston’s first men’s basketball title and wipe away the championship loss to Jim Valvano’s North Carolina State Wolfpack, who shocked the basketball world 40 years ago (April 4, 1983) by upsetting the heavily-favored Hakeem Olajuwon and Clyde Drexler-led Cougars. Houston might need that tonic after a hungover offseason of wondering what went wrong in the 2022 World Series loss to the underdog Phillies. Heh. Couldn’t resist.