Arizona, UCLA among early betting favorites for 2022-23 national title
The college basketball season ended Monday night.
Which only means it’s time to start thinking about the next season. The folks at Bovada have released their early betting favorites for next season’s tournament, and it includes UCLA (+1600) and Arizona (+1800) among the top teams.
2023 NCAA DI Men's Basketball Tournament Odds 👇🏽
Duke +800
North Carolina +1000
Gonzaga +1200
Kansas +1200
Kentucky +1200
Arkansas +1600
UCLA +1600
Houston +1800
Arizona +1800
Villanova +1800
Texas +2000
Baylor +2200🏀💰➡️ https://t.co/pbxEkeciOc#NationalChampionship #NCAA
— Bovada (@BovadaOfficial) April 5, 2022
Arizona won both the Pac-12 regular-season and tournament titles this past season after bullying its way through its conference schedule and finishing with 33 wins and 18 league victories in 20 games.
But the Wildcats face a bit of uncertainty this offseason as it could lose three of its top players to the NBA Draft. Pac-12 Player of the Year and All-American guard Bennedict Mathurin has yet to declare, but it’s expected he’ll go to the league where he’ll be a likely high-lottery pick.
Center Christian Koloko and guard Dalen Terry are lower down draft boards, but both could be legitimate first-rounders. The Wildcats would still return plenty of talent and national Coach of the Year Tommy Lloyd, but it’s a bit hard to project so far out.
UCLA is in a bit of a similar situation.
The Bruins posted a 27-8 record this past season, a high-water mark for wins over the last five years. They could return any number of contributors from the squad, but Johnny Juzang, Jules Bernard, and Jaime Jaquez Jr. are notable difference-makers weighing whether to return or test their luck at the next level.
Both teams were built for deep runs at this most recent NCAA Tournament, and they both advanced to the Sweet 16.
Bovada also gave the Oregon Ducks +5000 odds to win it.