For the last six of seven years, a number one seed has won the NCAA Tournament. The Kansas Jayhawks are the 2022 NCAA Tournament Champions and it was a March Madness to remember. Kansas, North Carolina, Arkansas, Duke, Kentucky, UCLA, and Houston will be some of the favorites to cut down the nets next year.
There are always those lower odds teams that sneak up when college basketball starts around in the late fall and early winter. Those expert picks are being made already for the 2023 NCAA Tournament. Who are some of the lower odds teams that could potentially win it all next season?
Baylor Bears +1600
The Baylor Bears just won the NCAA Tournament in 2021 against the Gonzaga Bulldogs. In 2022, Baylor was eliminated in the second round of the NCAA Tournament against the North Carolina Tar Heels. Head coach Scott Drew is ready to run it back and make another deep run next year in the NCAA Tournament in 2023.
The Bears will be one of the favorites to win the BIG12 in 2023 along with the Kansas Jayhawks, the Texas Tech Red Raiders, and the Texas Longhorns. Baylor was very young this year and they will be much more experienced next season. They also had to deal with injuries this year as well.
L.J. Cryer, Adam Flager, and Flo Thamba will be returning next season as their key players. However, Scott Drew was able to land the number three recruit in the country in Keyonte George. They also landed number 54 recruit Dillon Hunter.
Texas Tech Red Raiders, Villanova Wildcats, and Michigan Wolverines +2800
All three of these teams have the same odds to win it all next season. The Texas Tech Raiders are a very sneaky basketball team with a good program and culture. Texas Tech lost in the Sweet 16 against the Duke Blue Devils. The Red Raiders will be a threat in the BIG12 Conference as well.
Texas Tech’s head coach is Mark Adams. They have a lot of players returning and don’t really have any top recruits coming into the basketball program. The only player they are landing on a transfer next season from the Texas Longhorns is Jaylon Tyson.
The players that will be returning for them next season are Mylik Wilson, Clarence Nadolny, Kevin McCullar, and Daniel Batcho.
The Villanova Wildcats went to the Final Four for the third time in six seasons under head coach Jay Wright. They lost to the Kansas Jayhawks in the Final Four. Villanova will be losing key plays like Collin Gillespie and Jaylen Samuels Jr. However, they don’t have a lot of proven talent on the roster next year and they could be in for some growing pains, despite two National Champions won in the past six seasons.
Justin Moore and Eric Dixon will return for them. Jordan Longio will be plugged into the starting lineup. Bryan Antonie and Chris Arcidiacono will come off the bench. Jay Wright also landed two recruits in the Top 100 in Cameron Whitmore (No.29) and Mark Armstrong (No.63).
The BIG EAST Conference will be very good next season and the Villanova Wildcats biggest threat might be the Creighton Blue Jays.
The Michigan Wolverines underachieved big time last season during the regular season under head coach Juwan Howard. Michigan was the 11th seed in the NCAA Tournament, but they defeated the #6 Colorado State Rams and the #3 Tennessee Volunteers before losing to the #2 Villanova Wildcats in the Sweet 16.
The Wolverines will be in a down BIG10 Conference next season. The Michigan State Spartans and the Ohio State Buckeyes will only be their biggest threats next season. Michigan’s top player Hunter Dickinson will return next season as their best player.
The other key players that will be returning to this roster are Moussa Diabate, Caleb Houstan, and Frankie Collins. They will have one recruit coming in next year and that will be number 60 on the ESPNU 100 Dug McDaniel. The Michigan Wolverines will be tough to stop next year.
