Who’s the March Madness favorite in 2023?

March Madness favorite

Updated: November 29, 2023

According to the NCAA betting sites, the Houston Cougars are the favorites to win March Madness 2023.

Bet on the Houston Cougars at MyBookie

This may shock anybody looking at the Houston Cougars' history in the tournament, but after a good showing in the event lead-up and a fantastic run in March Madness 2022, we firmly believe that the Cougars have what it takes to go all the way.

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Houston Cougars Recent Results

houston cougars basketball march madness favorites

Perhaps the biggest driver of bets on the Houston Cougars right now is their performances in the lead-up to March Madness.

While they haven't beaten any major teams, they have had convincing victories over the following:

  • Northern CO
  • St Joseph's
  • Oral Roberts
  • TX Southern
  • Oregon
  • Norfolk State
  • Kent State

In fact, the Houston Cougars have gone on an unbeaten run of 11 games at the time of writing.

This is going to be the perfect motivator heading into March Madness. Their players are going to be in the right frame of mind. The winning mentality means everything in single-elimination tournaments.


Why Houston Cougars Are The Favorites

The Houston Cougars enter March Madness as the Number 1 seed. So, right away, you have one of the highest-ranked teams in the tournament. Their seed is a big jump up from 2022, when they were 5th. It goes to show the team has improved a lot since last year.

You also have stats on your side here. The number 1 seed has a whopping 78% win rate in March Madness.

Number 1 seeds have won March Madness 14 times in the last 27 years. So, almost 50% of the time. So, the odds are stacked in favor of the Number 1 seeds in the tournament.

The Houston Cougars are also coming off an epic win streak.

As we said, they haven't been facing top teams.

They won games that they were expected to win.

However, our excitement comes from the strength of the Houston Cougars' wins.

While there were a couple of squeaky wins, almost every other game was a decimation. It showed how strong the Houston Cougars are both defensively and offensively.

Many firmly believed that the only reason that the Houston Cougars didn't win in 2022 was that they were missing some of their star players.

This year, they have Tramon Marks and Marcus Sasser back on the team. Both of these players have been known to strike fear into their opponents.

We don't just think that the Houston Cougars are narrow favorites, either. We believe that the Cougars are going to run the tournament.

Unless the team suffers some serious injuries during March Madness, we reckon they are going to be the favorite in every game, even if they end up facing fellow Number 1 seeds.

So, right now, the Houston Cougars are where we would put our money on any futures bet.

Bet on the Houston Cougars at MyBookie


Our Second Favorite – Kansas Jayhawks

Kansas Jayhawks March Madness favorite

March Madness fans will know that last year, the tournament was won by the Kansas Jayhawks. For a long while, these were seen as the favorites.

They have had more vital wins than the Houston Cougars in the lead-up to March Madness. The problem is that their team is a little bit on the weaker side.

If you are the type of person that wants to take more of a risk with their bets, then the Kansas Jayhawks may be worth checking out.

Their odds are longer than in Houston, but their returns are better.

The only major issue is their defense.

We reckon they could give Houston a run for its money if they can get that together.

Bet on the Kansas Jayhawks at MyBookie


Obviously, all of this can change. If you are betting on March Madness, make sure you always pay attention to the NCAA betting odds and keep an eye on team news.

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