The inconvenient truth about March Madness betting this year is that pretty much every high seed is vulnerable. Think about it: there’s no heavyweight team which is obviously several notches above everyone else. There isn’t a pair of teams or a collection of teams which has separated itself from the field.
In 2021, for example, it was clear throughout the season that Baylor and Gonzaga were the two best teams, miles ahead of the competition.
They both rolled to the national championship game and affirmed the conventional wisdom. We don’t have that situation this year. We don’t have a team such as 2009 North Carolina or 2012 Kentucky which is obviously the favorite. Yet, in this larger context of parity, some high seeds are more vulnerable than others. Let’s look at them.
Purdue Boilermakers Odds To Win NCAA Tournament at BetAnySports.eu: +1000
The Boilermakers have National Player of the Year candidate Zach Edey, but other than Edey, they don’t have very much. They have a young and fragile backcourt which is likely to get roasted in March. Purdue would need to play opponents which aren’t especially strong in the backcourt in order to have a bracket path that can take the Boilermakers to the Final Four.
This is a very matchup-dependent team, more so than other high seeds in the field. If the guards can’t get Edey the ball because they are swarmed on the perimeter and can’t handle the pressure, Edey’s value plummets. This is the obvious limitation Purdue has to solve in March Madness. It will be a huge challenge.
Alabama Crimson Tide Odds To Win NCAA Tournament at BetAnySports.eu: +900
The Crimson Tide are dealing with the off-court distractions connected to Brandon Miller’s possible involvement in a shooting. Police have said that Miller supplied the gun which was used in a shooting, but he has not currently been charged with a crime. Yet, a huge cloud of controversy has hovered over the Alabama program, and it is something the media will continue to mention when the Crimson Tide moves into the NCAA Tournament.
That will be a challenge for this team and the coaching staff. What will also challenge this team – but in an on-court setting, not an off-court context – is that Alabama relies a lot on 3-point shooting. Can Alabama shoot 3-pointers well in four or five straight games? Usually, teams that rely on the 3-point shot have a bad shooting game, and it’s unclear if Alabama can survive a game in which the shots simply don’t fall.
Tennessee Volunteers Odds To Win NCAA Tournament at BetAnySports.eu: +2500
The Vols will be a top-three seed for sure, and they might be a No. 2 seed. However, they just watched Zakai Zeigler, one of their core players and best defenders, get injured on Tuesday against Arkansas. Zeigler is out for the season and will not be able to play in March Madness. This will obviously limit what Tennessee is capable of at both ends of the floor. The Vols will be shorthanded and therefore will be an obvious candidate for an early-round upset.
Arizona Wildcats Odds To Win NCAA Tournament at BetAnySports.eu: +1600
The Wildcats are going to be a top-three seed and could be a No. 2 seed, but it’s clear this team is not nearly as good as last season’s team, which was a No. 1 seed. This Arizona team is softer on defense than last season’s team was.
The guards are not as reliable as last season’s guards were. Opponents can pack the paint to stop Azuolas Tubelis and Oumar Ballo, thereby forcing the Wildcats’ guards to hit 3-pointers, which they have not done on a consistent basis this season.
