NCAA Basketball Top 16 Reveal Places Alabama Crimson Tide #1 Overall
With the 2023 March Madness basketball tournament still a few weeks away, the D-I Men’s Basketball Committee revealed the first in-season top 16 overall seeds on Saturday with the Crimson Tide as the No. 1 overall seed. They are followed by Houston, Purdue, and Kansas who will be No. 1 seeds in the other three regions.
Says committee chair Chris Reynolds: “That win at Houston put them over the top.”
TOP 16 REVEAL
- Alabama
- Houston
- Purdue
- Kansas
- Texas
- Arizona
- Baylor
- UCLA
- Tennessee
- Virginia
- Iowa State
- Kansas State
- Indiana
- Marquette
- Gonzaga
- Xavier
ADVANTAGES OF BEING NO. 1
If this position holds true until Selection Sunday on March 12, Alabama earns the privilege of choosing their first and second round host sites as well as a preferred region. The Crimson Tide would likely select Birmingham for the first two rounds. Some might assume they would take the South Regional, but the East might be much more attractive. Picking the South would mean a Sweet 16/Elite 8 in Louisville, KY (bleh). The East Regional is New York City and what kid would not want to play in Madison Square Garden? Additionally, it is a great showcase for any program. The other two sites are Las Vegas and Kansas City.
VEGAS ODDS
With the loss at Tennessee this week, have the Las Vegas oddsmakers soured on Nate Oats’s team?
According to DraftKings sportsbook, they are still high on the Tide but not as high as a few others.
FINAL FOUR
Alabama has moved up from the third best odds to make the Final Four to second best, tied with Purdue at +200. Despite defeating the Tide this week, Tennessee plummeted to eighth best odds. Houston’s odds are unchanged and still the best at +140. 89 teams have been given odds in this category. Every year there seems to be a Cinderella story. Some team like Kent State, James Madison or Iona might be worth putting up a sawbuck at +10000.
WIN IT ALL
Also posted are the odds to win it all. Houston is still on top, followed by Purdue, and then Alabama. 87 teams have been given odds in this category.
SEC
At this point, Alabama is the overwhelming favorite to win the SEC regular season at -2500. So if you want to make a quick C-note, plunk $2,500 down on the Tide. Texas A&M is second at +2500. Tennessee, Missouri, Kentucky, and Auburn are still on the board but distant runner-ups.
AWARDS
Despite Purdue’s recent slump, Zach Edey is still the favorite to take home the Wooden Award which is basketball’s equivalent of the Heisman Trophy. Alabama’s Brandon Miller is tied for fourth with an Arizona Wildcat at +8000, a drop from +4000. Players from Kansas and Indiana are ahead of him as well.
HOW TO BET
For the uninitiated, a plus sign in front of a number means that a $100 bet on a team at +250 for example would pay out $250 should that team reach the selected goal. A negative number such as -150 would mean it would take a bet of $150 to win $100.
All odds can be seen at DraftKings for National Champs, Final Four, Conference Champ, and Wooden Award winner. Click the heading that Says “FUTURES” to see these categories.
SCHEDULE
- SEC Tournament: March 8-12 - Nashville, TN
- Selection Sunday: Sunday, March 12
- First Four: March 14-15
- First round: March 16-17
- Second round: March 18-19
- Sweet 16: March 23-24
- Elite Eight: March 25-26
- Final Four: April 1
- NCAA championship game: April 3
Speaking of scheduling things: When is Alabama planning to break ground on the new arena? Build The Damn Arena, Greg. #BTDA
