The Alabama Crimson Tide had little issue taking care of No. 16 seed Texas A&M-Corpus Christi in the first round, but the biggest news of the day wasn’t what the SEC champs did, but what else happened in the South Region.
While Alabama was wrapping up its game against the Islanders, No. 2 seed Arizona tipped off against No. 15 Princeton in what would be the biggest upset to date in the 2023 NCAA Tournament as the Wildcats lost as 15-point favorites. The Crimson Tide, who were already the second choice to win the title as the No. 1 overall seed, are now one of two teams that are below +1000 to cut down the nets at +500.
The Crimson Tide are slightly behind the favorite, Houston, who is +470, but are dealing with injuries to the likes of Marcus Sasser (groin) and Jamal Shead (knee), the team’s elite backcourt.
Alabama’s path to the Final Four got significantly easier after the Wildcats bowed out in the first round as the team is now +140 to win the South Region. The team is currently an 8.5-point favorite against Maryland in the Round of 32 and will be a considerable favorite against the winner of Furman-San Diego State as well if they advance to the Sweet 16.
Further, here is the full list of National Championship odds after the first day of action with the Crimson Tide looking more and more likely to be there at the end in Houston.
2023 National Championship odds
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Game odds refresh periodically and are subject to change.