Kentucky's Oscar Tshiebwe is coming back for another year, which in turn earned the Wildcats a small bump in the 2023 title odds.
Although the Duke Blue Devils are still the favorites, the Wildcats closed the gap with the reigning Wooden Award winner officially back in the fold.
2023 College Basketball Title Odds
| Team | Odds |
|---|---|
| Duke | +900 |
| Kentucky | +1000 |
| North Carolina | +1100 |
| Kansas | +1200 |
| Arkansas | +1400 |
| Houston | +1400 |
| UCLA | +1600 |
| Baylor | +1800 |
| Arizona | +1800 |
| Gonzaga | +1800 |
| Villanova | +2000 |
| Texas | +2500 |
| Alabama | +2800 |
| Michigan | +2800 |
| Texas Tech | +3500 |
| Auburn | +4500 |
| Tennessee | +4500 |
| Purdue | +4500 |
| Virginia | +4500 |
| Illinois | +5000 |
| Oregon | +5000 |
| Creighton | +5000 |
*only displaying odds 50-1 or shorter, as of April 20 at DraftKings
Kentucky has shifted from +1200 to +1000, leap frogging North Carolina for the No. 2 spot.
The Tar Heels were previously +1000, but inched back ever so slightly to +1100 following the Tshiebwe news.
Duke, meanwhile, opened as the +750 favorite in the first futures release for the 2022-23 season, and was pushed back to +900.
Tshiebwe, the first Wooden Award winner to return to school since UNC's Tyler Hansbrough in 2008, had a shot to hit the pro waters, but will instead suit up for head coach John Calipari for another year to boost his draft stock.
Tshiebwe posted 17.4 points and 15.2 rebounds per game across 34 appearances this past season and the 22-year-old led the country in offensive rebounds, defensive win shares and total rebound percentage, among other categories.
Kentucky finished with the second-best regular-season record in the SEC (25-6) behind Auburn, but wasn't a great bet, going just 14-16-1 against the spread (46.7%).
Tshiebwe and the Wildcats were +630 heading into the NCAA Tournament — the second-shortest price behind Gonzaga — but the program suffered a first-round upset to St. Peter's in one of the largest shockers in March Madness history.
