The UConn Huskies wholeheartedly steamrolled their way to an NCAA Tournament title, beating teams by an average of 20 points along the way.
And while many will say in the coming days and weeks that they expected this, the reality is — not many did.
Coming into the tournament, the Huskies were 24-1 at FanDuel to win it all — behind 10 other teams, including Purdue and Arizona, which failed to advance past the first round.
2023 March Madness Pre-Tournament Odds
- Houston +550
- Alabama +800
- Kansas +1000
- Purdue +1200
- UCLA +1400
- Gonzaga +1500
- Arizona +1600
- Marquette +1900
- Tennessee +1900
- Baylor +2100
- UConn +2400
These odds were according to FanDuel after March 12th's bracket reveal.
That makes UConn the fifth-longest pre-tournament team in college basketball history to win March Madness.
And, coincidentally, two other UConn teams are amid that top five. The only teams that had worse odds than UConn entering the tournament — and ended up winning — were: 2014 UConn (+10000), 1985 Villanova (+3500), 2011 UConn (+2500) and 1983 N.C. State (+2500).
As you may imagine, plenty of people profited a solid amount because of that pre-tournament figure — including yours truly, who slapped a three-unit pick on UConn at odds of 23-1.
The Huskies had been the seventh-most popular team by handle at BetMGM prior to the start of the tournament. A solid 4.1% of the money at the sportsbook had been on UConn at roughly 23-1 odds.
