With the annual NCAA March Madness basketball tournament just around the corner, excitement is mounting after the provisional top 16 seeds were confirmed.
Purdue, Connecticut, Houston and Arizona were named as the top four seeds in their respective regions and top the March Madness betting with Betway to win the title.
With that in mind, read on as we assess their chances of being crowned national champions, starting with a team who will need to defy history to get the job done.
Purdue
Purdue are the 13/2 joint favourites alongside Connecticut to win the NCAA title after recording several noteworthy results during the regular season.
They have defeated six teams in the NCAA committee’s top 16, with five of those victories coming on the road. However, history is not on their side in the tournament.
Purdue have never previously won the title, while the last Big Ten Conference Team to achieve the feat was Michigan State in 2000.
While their regular season record undoubtedly warrants respect, Purdue make limited appeal as a betting proposition.
Connecticut
Connecticut (UConn) have won the NCAA title four times since the turn of the century (2004, 2011, 2014 & 2023) and will fancy their chances of making another deep run.
A recent 81-53 victory over Marquette cemented the belief that UConn will be extremely tough to stop in their quest to go back-to-back at March Madness.
However, it is worth noting that Florida are the only team to win consecutive NCAA basketball championships since the turn of the century (2006 & 2007).
Despite this, it would be a brave move to back against Connecticut joining North Carolina on six wins on the all-time list. Only UCLA (11) and Kentucky (8) have won more titles.
Houston
Houston are another team who must snap historical trends, with runner-up finishes in 1983 and 1984 as close as they have come to winning the championship.
They advanced to the Final Four in 2021 and have been tipped to be one of the top teams this time around after being listed third in the provisional seedings.
Houston has been among the top seeds in three of the last six years and are one of four teams from the Big 12 Conference listed in the provisional top 16.
Odds of 2/1 to progress to the Final Four will attract plenty of interest from sports bettors, but they do not appeal as likely winners of the tournament.
Arizona
Some respected pundits were surprised to see Arizona handed the fourth seed in the provisional list, but their selection undoubtedly makes plenty of sense.
They have posted a 7-3 record against Quadrant 1 teams, which is better than any of the other sides listed behind them in the seedings.
While they could still miss out on a top four seeding, Arizona are a good bet at odds of 11/4 to qualify for the Final Four.The prestigious tournament is scheduled to be staged at State Farm Stadium in Glendale – a factor which will give Arizona added incentive to perform well during March Madness.