Updated national championship odds entering the Elite Eight

Texas and UCONN are national title favorites.

Just eight teams remain in the hunt for a national title heading into Saturday. For the first time in the history of the NCAA Tournament, zero No. 1 seeds have advanced past the Sweet 16.

Top-seeded Alabama fell to San Diego State 71-64 in the upset of the weekend. The Aztecs held Alabama star Brandon Miller to just nine points in the win.

Fellow No. 1 seed Houston lost to Miami just a couple hours later as the final one seed domino to fall. Miami’s outside shooting was too much for Houston’s normally stingy defense to handle.

Texas is now the highest ranked team remaining in the tournament after dismantling Xavier. The Longhorns join Kansas State in representing the Big 12 in the Elite Eight.

Other intriguing storylines included Creighton ending Princeton’s cinderella story, Gonzaga hitting a late t
hree-pointer to beat UCLA and FAU upsetting Tennessee.

Here is a complete look at the updated national title odds entering the Elite Eight according to BetMGM.

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Drew Timme reveals the NSFW nickname Gonzaga’s Mark Few gave him as a freshman

The First-Team All-American has certainly come a long way.

Drew Timme is one of college basketball’s best characters, and the star Gonzaga big man delivered another gem following the Bulldogs’ win over UCLA in the Sweet 16 of the 2023 men’s NCAA tournament.

While discussing coach Mark Few’s nicknames for players, Timme — a senior and consensus First Team All-American — revealed the not-so-flattering moniker Few picked out for him while he was a freshman in Spokane, Washington.

“My nickname was dumbass for a while my freshman year,” he bluntly said, according to USA TODAY Sports national columnist Dan Wolken. “Pretty fitting.”

Well, at least we may now know the source of Timme’s penchant for foul language.

Few jumped in to clarify that Timme is no longer known as “dumbass,” and has now earned a new (and potentially even funnier) nickname: The Union Rep.

Moving up in the world, indeed.

With the win over the Bruins, Gonzaga will face UConn in the Elite Eight, which Few’s Bulldogs have now reached in five of the last eight NCAA tournaments.

Gonzaga has reached the championship game twice in program history — in 2017 and 2021 — but lost both times. Few will hope things will be different this time in his last run with Timme, who he went on to call “one of the all-time greats of the modern era.”

He sure has come a long way.

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Drew Timme said TCU’s trash talk ‘didn’t sound so smart’ for such a ‘highly educated’ school

THAT SMIRK, THOUGH.

Gonzaga senior big man Drew Timme is originally from Texas and was one of the highest-rated recruits in the state back in 2019.

He had a big matchup against a team from his home state, the TCU Horned Frogs, during the Round of 32 on Sunday. During this game, Timme was matched up against several players that he played against in high school or who he trains with during the offseason.

Timme led Gonzaga past TCU and clinched a berth in the Sweet Sixteen at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. But before he did, he heard some trash talk from some TCU fans.

Here is what Timme said when reflecting on what he heard:

“I saw some nice things on the internet before maybe taking some shots at us, me, and our program. Throw lighter fluid in the fire if you wish. I thought TCU was a highly-educated school and they didn’t sound so smart with their comments pregame.”

These were strong comments from Timme, who stayed poised during the post-game press conference. He had the perfect insult sandwich, using a compliment about TCU’s academic prestige before ripping those who were insulting him.

But that wasn’t the best part of the exchange! Once he was done with these comments, the big man revealed the cheekiest grin imaginable.

This is the kind of stuff that we love to see during March Madness.

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What the heck happened to the men’s college basketball blue bloods?

UNC, Duke and Kentucky are down bad.

Men’s college hoops is a burning house right now, and I’m just Childish Gambino returning with leftover pizza from a Super Bowl party.

What in the world happened?

Last time I checked (not literally), North Carolina was the preseason No. 1 team in the AP rankings. Kentucky was No. 4 and Duke was No. 7. The so-called blue bloods of the sport were still expected to be good. Even Villanova was ranked 16th.

So, I did what any self-respecting writer of sports betting content would do and attached myself to some of those giants. Among my conference championship picks were UNC, Kentucky and Kansas, each boasting top-10 national title odds at the time. Duke did as well.

Today, only No. 5 Kansas even has top-20 title odds, let alone a top-25 AP ranking. UNC, my pick to win it all, lost Monday for the fourth time in its last five games to fall to 8-7 in the ACC (16-10 overall).

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College basketball has been flipped on its head. So much so that No. 23 NC State is the best team in North Carolina. Football powerhouse Alabama is the No. 1 team in the country for the first time in 20 years. Even Gonzaga, the preseason No. 2 team, matched its highest loss total since 2016-17 — with five games left in the regular season.

None of UNC, Duke (17-8, 8-6 ACC), Kentucky (16-9, 7-5 SEC) or Villanova (12-13, 6-8 Big East) even received a vote in the latest rankings, and nothing about it is a fluke. Villanova is objectively bad, and the other three don’t appear to be very good either. None have a KenPom rating better than 35.

We knew the retirements of coaching legends Roy Williams, Mike Krzyzewski and Jay Wright would usher in a new era of college basketball. I’m just not sure we knew it meant a potential changing of the guard. But is that actually what’s happening?

Maybe not. The “old” guard can certainly bounce back — even as early as this year. ESPN bracketology expert Joe Lunardi currently has Duke as a 9-seed in the NCAA tournament, North Carolina among the last four in and Kentucky in his first four out. Any of those teams would be considered dangerous in March just off sheer talent alone. They still recruit well.

But what’s happening to them this season is worth monitoring because it opens the door for other teams to make some noise. The schools with the top three betting odds to win this year’s title, according to DraftKings, are all programs that have never won it before: Houston (+700), Purdue (+900) and Alabama (+900).

The Jayhawks could also swoop in and go back-to-back, but there’s a decent enough chance we’ll have an unfamiliar champion by season’s end.

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When will college basketball analysts take Texas seriously?

After winning eight of Rodney Terry’s first nine games, it’s time to take the Longhorns seriously.

The Texas Longhorns are 15-2 with a resume that rivals the top teams in the country. You wouldn’t know it by the rankings.

The Longhorns ranked No. 10 in last week’s Top 25. Three-loss Gonzaga, who they beat by 19 points earlier this season, ranked ahead of Texas. The two-loss Tennessee Volunteers, who lost to the Colorado Buffaloes (11-8) ranked five spots ahead of Rodney Terry’s team.

After two impressive comeback victories this week, Texas is every bit as worthy of recognition as any other 2-loss team. The Horns erased an 18-point lead against No. 17 TCU before defeating Texas Tech on Saturday.

Losing head coach Chris Beard understandably led to questions about the team’s championship viability. That said, after winning eight of Terry’s first nine games, perhaps it’s time to take the Longhorns seriously.

Here’s a look at what Texas has accomplished this season.

Gonzaga strengthens Texas’ resume with win over No. 4 Alabama

Texas faces Stanford at 12 pm CT on ESPN2.

The Texas Longhorns’ resume looks stronger after Saturday. No. 15 Gonzaga, who Texas dismantled earlier this season, soundly defeated the No. 4 Alabama Crimson Tide.

Gonzaga is off to a rockier start than usual. The Bulldogs sit at 9-3 on the year with double digit losses to Purdue and Texas and a one-point loss to Baylor. Albeit, their schedule is not without resume-building wins.

Saturday’s 100-90 win over the Crimson Tide wasn’t the only big win the Bulldogs have secured. Gonzaga defeated Kentucky 88-72 in addition to close wins over Michigan State, Xavier and Washington. In short, they are facing a nonconference gauntlet.

Plenty of uncertainty surrounds the Texas basketball program, but the team is fortunate to have earned an early win over one of the top teams in the country.

Given its performance against Rice, the Longhorns can’t take anything for granted moving forward. For that reason, the Gonzaga win could pay dividends on Selection Sunday at the end of the season.

Texas faces Stanford at 12 pm CT on ESPN2.

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CBS analyst ranks Texas basketball No. 1 in consecutive weeks

Texas ranks No. 1 in another individual college basketball poll.

Texas basketball is once again lonely at the top of another ranking. CBS writer Gary Parrish has Texas ranked as the No. 1 team in the country.

Another budding rival entered the Top 10. Purdue moved up to No. 7 is Parrish’s ranking following impressive 18-point win over No. 6 Gonzaga. Sunday’s win over No. 8 Duke was not factored into his rankings and could vault the Boilermakers higher.

As many recall, Purdue’s size advantage was too much for the Longhorns in the NCAA Tournament. Matt Painter’s team eliminated Texas in the Round of 32 last year. In some ways, it was a revenge game for the Boilermakers who lost to Texas in 2018 and 2019.

The Creighton Bluejays improved to No. 5 in the ranking. Baylor and Kansas were not included in the Top 10. Here’s a look at the top of Parrish’s rankings.

No. 11 Texas buries No. 2 Gonzaga, 93-74

Texas basketball secures its most impressive win in recent memory.

Texas basketball looked like a Top 10 team on Wednesday night. Frankly, the Longhorns could have beaten any team in the country with their performance against Gonzaga.

Heading into the game, Gonzaga ranked No. 2 in the country. The basketball powerhouse had plenty going for itself, but they had no answer for Tyrese Hunter or Marcus Carr.

The Longhorns’ dynamic duo set the basket on fire from three point range. Carr went 4-for-7 on three point attempts, while Tyrese Hunter finished 5-for-8 from behind the arc. Hunter, Carr and Dylan Disu led the Texas offensive attack.

The stunned Gonzaga Bulldogs could never seem to climb their way back into the game.

Let’s break down what could mark the beginning of a special season for Texas.

How to bet Michigan State-Gonzaga as college basketball goes back to playing on aircraft carriers

Playing on the top of a carrier means wind, humidity, and more. What does that mean for betting Michigan State-Gonzaga?

Friday, in honor of Veteran’s Day, men’s college basketball will make its glorious return to an aircraft carrier. Michigan State and No. 2 Gonzaga will square off on the deck of the USS Abraham Lincoln in San Diego. This is not the first time they’ve tried having games atop a ship and out in the elements; Michigan State lost to UNC in the ESPN Carrier Classic in 2011.

After two of the four games scheduled to be played on ships were canceled in 2012 because of condensation issues stemming from the elements, the idea of playing these games was shelved. They did make for some gorgeous pictures, however.

Now, after a decade, we’re back. Speaking as a former naval aviator, let’s take a look at some of the bets you might consider making.

Gonzaga AD reportedly talked to Big 12 boss; Pac-12 war with Big 12 continues

Pete Thamel of ESPN reports #Gonzaga’s athletic director met with #Big12 Commissioner Brett Yormark. This is an urgent matter for the #Pac12.

The Pac-12 and Big 12 continue to fight for leverage, money, memberships, and seemingly everything else under the sun in college sports. A new plot twist: They might be fighting over Gonzaga, though the extent of that particular battle is unclear.

On Wednesday afternoon, ESPN’s Pete Thamel reported that Gonzaga Athletic Director Chris Standiford talked to Big 12 Commissioner Brett Yormark while the GU basketball team was in Texas to play Tennessee in a preseason scrimmage.

ESPN college basketball reporter and columnist Dana O’Neil subsequently tweeted confirmation of Thamel’s report from a second source, noting that talks between Gonzaga and the Big 12 are only in the “exploratory” stage. So, it’s not as though a deal is about to be reached. Yet, it’s clearly another statement by the Big 12 about its intentions, which clash with the Pac-12’s best interests. Let’s break down this situation and provide some other notes you need to be aware of: