Ladies and gentlemen, college basketball is BACK! One of the most exciting sports in the world is about to get started, and here at Pickswise we’ll be providing free picks for all the big games right through to the NCAA Tournament. But which team is going to win it all and outlast everyone by the end of March Madness? We asked 3 of our sharpest college basketball experts who they’re picking to win this season’s NCAA Tournament. That’s 3 great picks, all in 1 place! Let’s dive into our experts’ best bets and analysis for the upcoming college basketball season.
Odds are courtesy of FanDuel Sportsbook.
Matt Marquart: Baylor Bears (+1200)
I am going with Baylor for my pick to win the National Championship. We obviously saw Baylor cut down the nets just two seasons ago, and they return a few key pieces from that roster. The main reason that the Bears are my choice is because of their guards, which make up arguably the best backcourt in the country. Adam Flagler is back after an excellent junior season, but some might forget how good LJ Cryer was before his injury last season. Cryer averaged 13.5 points per game and, like Flagler, he is lethal from beyond the arc. They’ll be joined by top-ten recruit Keyonte George, giving Scott Drew at least three great guards to work with.
I say at least because the Bears should also get Langston Love back from missing the entire season last year. Love was a highly regarded recruit, so it’s likely he fits into the rotation as well. In my opinion, this team is built similarly to the one that won the 2021 National Championship, led by that fantastic group of guards in Butler, Mitchell and Teague (Flagler as well).
Read Matt’s full 2022-23 NCAAB season preview and predictions, including a +7000 longshot!
Sam Avellone: North Carolina Tar Heels (+1000)
North Carolina is one of the favorites to cut down the nets in March, and rightfully so. The Tar Heels return 4 starters and they will be hungry for a title after holding a 15-point lead over Kansas at halftime in the championship game last year before ultimately losing by 3 points.
The backcourt will once again be run by RJ Davis and Caleb Love, who each averaged over 13 points per game while shooting over 36% from 3-point range and dishing out over 3.5 assists per game last season. All-American candidate Armando Bacot returns to anchor the interior after averaging 16.3 points and 13.1 rebounds per game, and Leaky Black is back for a 5th year to lead the Tar Heels on the defensive end. They will replace Brady Manek with Northwestern transfer Pete Nance, who averaged over 14 points and 6 rebounds per game last year in the Big Ten while shooting 45.2% from deep, and they have underrated depth with returning role players and talented freshmen.
The Tar Heels were up and down in the regular season last year, but they got hot at the perfect time and rode their momentum to the title game. An elite offensive team with experienced guards, a veteran big man, and underrated depth, North Carolina can match up with any team on any given night. This makes their ceiling unquestionably high. After falling just short last season, I expect the Tar Heels to have a focused approach, return to the championship game, and finally cut down the nets for the first time since 2017.
Robby Nardini: Baylor Bears (+1200)
The Baylor Bears are my pick to win the National Championship. The Bears won the national title in 2021 and looked like they could have gone undefeated during that season if it wasn’t for Covid infiltrating their locker room. Head coach Scott Drew has done the unthinkable by building up this program to be a national contender on a yearly basis.
Baylor lost some key players in James Akinjo, Jeremy Sochan, Kendall Brown and Matthew Mayer but Drew has learned how to reload instead of rebuild. They will have one of the best backcourts in the entire country in Adam Flagler, LJ Cryer and talented freshman Keyonte George. Flagler and Cryer are proven at the highest level of college basketball, while George is picked by many to be the National Freshman of the Year as well as a projected lottery pick.
West Virginia transfer Jalen Bridges and veteran big man Flo Thamba should round out the starting lineup and be important pieces to the puzzle. Baylor winning 2 national titles in 3 seasons would have been unimaginable 20 years ago when Drew took over, but this team has the firepower to make it happen. Guards win in March and there is no team more stacked at that position this season than the Baylor Bears.
We’ll have NCAAB picks for all the big games this season
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