March Madness 2022 Bracket: Kansas, Arizona, Purdue Are Top NCAA Title Threats To Gonzaga

No. 1 Gonzaga opened March Madness 2022 as the clear favorite to win the NCAA Tournament, and that remains unchanged at the start of the Sweet Sixteen. After a few national championship contenders were upset in the first two rounds, a handful of teams are viewed as the biggest threats to the bracket’s top overall seed.

Gonzaga leads the March Madness field with +230 national championship odds at BetMGM. No. 1-seeded Kansas is the second favorite, entering the Sweet Sixteen with +450 odds to cut down the nets at the end of the 2022 NCAA Tournament. Fellow No. 1 Arizona’s +500 odds are the third-best of any team left in the bracket.

No. 3 Purdue (+850) has the best March Madness odds of any team that isn’t seeded No. 1 in a region. No. 5 Houston (+900) is the only other contender with better than 10/1 odds for college basketball’s top prize.

Arizona was considered to be Gonzaga’s biggest challenger at the start of March Madness. That is no longer the case because Kansas has the easiest path to the Final Four.

In the Sweet Sixteen, Kansas takes on No. 4 Providence, which is viewed as the weakest No. 4 seed in the NCAA Tournament. The Jayhawks would face a double-digit seed in the Elite Eight. No. 10 Miami (+5000) and No. 11 Iowa State (+8000) are set to face off for a spot in the Midwest Regional Final.

Arizona almost didn’t make it out of the Round of 32. Pac-12 Player of the Year Ben Mathurin forced overtime with a game-tying three-pointer with 14 seconds left in Arizona’s second-round matchup against No. 9 TCU. The Wildcats won in the extra session, setting up a Sweet Sixteen matchup with No. 5 Houston.

Houston has played as well as anyone in the NCAA Tournament, winning both of its games by double digits. No. 2 Villanova (+1400) and No. 11 Michigan (+3000) will meet for a chance to face the Arizona-Houston winner in the Elite Eight.

Villanova is seeking its third national championship since 2016. Michigan is in the Sweet Sixteen for the fifth straight tournament.

Purdue is the highest seed left in the East Region. No. 2 Kentucky was defeated by No. 15 Saint Peter’s (+20000) in a historic first-round upset. No. 1 Baylor was stopped by No. 8 North Carolina (+3000) in the second round, failing to reach the Sweet Sixteen during its national championship defense.

No. 2 Duke (+1100) opened as an underdog against No. 3 Texas Tech (+1400) in the Sweet Sixteen. No. 4 UCLA (+1800) is two victories away from reaching a second straight Final Four. Long-shot Saint Peter’s is given virtually no chance to win the NCAA Tournament.