2023 NCAA Tournament odds: Struggling North Carolina still not being punished much by sportsbooks

With nearly every key player back from last season's national runner-up squad, a loaded freshman class and a big-time transfer (Pete Nance) coming in, North Carolina was the easy choice as the preseason No. 1 team in both college basketball polls and the +800 favorite to win the 2023 NCAA Tournament. However, the Tar Heels lost their third straight game Wednesday and might fall out of the Top 25 altogether in the next round of polls. Caesars Sportsbook hasn't punished UNC too much, though, as it is a +1400 fourth favorite to win it all.

It's not like Coach Hubert Davis' team is losing to cupcakes or even at home: North Carolina lost by five to Iowa State last week in a holiday tournament and then in four overtimes to then-No. 18 Alabama in the same event in Portland before falling at No. 10 Indiana 77-65 on Wednesday in the ACC/Big Ten Challenge.

The Tar Heels are just the fourth preseason No. 1 team in the past 62 years to lose three consecutive games. It's the first three-game skid for North Carolina since the 2019-20 season. UNC's fortunes may not get better anytime soon, either. The Tar Heels visit Virginia Tech on Sunday in the ACC opener and have tough non-conference games remaining later this month against Ohio State and Michigan.

All-American Armando Bacot entered Wednesday's game with an injured right ankle and went to the locker room briefly after hurting his right shoulder just 3 1/2 minutes in. When Bacot returned, he battled foul trouble and struggled with his shooting as he scored only four points in the first half. Bacot (+1500 at DraftKings to win the Wooden Award) was outplayed by Hoosiers star big man Trayce Jackson-Davis.

Carolina has really struggled from long range this season. The Tar Heels entered Wednesday shooting 30.8% from behind the arc and hit just five of their 18 3-point attempts, including a 1-for-10 run in the second half.

To make the Final Four, North Carolina is now +450 and remains the +200 leader to win the ACC, just ahead of Virginia (+220) and Duke (+250). No. 1 Houston is now the +750 national title favorite.

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