Updated March Madness Odds After Princeton stuns Arizona, Furman beats Virginia

March 16, 2023; Sacramento, California, United States; Princeton Tigers guard Blake Peters (24) reacts after scoring a basket against the Arizona Wildcats in the second half at the Golden 1 Center. Mandatory Credit: Kyle Terada-USA TODAY Sports

• Two big surprises marked the first day of the 2023 NCAA tournament
• No. 15 Princeton beat No. 2 Arizona while No. 13 Furman defeated No. 4 Virginia
• Check out the updated March Madness odds during the first round of the NCAA tournament

Not even halfway through the first round of the 2023 NCAA tournament, the March Madness bracket has already suffered some massive losses.

In Thursday’s early window, Furman erased a double-digit second-half deficit to nearly stun Virginia at the buzzer.

Not to be outdone, No. 15 Princeton became the third 15-seed in as many years to defeat a No. 2 and record his own comeback win over Arizona.

Here’s what the March Madness odds look like at this point.

2023 NCAA Tournament Odds

Odds as of 6:45pm ET at FanDuel Sportsbook for all teams except Princeton who was not on the board at the time of publication. Princeton odds are from DraftKings Sportsbook. Check out the full list of March Madness betting promotions available.

Furman’s makes a stunning comeback over Virginia

Many pundits predicted that Furman would upset Virginia as a 5.5-point underdog. The offensively challenged Cavaliers play at a terribly slow pace, resulting in tight games with few points and lots of variability.

But the way Furman dissipated UVA was truly stunning.

The Cavaliers led 50-38 with just over ten minutes to go. The Paladins cut it but were still two seconds down with less than five seconds to go and UVA hitting the ball.

Then this happened.

MARCH AMAZING!!! THE STEAL AND THE GO-AHEAD 3 WITH 2.2 SECONDS TO GO!! (13) Furman leads (4) Virginia pic.twitter.com/9qqiCS9qbT

— NCAA Buzzer Beaters & Game Winners (@NCAABuzzerBters) March 16, 2023

The Wahoos ended up looking decent but could only rattle iron.

Furman’s title chances improved from +75,000 to +35,000 as a result.

Next up is a date with No. 5 in San Diego State, which covered No. 12 Charleston (63-57). If they make it through this gauntlet, they’ll face either No. 1 Alabama or No. 8 Maryland.

Princeton shocks Arizona with second-half comeback

Not to be outdone, the Ivy League’s Princeton Tigers, a No. 15 seed, defeated Pac-12 Tournament Champion South Region No. 2 Arizona.

Like Furman before them, the Tigers faced a huge deficit in the second half, with Arizona leading 51-41 and 8-07 to go. But Princeton ended the game with a stunning 18-4 run to send the Pac-12 champions home early.

Having played most of the season, senior striker Tosun Evbuomwan has kept Princeton on pace with 15 points (right within his season average), while six other players had between 6 and 9 points for the even Tigers.

Princeton’s odds of winning the NCAA tournament improved from +500,000 to +80,000 at DraftKings Sportsbook. Still a mighty long shot, but odds makers need to take the No. 15 seed seriously after last year’s run from St. Peter to the Elite Eight. The Tigers’ Final Four odds increased from +30000 (0.33% implied probability) to +4000 (2.44% implied probability).

Princeton meets No. 7 Missouri in the second round. The Tigers were impressive in their excitement over slightly favored Utah state, holding one of the nation’s most successful offenses at just 65 points (76-65).

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