Duke Leads Way in NCAAB 2025 National Title Odds
The UConn men’s basketball made history by not only becoming the first men’s Division I team to win back-to-back national championships since Florida in 2006 and 2007 but also becoming the first team to capture consecutive national titles by winning each game by at least 10 points. UConn was also among the national leaders when it came to covering against the college basketball odds.
UConn could have a much different team when the 2024-25 season begins and that is why the opening NCAAB odds had the Huskies fifth in the odds of winning the 2024-25 title.
Duke, North Carolina and Kansas lead the way in the 2024-25 championship odds. Keep in mind that those odds could move significantly depending on which players enter the upcoming NBA Draft.
Here’s a look at how things look heading into the college basketball offseason – if there is such a thing during the transfer portal era.
Huskies Eyeing 3-Peat
It is a pretty short list of teams that have won three consecutive NCAA men’s Division I national titles. Only John Wooden’s UCLA teams accomplished that feat with a remarkable seven straight championships from 1967-1973.
UCLA’s first attempt for a 3-peat ended in 1966 when UCLA wasn’t even in the tournament.
In 1993, two-time defending champion Duke fell to California 82-77 in the second round of the Midwest Regional.
In 2008, Florida failed to earn a spot in the March Madness bracket. The Gators had plenty of newcomers on a team that reached the NIT semifinals after capturing the previous two national titles.
UConn’s title hopes could ride on what sophomore Donovan Clingan and freshman Stephon Castle choose to do.
Clingan is fifth at +1200 in the odds to be the No. 1 pick in the 2024 NBA Draft. The only college player ahead of the 7-foot-2 Clingan is Colorado’s Cody Williams at +600.
Castle isn’t far behind at +2000 according to the BetUS sportsbook odds.
UConn has worked the transfer portal well, going for quality over quantity with Tristen Newton, Cam Spencer and Hassan Diarra combining for 40 points in Monday’s title game.
ACC Heavyweights to Battle It Out?
Duke currently leads the way at +1100 in the national championship odds.
Those odds could change if Kyle Filipowski leaves for the NBA, but the Blue Devils have the best incoming recruiting class. Cooper Flagg and Khaman Maluach rank first and third in the 247sports.com list of the top recruits in the Class of 2024.
Five of the top six scorers for Duke during the 2023-24 season were either freshmen or sophomores. so it is easy to understand why the Blue Devils are receiving so much love.
North Carolina will look much different after having two fifth-year seniors and a fourth-year senior among the top four scorers, but the Tar Heels still come in at +1400 in the odds to win the national championship.
Jayhawks Ready to Rebound?
Kansas came into the season as the favorite to win it all after former Michigan star Hunter Dickinson transferred to KU.
The Jayhawks finished tied for fifth in the Big 12 standings and fell in their Big 12 tournament opener playing without Dickinson and Kevin McCullar.
Dickinson returned for the NCAA Tournament but McCullar did not and Kansas was blown out by Gonzaga in the second round of the March Madness bracket.
Kansas figures to be active in the transfer portal once again.
The Jayhawks are tied with North Carolina at +1400 with fellow Big 12 team Houston right behind at +1600 in the NCAAB predictions.
The Coach Cal Factor
Right now, Kentucky is tied for seventh at +2000 and Arkansas is tied for 13th at +3300 in the title odds.
With coach John Calipari poised to leave Kentucky for Arkansas, don’t be surprised if Arkansas has better March Madness championship odds by the time the 2024-25 season gets underway.
“I think this is a PERFECT, HOME RUN, GAME-WINNING HOME RUN, OUT OF THE PARK HIRE for Arkansas.”@MOD4three on John Calipari to Arkansas pic.twitter.com/2E5jsNqsr5
— CBS Sports College Basketball 🏀 (@CBSSportsCBB) April 8, 2024
Arkansas is said to have significant Name and Image Likeness money and that could lure prominent transfers to Arkansas as Calipari moves on from relying on the 1-and-done players that dominated his tenure in Kentucky.
Playing the Realignment Game
Conference realignment has brought an end to the Pac-12 conference while the ACC, Big Ten, Big 12 and the SEC all added teams to their conference.
Arizona, going from the Pac-12 to the Big 12, is the team with the best championship odds at +1800 even though No. 2 scorer and No. 1 rebounder Oumar Ballo has entered the transfer portal.
Texas, on its way to the SEC from the Big 12, comes in at +4000 in the championship odds with UCLA and Southern California, moving from the Pac-12 to the Big Ten, priced at +6000 and +7000 to win it all.
Working the Portal
Both UConn and Purdue had transfers starting in Monday’s national title game, so who are some of the players currently in the transfer portal that could alter the college basketball landscape?
Arizona’s Ballo is the top-rated player in the portal followed by Florida Atlantic’s Johnell Davis.
AJ Storr has already transferred from Wisconsin to Illinois while Tucker DeVries left Drake and landed at West Virginia.
Kobe Johnson went from Southern California to UCLA while former South Dakota State star Zeke Mayo is on his way to Kansas.
Questions of the Day
Which men’s college basketball team has the best ATS record this season?
Stony Brook led all Division I men’s teams with a 25-8-1 record against the spread while Minnesota led the way at 25-9 among teams from the Power-5 conferences.
Where are the national title opponents ranked in the 2024-25 national champions odds?
National champion UConn is +1400 in the odds of winning the 2024-25 national title with runner-up Purdue at +3000 in the championship odds.
