NCAAM Basketball Best Bets: National Champion Futures Odds

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00:00National Championship odds for men's college basketball on the horizon less

00:08than two weeks away. The NBA season tips off tonight, the men's college hoop

00:13season two weeks from yesterday on a Monday in November. And it's really

00:19interesting when you look at the AP Top 25, the preseason poll for this season

00:24in men's college basketball, and compare it to how the oddsmakers feel about the

00:29outlook of this campaign. Duke checks in at number seven in the AP poll. Pretty

00:34high ranking, right? A lot of new faces this year in Durham for John Shire.

00:39That's intriguing in itself, but a lot of very talented freshmen led by Cooper

00:44Flagg take the mantle for the Blue Devils. So maybe the AP poll doesn't

00:49believe in projecting out. That's exactly what odds do. And Duke has the best price

00:55entering this year to win a national championship at plus 950, the only number

01:02that is shorter than 10 to 1. However, it's a new era of college basketball,

01:08sure, and five of the 18 highest recruits in the 2024 class make up this

01:14outstanding, historic, and sensational Duke freshman class, again led by Cooper

01:20Flagg and plenty others. But we know that come March, at least in recent

01:26memory, freshmen give way to veteran experience. And there is a lot of that in

01:34college basketball with how things are now structured. For instance, let's go to

01:39the two-time reigning college basketball champions. That would be Dan Hurley's

01:44Huskies. Yes, a lot of new faces once again. Donovan Klingin is in the

01:50pros. Stephon Castle is in the pros. Alex Caravan, though, is back for this UConn

01:56team and a talented freshman class and transfer portal class for Dan Hurley as

02:01well. I said, let's go to the two-time defending college basketball champions

02:07to show that price because although they are looking to win three straight for the

02:11first time in a very long time, they do not have the best price. They do not have

02:16the second best number. It is that fourth best price at 11 to 1. And again,

02:22UConn has not just been good. UConn has been dominant, especially in

02:27non-conference competition. They have won 12 consecutive games in the NCAA

02:33tournament, every single one by at least 13 points. The average scoring margin is

02:39ridiculous. It is historic. That is what Connecticut possesses, even with new

02:45changing faces on this Connecticut roster. And believe you me, the fact that

02:50Connecticut is not the number one team in the country entering the year either

02:54in the AP Top 25 or the preseason odds, Dan Hurley has already made note. He will

03:01find any small minuscule edge to take it as slander against his team and that

03:09will be what he uses. I think UConn's going to be there at the end of the road

03:13despite a tournament we crown as madness being exactly that. A two-week

03:18tournament to play your best basketball for two weeks in late March into early

03:22April, disregarding what happens basically from the start of November to

03:27the early portions of March. Kansas is the number one team in the country for a

03:33second consecutive season entering the year. But last year was not great for KU.

03:39They struggled in Big 12 play. They got bounced in the round of 32 in the NCAA

03:44tournament. But Hunter Dickinson is back. AJ Storr, the Wisconsin transfer, is now

03:50going to lead this Kansas team. Zeke Mayo, a South Dakota state transfer,

03:56joins Bill Self in Lawrence for one of the best transfer portal classes to help

04:01out a team that again is ranked number one in the preseason for a second

04:05consecutive year. Alabama is number two. The Crimson Tides football team is

04:1015th. Their men's basketball team is number two in the nation. You also see

04:15there a lot of Big 12 teams in the top 10 best prices to win a national title.

04:21Houston, Kansas, both 10 to 1. Iowa State, fifth ranked in the country in

04:26the preseason AP poll, 16 to 1. Arizona, now a Big 12 team at 25 to 1.

04:34Gonzaga remains in the WCC for a few more seasons. A lot of SEC as well.

04:41Jani Broome is a preseason AP All-American. He plays at Auburn. Mark

04:46Sears, also a preseason AP All-American. He plays at Alabama for Nate Oates. Not

04:54a lot of Big 10 teams involved in the 10 best prices. As you see, Purdue is the

04:59highest ranked Big 10 team in the AP poll, checking in at number 13. And I've

05:04said it once, I'll say it again. Keep an eye on your family, your religion, and

05:09Rutgers basketball in Piscataway with Dylan Harper and Ace Bailey expected to

05:14lead the Scarlet Knights to a historic season. The early line is back tomorrow,

05:19Wednesday, 8 a.m. Eastern Time here on The Grid.

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