COLLEGE BASKETBALL NATIONAL TITLE ODDS
The college basketball futures market had some changes during the week after losses to top-ranked teams. As a continuing trend this season, the AP rankings have flipped over frequently at the top as there appears to be a weak top tier of teams this season.
Here is the outlook for some of the top teams in college basketball along with their National Title odds.
Houston : After losing to Temple for just their second loss of the season, Houston rattled off four straight wins, although they’ve gone 2-2 ATS in that time. The Cougars remain the favorites to win the NCAA tournament and are all but assured a #1 seed when brackets are announced. But they still have two tough matchups against Memphis to close the season.
Purdue : The Boilermakers suffered their second loss of the season at Indiana over the weekend, 79-74. Purdue now owns a 22-2 record, with their two losses coming by a combined six points. While it’s hard to trust Matt Painter when it comes to March Madness, Purdue held onto the AP #1 ranking despite the loss to the Hoosiers and should earn a #1 seed in the tournament.
Alabama : The Crimson Tide rebounded from their loss to Oklahoma last weekend with a massive blowout of Vanderbilt, followed by a 79-69 win over LSU. The Tide has covered just once in its past four games following a stretch of seven-straight ATS wins dating back to December. Bama has shown its vulnerabilities but boasts the #2 AP ranking and an ability to beat the best in any given game.
Tennessee : Despite an AP ranking of #10, Tennessee has the fourth-shortest odds to cut down the nets and rank No. 1 per BartTorvik. The Volunteers followed a loss at Florida with a win hosting Auburn. And while they shouldn’t be tested much this week with games at Vandy and home vs. Missouri, Tennessee will then go on a stretch hosting Bama followed by road games at Kentucky and at Texas A&M.
Kansas : Kansas rebounded from a rare three-game losing streak with big wins over Kentucky and Kansas State. However, those wins were followed by a 68-53 loss at Iowa State over the weekend. Kansas still gets plenty of respect in the futures market and moved down two spots to #6 in the AP poll. They’ll host Texas in a massive matchup on Monday night before a game at Oklahoma over the weekend.
UCLA : UCLA has not lost on its home court this season, but that won’t help them come tournament time. The Bruins still have a shot at a #1 seed and will have a chance to assert themselves at Oregon over the weekend.
Arizona : The Wildcats have won six straight and are unlikely to be tested until the calendar flips to March. Arizona is projected to be a favorite of at least eight points in their next five games until dates at USC (-2) and at UCLA (+6.5) to finish the regular season.
Baylor : Baylor lost a tough game at Texas 76-71 last week and followed it up with a home blowout of Texas Tech over the weekend. Baylor will host Oklahoma on Wednesday before traveling to TCU on Saturday. The loss to Texas snapped a six-game winning streak and Baylor will have plenty of chances to improve its tournament seed with eight competitive Big 12 games to finish the season.
UConn : UConn opened the season with 14 straight wins, collecting solid non-conference victories vs. Alabama, Iowa State, OK State, and Florida. However, they’ve gone 3-6 since that stretch and have not looked like the same team when facing Big East opponents. The Huskies have won two in a row but have difficult matchups this week hosting Marquette on Tuesday followed by a trip to Creighton over the weekend.
Virginia : With seven-straight wins in January, Virginia climbed the odds board and could have a shot at a #2 seed in the tournament if they can finish strong. The Cavaliers lost over the weekend at Virginia Tech but have primetime matchups hosting NC State and Duke this week.
Here are what March Madness odds looked like in the early portion of 2023.