College Basketball Title Odds Review: Familiar Names and New Values to Consider as New NCAA Hoops Season Begins

Another college hoops season starts on Tuesday. With over 300 teams to track it can truly be a monster to stay on top of. But for just that same reason it can be a great sport to find lots of hidden betting values. Who will be the team to cut down the nets at the end of March Madness next April? This season seems pretty wide open, so there is lots of great value as the action gets set to begin.

Below I give a breakdown of the top five national title contenders. Then I will take a quick look at a few teams that present intriguing value on the eve of the season.

All college basketball futures odds listed below are via BetOnline Sportsbook as of Monday, November 8, 2021 at 9:40 p.m. ET.

March Madness Title Odds: Top Five Contenders

Gonzaga Bulldogs +650

Those who say Gonzaga can’t win it all aren’t watching closely enough. They have twice lost in the title game now, but the third time could be the charm. The Bulldogs enter this season loaded even though they lost two lottery picks from last year’s near-perfect team. Drew Timme is the consensus preseason player of the year, and Chet Holmgren might be the first pick in the 2022 NBA draft. It is all there for this team.

Michigan Wolverines +1200

Hunter Dickinson came back to school instead of jumping to the NBA, which gives the Wolverines a strong presence inside. On the wing, Caleb Houstan is the top freshman on a team that had the highest-rated recruiting class in the nation. The season may hinge on whether head coach Juwan Howard has found another transfer portal gem in former Coastal Carolina point guard DeVante’ Jones. Jones was the Sun Belt Player of the Year last season with the Chanticleers and is expected to do big things in his year in Ann Arbor. There is no reason to think Howard can’t have a Final Four-caliber squad this season.

Texas Longhorns +1200

Coach Chris Beard left Texas Tech for Big 12 rival (for now) Texas, and that is a very good thing for Longhorns fans. This is going to be a super talented group with the best group of transfers in the country. I am confident that Beard turns them into a team eventually and am curious to see how they look against Gonzaga early in the season. I think an early loss or two might even give us some better March Madness futures odds.

Kansas Jayhawks +1300

Kansas is the lone “blue blood” in the top March Madness odds this season. They are excellent value at this number with their pedigree and have four starters returning. They did not bring in as many transfers as rival Texas, but the guards they brought in are exactly what they need. Former Arizona State guard Remy Martin is the preseason player of the year in the Big 12 in a lot of spots.

Purdue Boilermakers +1300

Purdue returns all of its players of importance from last year’s team and should compete for the Big Ten title this season. Big man Trevion Williams is a beast inside and a double-double machine. He is an All-American and might be the third-best player on the team after exciting guard Jaden Ivey and even bigger Zach Edey. Their quality size is something that not many teams have.

A Couple of Sleepers

Memphis Tigers +2000

If you are looking for raw talent Memphis has it. Emoni Bates was supposed to go to Michigan State and be the best player there since Magic Johnson. Now he and fellow top frosh Jalen Duren are going to try and not only lead the Tigers back to March Madness, but make a run at the title. If they don’t, it won’t be because they aren’t good enough. Both those guys might be top-five picks in the 2022 NBA Draft.

Illinois Fighting Illini +2500

Illinois got a huge gain, literally with the return of center Kofi Cockburn. They do not have the depth they did last season, which may make a difference in the end. But Cockburn can make a case for being the best big man in the country, and Andre Curbelo can make the same case at point guard. That is a great place to start.

Cinderella

Xavier Musketeers +10000

Not many teams are returning their top two scorers from a season ago. Paul Scruggs might not be an NBA talent, but the senior is a very capable big point guard who does lots of things well. Transfers from Indiana and Iowa add to a nice talent base and should really help the Musketeers. This group will be battle-tested enough when March Madness starts. They are also a sleeper option to win the Big East behind Villanova and UConn.