2024 men’s college basketball national title odds and best bets

It didn’t take long after UCONN won its fifth national title since 1999 before the Huskies were already tabbed among the favorites to sit atop the college basketball world in 2024 as well. 

The most March Madness tournament in recent memory saw no top three seeds make the Final Four and no number one seeds even advance to the Elite Eight. All of that suggests a parity in college basketball that makes it hard to know just who will emerge from an ever-increasing pack of contenders. 

But it’s still fun to try and guess. 

We’re obviously many months away from next year’s college basketball season, and there are a lot of unknowns with every team in terms of possible transfers and early NBA Draft entries; however, we decided to look into the national title odds for 2024 to see if any values stood out. 

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2024 Men’s College Basketball National Title Odds

All odds are courtesy of Draftings Sportsbooks, which you can find here

You’ll see some familiar names at the top with blue blood programs Duke, Kentucky, and UCONN all opening at +1200 (12-to-1) odds or better. It’s noteworthy that no team in the nation has better odds, which is just another example of the parity that we mentioned above and suggests that we could be in for another wide-open season next season.

Duke (+1000) having the best odds to win the college basketball title makes sense with Tyrese Proctor and Mark Mitchell announcing that they’ll return for their sophomore seasons. When you pair that with another strong recruiting class that’s headlined by Mackenzie Mgbako and Jared McCain, the Blue Devils could be a threat all season, especially if one or both of Kyle Filipowski and Jeremy Roach also return.

However, Duke has also advanced to just one Final Four in the last eight years, so they will need to prove that they can still get over the hump in the NCAA Tournament. 

The defending national champion UCONN (+1400) is a clear favorite again next year since they don’t have a senior starter other than Tristen Newton, who still has an extra year of eligibility. Jordan Hawkins will likely leave for the NBA Draft and there’s a chance that Adama Sanogo declares as well, but this team will have tons of talent regardless, including five-star prospect Stephon Castle; however, there hasn’t been a repeat champion since Florida in 2006-2007 so it will be a tough hill for the Huskies to climb. 

Kansas (+1600), Purdue (+1800), and Alabama (+2000), all number-one seeds in this year’s tournament, are in contention, which makes sense since Purdue could bring back 7-foot-4 Zach Edey. Yet, Alabama is likely going to lose Brandon Miller and possibly Noah Clowney, so I think their odds will get much worse in the coming weeks. 

Some intriguing longer-odds bets are the Tennessee Volunteers (+2800). Tennessee had a solid run in the NCAA tournament despite a season-ending injury to point guard Zakai Zeigler, and they are a threat to be one of the better teams in college basketball with him back. However, they would also be helped if Josiah-Jordan James, Uros Plavsic, and Santiago Vescovi all make use of their extra year of eligibility. 

Another intriguing option is Marquette (+1600) which can return all five starters from a team that won the Big East regular season and tournament titles and won 29 games during the regular season. They finished the year ranked top 10 in KenPom rankings, which is usually a key to being a contender in college basketball.

Creighton (+2200) could also return all five starters and Texas (+2500) could get Dylan Disu back after the point guard missed the NCAA Tournament, where Texas fell just short of the Final Four. If Disu doesn’t go to the NBA Draft, he would make Texas a legit title contender. 

Villanova (+4000) missed this year’s tournament but should return next year with a full season from Justin Moore alongside Jordan Longino and Mark Armstong. Second-year coach Kyle Neptune should get more comfortable, much like second-year coach Kevin Willard for Maryland (+7000) who could be one of the biggest risers in college basketball with Jahmir Young and Julian Reese back for another season.

Lastly, perhaps we shouldn’t rule out St. John’s (+10000), which has been making a lot of noise with the hiring of Rick Pitino. The legendary coach has started to overturn the entire roster in his image and will be looking to make a big splash right from the jump. 

For more College Basketball coverage, visit amNY Sports

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