Who is the favorite to win the college basketball national championship?

Selection Sunday has come and gone and it’s time to fill out your March Madness bracket!

While you’re at it, why not head to SI Sportsbook and place some bets? If you’re betting on a long shot, you want to lock in that value. March Madness is madness for a reason. Anything can happen, and the one thing to expect is the unexpected.

Check the NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament Odds at SI Sportsbook

Who is the favorite to win the college basketball national championship?

John Locher/AP

Gonzaga is the No. 1 overall seed and are the betting favorite to win the NCAA championship at SI Sportsbook (+300). Last year, though, the Bulldogs couldn’t match up against Baylor in the title game. The Bears are +1200 to win repeat as champions.

Arizona (+650), Kentucky (+800), and Kansas (+1200) round out the other favorites for the Championship at SI Sportsbook.

All five of these teams can’t make the Final Four, though, with Baylor and Kentucky are actually in the same bracket. And, as always, we can’t rule out Cinderellas.

Here are the current odds for the Final Four at SI Sportsbook:

Gonzaga -138
Arizona +140
Kansas +175
Baylor +240
Kentucky +240
Auburn +260
Iowa +350
Villanova +350
Duke +400
Purdue +500
Texas Tech +500
Houston +550
Tennessee +550

UCLA +600
Illinois +900
Texas +900
Wisconsin +1000
LSU +1100
Arkansas +1200
Michigan +1400
Connecticut +1700
North Carolina +1700
Saint Mary’s +1700
Alabama +2000
San Diego State +2000

I asked our betting team which futures bets they are backing for the Final Four, championship game and national champion.

SI Betting’s Matt Ehalt:

Final Four: Gonzaga (-138), UCLA (+600), Kansas (+140), Arizona (+210)
Final: Gonzaga vs. Kansas
Champion: Gonzaga (+300)

SI Video’s Doug Vazquez:

Final Four: Gonzaga (-138), Kentucky (+240), Arizona (+140), Kansas (+175)
Final: Kentucky vs. Arizona
Champion: Kentucky (+850)

Who is the favorite to win the college basketball national championship?

Evert Nelson/The Capital-Journal/USA TODAY Network

SI Betting and Fantasy’s Kyle Wood:

Final Four: Gonzaga (-138), Kentucky (+240), Tennessee (+550), Kansas (+175)
Final: Gonzaga vs. Kansas
Champion: Kansas (+1200)

SI Fantasy’s Matt De Lima

Final Four: Gonzaga (-138), Kentucky (+240), Tennessee (+550), Auburn (+260)
Final: Gonzaga vs. Tennessee
Champion: Gonzaga (+300)

SI Betting and Fantasy’s Jennifer Piacenti

Final Four: Gonzaga (-138), Kentucky (+240), Arizona (+140), Kansas (+175)
Final: Arizona vs. Gonzaga
Champion: Gonzaga (+300)

SI Fantasy’s Craig Ellenport:

Final four: Gonzaga (-138), Arizona (+140), Kentucky (+240), Iowa (+350)Final: Iowa vs. Gonzaga

Champion: Iowa (+2500)

Did the 2022 national championship game end about seven minutes ago? Yes.

Am I already writing about NCAA basketball odds for the 2023 championship? Yes. Yes I am.

Kansas summoned the largest championship comeback in the history of the NCAA Tournament, defeating North Carolina, 72-69, and the Jayhawks notched their first title since 2008.

But that’s old news. So strap on your futurist hat and put away those old NCAA basketball lines, because we’ve got fresh numbers for the online sports betting early birds. 

College Basketball Futures: NCAAB Odds for the 2022-23 National Championship

Let’s talk about the top of the market first, because we all know you’re not rushing out this week to bet UC Santa Barbara to win the next championship.

School2022-23 College Basketball National Championship Odds
Duke+800
Kentucky+1000
Arkansas+1000
Gonzaga+1200
Kansas+1200
Baylor+1400
UNC+1400
UCLA+1400
Villanova+1600

Somewhat surprisingly, Duke is the early market favorite in the very early stages of next year’s NCAA Basketball championship odds. 

The Blue Devils will field their first team not coached by Mike Krzyzewski since 1980. Duke alum Jon Scheyer, who played in Durham from 2006-10, will replace Coach K. The 34-year-old first joined the Duke coaching staff in Durham in 2013.

Most bettors are evidently expecting Duke to be back in position to replace a massive outflux of talent. Paolo Banchero has NBA Draft odds that place him in the conversation to go No. 1 overall; AJ Griffin and Mark Williams are both potential lottery picks behind him.

I think what I’m saying is that I’d be verrrrrrry careful betting on Duke to win next year. There are a lot of variables.

Not far behind below the Blue Devils is a mostly predictable list of elite programs. Gonzaga, Kansas, Baylor, North Carolina, UCLA, and Villanova have all made Final Four runs in the last two seasons, meaning most of their odds are a combination of program stature and very recent success.

Kentucky is handicapped at +1100, which is likely a market-based price. The Wildcats went to four Final Fours from 2011-2015 but haven’t been back since. This past NCAA Tournament, they famously lost to No. 15 seed Saint Peter’s in the first round.

Arkansas, with back-to-back Elite Eight trips under its belt, was a trendy pick for next year even before next year’s NCAA basketball futures were posted.

NCAAB Odds: National Championship Sleepers for the 2022-23 Season

If you’re looking to get a little more adventurous, there are plenty of mid-range options in the futures market for next year’s NCAAB odds. 

School2022-23 College Basketball National Championship Odds
Arizona+2000
Houston+2000
Michigan+2000
Oregon+2500
Tennessee+2500
Texas Tech+2500
Alabama+2500
Purdue+3000
USC+3000
Auburn+4000
Michigan State+4000
Texas+4000
Illinois+5000
Miami (FL)+5000
Ohio State +5000
Oklahoma State+5000
Texas A&M+5000
Virginia+5000

Let’s call this the Top 25 crew. Some teams toward the top of this section – Houston, Arizona, Michigan, Tennessee – are playing in the wake of deep tournament runs or high 2022 tournament seeds.

Other teams – Purdue, Illinois and USC, to name a few – have good programs without much recent major success in the postseason.

If you can hit on a future in this zone, you can make big money. And it’s not totally unprecedented, either: North Carolina was 30-to-1 coming into the 2021-22 season, and the Tarheels came within just a few seconds of winning it all. If nothing else, a North Carolina ticket would have set up a killer hedge position.

Baylor, which was the 2021 title, carried even more dramatic opening odds. The Bears cashed preseason tickets at 100-to-1. 

These odds will likely shift, as unexpected players throw their name into the NBA Draft odds pool or stick around for another surprise season in college.

In the meantime, you can find any and all NCAA Basketball championship odds available at the BetMGM online sportsbook.

BetMGM is the premier destination for year-round college basketball betting all season. With live sports betting, parlays, and tournament odds, there’s something for everyone at the best online sportsbook.

Who is the favorite to win the college basketball national championship?

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Who is the favorite to win the college basketball national championship?

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Who is the favorite to win the college basketball national championship?
Who is the favorite to win the college basketball national championship?
Who is the favorite to win the college basketball national championship?
Who is the favorite to win the college basketball national championship?
Who is the favorite to win the college basketball national championship?
Who is the favorite to win the college basketball national championship?
Who is the favorite to win the college basketball national championship?
Who is the favorite to win the college basketball national championship?

Who is the favorite to win the college basketball national championship?
Who is the favorite to win the college basketball national championship?

Who is the favorite to win the college basketball national championship?
Who is the favorite to win the college basketball national championship?