The madness may not unfold until March, but mulling over the options for the next NCAA men's basketball champion is something you can do year-round.
The madness may not unfold until March, but mulling over the options for the next NCAA men's basketball champion is something you can do year-round.
The latest: Recruits, transfers and draftees make college basketball a wildly unpredictable racket. Oh, and then we have that 68-team, single-elimination tournament to deal with. As a result, the March Madness futures field is wide open, with modern-day powerhouse Gonzaga leading the charge.
Check out the latest March Madness odds for the upcoming season.
Check out the latest odds to win March Madness. Click linked odds to add selection to your betslip.
| Team | Odds (Sept. 28) | Odds (Sept. 23) |
| Gonzaga Bulldogs | +900 | +900 |
| North Carolina Tar Heels | +1,100 | +1,100 |
| Houston Cougars | +1,100 | +1,100 |
| Kansas Jayhawks | +1,100 | +1,100 |
| Kentucky Wildcats | +1,100 | +1,100 |
| Duke Blue Devils | +1,600 | +1,600 |
| Arkansas Razorbacks | +1,600 | +1,600 |
| Baylor Bears | +1,600 | +1,600 |
| UCLA Bruins | +1,700 | +1,700 |
| Arizona Wildcats | +2,000 | +2,000 |
| Creighton Bluejays | +2,500 | +2,500 |
| Texas Tech Red Raiders | +2,500 | +2,500 |
Odds as of 4:39 p.m. on 09/28/2022.
The favourite: Gonzaga Bulldogs (+900)
Gonzaga's rise to powerhouse status is missing one thing: a national championship.
Since Mark Few took over in 1999, the Bulldogs have averaged better than 26 wins per season. They've topped 30 wins in five of the past six seasons, too, with a pair of national title berths to show for it.
Gonzaga's status as the March Madness favourite has a lot to do with that reputation, as well as its accrual of veteran talent. Five-star phenom Chet Holmgren was a one-and-done departure en route to the NBA, but he's the exception to the Zags' rule.
The team's leading scorer, Drew Timme, will return for his senior season. As will two other starters who averaged double figures.
Add in coveted transfer Malachi Smith (40.7% 3-point shooter with Chattanooga last year) and former five-star centre Efton Reid, and you're looking at a team that should steamroll the West Coast Conference yet again.
We're a long way from knowing if that will translate to a title, but we do know this: Gonzaga is as likely as anybody to have a legitimate chance.
Best value: Auburn Tigers (+5,000)
There are kilos of randomness baked into March Madness, and on that principle, we made it a point to dig beyond the odds leaderboard you see above.
With Auburn, we've settled on a school that spent three consecutive weeks atop the AP poll and snagged a No. 2 seed in the NCAA tournament.
Let's get to the elephant-sized issue here: last year's top scorer (Jabari Smith) and top rebounder (Walker Kessler) have both advanced to the NBA. But two of the Tigers' top-three scorers are back, as well as three of five starters.
Add in a pair of top-50 recruits, highlighted by five-star big man Yohan Traore, and it's easy to see the reigning SEC champions competing for greater glory.
🎥 @traore_yohan | Tours, France 🇫🇷
— Auburn Basketball (@AuburnMBB) April 15, 2022
6'10, 225, F
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Second-highest ranked recruit in program history#WarEagle pic.twitter.com/KfL3uFKp6w
Team to watch: Texas Tech Red Raiders (+2,500)
It's purely coincidental that we're pointing to a school with some notable Canadian hoopers, but both of them help us make the case for the Red Raiders.
Elijah Fisher, from Oshawa, Ontario, was once the top-ranked recruit in North America for the class of 2023. He reclassified to 2022 and considered taking the G League route, and now he'll give Texas Tech a potential X-factor on the wing.
Fardaws Aimaq, from Vancouver, averaged 18.9 points and 13.6 rebounds with Utah Valley last season. He's 6-foot-11 and shot 43.5% from 3-point range in limited attempts, which is obviously a scary combo.
Texas Tech was a three-seed last year and capped its season with 27 wins. Players like Fisher and Aimaq, along with Oregon transfer De'Vion Harmon (10.8 points per game) will give the Red Raiders a new complexion, but head coach Mark Adams should help stabilize the group in his second year.