College Basketball: Updated 2024 National Championship Odds as March approaches
It’s been an excellent regular season for college basketball, but it’s now entered the home stretch of the season. There are only a few regular season games left for each individual team as they jockey for position ahead of conference championships and try to make a run at winning their conferences during the regular season.
For most fans of college basketball, the NCAA Tournament remains the most important part of the season. Now, March is rapidly approaching and it’s hard for most teams not to look ahead to the NCAA Tournament and where they could end up getting seeded, even though there is still a good amount of college basketball to go before the tournament.
With all of that in mind, here are the odds for the 2024 National Championship entering the last week of February, according to FanDuel.
UConn Huskies +500
The UConn Huskies are the defending national champions in college basketball and they’re currently sitting with the best odds to win it all again this season. That’s no surprise, though, as the Huskies have been a dominant force in Big East play.
Even after an upset loss to Creighton, UConn still has control of the Big East. Overall, the Huskies have won 14 of their last 15 games this season, and for the most part, those games have been by wide margins. With four games left, UConn should be the favorite in every game this season.
Houston Cougars +800
In just Houston’s first season in the Big 12, the Cougars have become one of the premier teams in one of the premier conferences in college basketball. They’re currently in first place in the Big 12 by one game with a 10-3 conference record. That’s with just five games remaining in the season.
At this point, Houston has won four straight games after dropping a tough one to Kansas. Including that Kansas loss, the Cougars have won nine out of their last 10 games. So, it should be no surprise the Vegas odds are so high on Houston.
Purdue Boilermakers +800
The Purdue Boilermakers have one of the best players in the country, who will likely be the National Player of the Year, in center Zach Edey. A dominant force on the inside for Purdue, the Boilermakers are going to go as far as he takes them and it certainly seems like he’s capable of taking them deep into March.
As of now, the Boilermakers are atop the Big Ten standings by two games over Illinois. Those two are set to meet again later in the regular season but, in the meantime, Purdue will be focused on staying on track during Big Ten play. That starts with Rutgers on Thursday.
Arizona Wildcats +1100
The Arizona Wildcats have now won six games in a row and eight of their last nine. That’s helped the Wildcats to build up a slight lead in the Pac-12 standings over Washington State. Those two teams atop the conference standings are set to meet on Thursday night in a key matchup.
This is the last college basketball season where the Pac-12 will have all the teams it currently has in it, including Arizona. That, in many ways, makes this a special season for these teams. Winning the conference in the last year of its iteration would mean a lot to every team in the running.
Tennessee Volunteers +1400
The Tennessee Volunteers have emerged this season as one of the best teams in the SEC. Even with that, and where the Volunteers currently rank in the odds to win a national championship, Tennessee is still just second in the SEC standings. That makes every game from this point forward incredibly important.
Next up for Tennessee is a home game against Texas A&M. After that, the Volunteers end the season on a run of four games against teams currently ranked in the AP Poll. That includes against Alabama, the team currently leading the SEC Standings.
North Carolina Tar Heels +2000
North Carolina is one of the college basketball teams that fans expect to be favored for the national championship year in and year out. That’s no different than this season, with the Tar Heels having a deep and experienced group heading into the final stretch of the season.
With five games left, North Carolina is tied with rival Duke for first in the ACC standings. The two are also set to meet again for North Carolina’s final regular season game. That means the ACC regular season race could come down to the last game of the season.
Alabama Crimson Tide +2000
The Alabama Crimson Tide have been on a tear lately, making them one of the best respected teams in all of college basketball. In seven of the last eight games for the Crimson Tide, they came away with a win. That includes a recent win over a ranked Florida team.
As of now, Alabama is first in the SEC standings. However, the schedule doesn’t get easier from here. Next up for the Crimson Tide is a road trip to play the Kentucky Wildcats.
Iowa State Cyclones +2000
The Big 12 is arguably the most competitive conference in college basketball. Even amid all of that, not many people expected Iowa State to be one of the conference’s best teams. Here the Cyclones are, though, with some of the best odds to win the national championship.
As of now, with five games left, Iowa State is only one game behind Houston for first in the conference standings. Iowa State doesn’t have a head-to-head game with Houston left, so to win the conference in the regular season it’s going to take getting some help, but it’s definitely well within reach.
Duke Blue Devils +2100
Much like rival North Carolina, Duke is one of the teams that college basketball fans expect to be there and be competitive at the end of the season. Certainly, the Blue Devils have done that and more, giving them some of the best odds to win it all at this point in the season.
The ACC race is going to be one of the best regular season races in all of college basketball. With the Blue Devils and Tar Heels tied for first and with another game coming up, it seems like the two are on a collision course. Luckily, for Duke, that final game is going to be in front of the Cameron Crazies.
Auburn Tigers +2100
In a highly competitive SEC, Auburn has largely gone under the radar for the average fan. Vegas has noticed the Tigers, though, and that’s reflected in their current odds to win the national championship entering the last week of February.
As of now, the Tigers are in a tie for third in the SEC standings, but that’s only two games out of first place. With five games remaining and a manageable schedule overall, there’s no reason why Auburn can’t make a late season push. At the very least, Auburn should earn more attention.
Marquette Golden Eagles +2500
The Marquette Golden Eagles have had an excellent season. Unfortunately for them, they’ve been overshadowed in the Big East by a dominant UConn team. That’s reflected in the conference standings, where they’re two games behind the Huskies.
Despite that dynamic within the Big East, Marquette is still clearly one of the best teams in the country. Marquette has won nine out of its last ten games and the Vegas odds are still clearly high on the Golden Eagles. This is a team that easily could make a lot of noise in March.
Kansas Jayhawks +2500
The Kansas Jayhawks are still one of the best teams in the country. That hasn’t changed and they’re still going to be one of the favorites to win a national championship. The fact that the Jayhawks are third in the Big 12 simply goes to tell college basketball fans how competitive the conference is this season.
With five games left, if Kansas wants to make a late push to win the conference, the Jayhawks are going to need to avoid any slip ups. The big problem there is that the schedule is going to be tough from here, with multiple ranked opponents remaining, including a road trip to Houston.
Other Odds to Win National Championship
+3000 – Creighton
+4000 – Kentucky
+4000 – BYU
+4000 – Illinois
+4500 – Baylor
+5500 – Florida
+6000 – Texas Tech
+6500 – Wisconsin
+6500 – Saint Mary’s
+7500 – Michigan State
+7500 – San Diego State
+8500 – Gonzaga
+10000 – Clemson
+10000 – South Carolina
+10000 – Mississippi State
+10000 – Texas
+10000 – TCU
+10000 – New Mexico
+10000 – Utah State