College basketball season is almost here, and it is one of my favorite times of the year. I love basketball in general, and getting more of it is even better. When the season starts, we usually see a lot of mismatches because many teams start their season against inferior opponents. However, we also see a lot of softer lines as the books try to figure out how the teams are playing. Before the games start, it makes sense to look at some future bets because we can hold onto them and hedge later on.
As with many seasons, Duke comes in as one of the betting favorites. Duke is +550 to win the national championship right now. I think that is mostly because they do have one of the best recruiting classes in basketball, but they also are a public team. You typically either love or hate the team. I am not expecting them to win every game, but they shouldn’t have more than three or four losses in the regular season. I don’t think there is much value in betting on them at +500.
Florida is the next favorite in the market at +600. That’s mostly because of their returning players rather than a recruiting class. They don’t even rank in the top 100 this season. The Gators went 27-8 last year, and they won the Championship two years ago. Considering they have three of their top four leading scorers returning from last year, they should be in a strong position. They have a lot of upperclassmen as well, which usually means they are a bit more poised and should be ready to go. I like them better than Duke, but I think there are better options overall.
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UConn has won two of the past four national championships. They were in contention to win again last year. They return Braylon Mullins and Solo Ball this season, which gives them a strong backcourt. Their recruiting class ranks 18th overall in the nation. They also added some really good players in the transfer portal, including Nikolas Khamenia and Najai Hines. I am an open Dan Hurley hater, but he’s good at his job. I will grab UConn at +1250 to win the title, as I think this team will make at least an Elite 8 appearance.
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Texas has the top-ranked recruiting class in the nation for this season. The big key for the Longhorns will be seeing how everyone can gel together. Most of the transfers are four-star recruits, but I don’t really think any of them had super impressive seasons last year. They have two forwards coming from high school who already played together at Dynamic Prep in Dallas, Texas. That could provide some familiarity right away. Texas at +1900 is worth a look, but I don’t think they win the national title, so this is mostly a hedge ticket.
Kansas hasn’t quite been the elite team we’ve seen in previous years. However, they have a good recruiting class coming into their program this year. Tyran Stokes, the top incoming freshman, is going to lead the squad. He comes to a Kansas team that was 24-11 last year. The Jayhawks lost Darryn Peterson, but they also lost the other three leading scorers. The Jayhawks have a good coach, and I do think there will be some struggles early, but they have the potential to come together and win the championship. I’ll grab them at +3000 as well.
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