It only took 24 years for the Connecticut Huskies to win their first five national championships in school history – the most by any program in that span and tied for the second-most in all of college basketball.
They’re already favored to win a sixth.
Even before dominating San Diego State in Monday’s 76-59 win in the national title game, the Huskies were already dealing as the early favorites (+1100) to win it all in 2023-24, according to the opening odds at FanDuel.
They’re priced just ahead of Duke (+1300), which is the top choice at some books, while Arizona, Alabama and Kentucky are all tied for the third-shortest odds at 15/1.
2023-24 NCAA championship opening odds (via FanDuel)
| Team | Odds |
|---|---|
| Connecticut | +1100 |
| Duke | +1300 |
| Arizona | +1500 |
| Alabama | +1500 |
| Kentucky | +1500 |
| Purdue | +1600 |
| Creighton | +2000 |
| Marquette | +2000 |
| Michigan State | +2000 |
| North Carolina | +2400 |
| UCLA | +2500 |
| Arkansas | +2500 |
| Kansas | +2500 |
| Houston | +2500 |
| Gonzaga | +2500 |
| Florida Atlantic | +3000 |
| Miami | +3000 |
| Texas | +3400 |
| Tennessee | +3500 |
| TCU | +3500 |
| USC | +4500 |
| Auburn | +4500 |
| Baylor | +4500 |
| Maryland | +4500 |
| Ohio State | +4500 |
| Iowa State | +5000 |
| Colorado | +5500 |
| Oregon | +5500 |
| Texas Tech | +5500 |
| Kansas State | +5500 |
| Villanova | +6000 |
| Wisconsin | +6000 |
| Stanford | +7500 |
| Providence | +7500 |
| Xaver | +7500 |
| Florida State | +7500 |
| St. John’s | +7500 |
| Virginia | +7500 |
| Texas A&M | +7500 |
| Missouri | +7500 |
| Oklahoma State | +7500 |
| West Virginia | +7500 |
| Oklahoma State | +7500 |
| Indiana | +7500 |
| Michigan State | +7500 |
| Illinois | +7500 |
| Saint Mary’s | +7500 |
UConn favored to repeat as NCAA champions
It shouldn’t surprise anyone to see the Huskies atop the early oddsboard after the way they dominated the 2023 NCAA Tournament.
UConn became just the fifth team since the tournament expanded in 1985 to win all six games by double digits, having trailed for just 5:22 throughout the entire tournament and just 53 seconds in the second half.
Assuming one or both of Adama Sanogo and Donovan Clingan return, the Huskies’ potent frontcourt will be tough to stop in 2023-24.
Duke will have to replace Dereck Lively and Dariq Whitehead, but the Blue Devils will return budding star Tyrese Proctor and potentially leading scorers Kyle Filipowski (15.1 PPG) and Jeremy Roach (13.6 PPG) for coach Jon Scheyer’s second year at the helm.
With a top-five recruiting class coming in, too, this team could be the consensus favorite by the time the season starts.
Just down the road, North Carolina (+2400) will return star big man Armando Bacot as the centerpiece of a new-look lineup just two years after reaching the national title game.
And don’t sleep on Marquette (+2000) and Michigan State (+2000), two teams that are already drawing top-five buzz in early rankings.
FAU among dark-horse title contenders
Florida Atlantic was the ultimate underdog story in this year’s NCAA Tournament, but the Owls (+3000) won’t be sneaking up on anyone in the 2023-24 season.
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Dusty May should return all but one player from this year’s Final Four team, which finished 17th in adjusted net efficiency and boasted the best record (35-4) in all of college basketball.
With a semifinal run on their resume, the Owls should benefit from better seeding in 2024 if they take care of business in the regular season.
It’s a similar story for Miami (+3000), another team that reached its first Final Four and is hungry for more.
The Hurricanes could potentially return all five starters from a group that ranked sixth in offensive efficiency and won the ACC regular-season title in 2023, and Miami is an ideal spot for transfers in the current NIL environment.
Speaking of transfers, keep an eye on Maryland (+7000), which is a rumored spot for top transfer Hunter Dickinson (Michigan) after hiring his former high school coach Mike Jones as an assistant.
If the Terrapins can reunite Dickinson with leading scorer Jahmir Young (15.8 PPG) – who played with the Wolverines star in high school – their long-shot price won’t last for long.
SDSU among biggest long shots
Even after their Cinderella run to the title game, the Aztecs aren’t garnering much respect in the betting market ahead of next season.
San Diego State is dealing at 100/1 at FanDuel as of Tuesday morning, tied with six other teams that either didn’t make the tournament or didn’t make it past the first round.
Sure, the Aztecs will lose leading scorer Matt Bradley (12.6 PPG), among others, but SDSU has become a notable presence in the transfer market and could be worth a speculative play at these odds.
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One other long shot to target early is Dayton, which should be better than its 250/1 odds suggest.
The Flyers struggled through injuries in 2022-23 but still won 22 games and posted top-10 numbers in opponent effective field-goal percentage (45%) and 3-point percentage (29.3%), and they could potentially return every player from a rotation that ranked fourth last season in minutes continuity (77.2%).
