College Basketball Championship Overview
The Connecticut Huskies will chase all-time college basketball glory this season as they quest for a third straight NCAA national championship. Twice previously over the last 50 years, teams have chased back-to-back-to-back titles—Duke in the early 1990s and Florida in the late 2000s—but came up short. The last team to win three straight remains Coach Wooden’s UCLA dynasty, which won an amazing seven in a row from 1967-73.
Now, UConn will take a shot at a 3-peat.
With the recent passing of the NBA draft, from which many top college talents withdrew, here’s how some online sportsbooks were handicapping this season’s NCAA championship race.
Connecticut only returns one starter from last season but caught a couple of top-10 transfers. The Huskies also got great news when Coach Hurley wisely spurned the NBA to stay in Storrs.
The Huskies topped every 2024-25 NCAA championship board, including FanDuel’s at +1000.
Kansas opened last season ranked No. 1 in the polls but stumbled through an 11-loss campaign and an early exit from the NCAA tournament. In response, the Jayhawks added talented journeyman AJ Storr and got Hunter Dickinson to come back for one more run. Add it up, and Kansas was catching +1200 on Bet365’s national championship board.
Alabama returns three of its top five scorers from a team that made the Final Four for the first time ever last season. Heading into this season, the Crimson Tide were also catching +1200 to win it all at Bet365.
Duke lost seven players to the transfer portal but brings in perhaps the top freshman in the country, Cooper Flagg. The Blue Devils were also lined at +1200 to win the title at FanDuel.
The Houston Cougars return eight of their top 10 scorers from a team that earned a No. 1 seed for last year’s NCAA tournament. For this season, Houston, with a record of 181-31 over the last six years, was getting +1800 at FanDuel.
Baylor won the NCAA championship three seasons ago but got knocked out in the second round of the last two tournaments. Heading into this season, the Bears were lined at +2000 on Bet365’s championship board.
North Carolina returns five of its top eight scorers from a team that also earned a No. 1 seed for last year’s Big Dance. Heading into this season, the Tar Heels were lined at +2000 to win another title at FanDuel.
Next Tier of Contenders
The next tier on most 2024-25 NCAA championship boards included:
- Gonzaga, with four returning starters, getting +2500 at Bet365;
- Arizona, now playing out of the Big 12 Conference, catching +2500 at FanDuel;
- Auburn, following three straight early tournament exits, getting +2800 at Bet365;
- Iowa State, with its top four scorers back, getting +3000 at FanDuel;
- Arkansas, which brought in Coach Calipari to take over an under-performing program, also lined at +3000 at FanDuel.
Other Contenders
- Kentucky, beginning the post-Calipari era, at +3500 (FanDuel);
- Creighton, coming off an Elite Eight appearance last season, at +4000 (Bet365);
- Purdue, after falling to Connecticut in the national championship game last season, at +4500 (FanDuel);
- Tennessee at +4500 (FanDuel);
- Indiana at +5000 (FanDuel);
- UCLA at +6000 (Bet365);
- St. John’s at +6000 (Bet365);
- Michigan at +6000 (Bet365).
