Heading into this season, there are always plenty of fun bets to wager on. Making a bet on your favorite team is a fun way to go about things, but maybe is not the most efficient strategy based on who you cheer for while making bets on teams you trust to win the title, is usually the strategy that pans out to be most profitable. While this type of piece has not been run on the site previously, I will note that in the preseason, I had made Virginia 14-1 and Baylor 9-1 bets personally, which proved to be profitable on those. Sure they were not the only futures that I had made, but if you are able to put 5-6 bets on teams you trust, and invest the right amount of money on, the strategy seems to work out in the end. With that, here are my five best bets to win the title, as well as a few conference futures out there. While not an official partner of the site, I will be using BetOnline.ag for the lines, and as with everything gambling-wise, do invest responsibly and in the process, make sure you like the bets you make as well.
Championship Futures
North Carolina 33-1
I think if you are trying to find a realistic longshot to win the title, North Carolina is a very good value play. While it would be unique for Hubert Davis to win a National Championship in his first season coaching, the roster is solid enough to do just that. Caleb Love should take a major step forward this season while Armando Bacot, Brady Manek, and Dawson Garcia make up a great frontcourt trio that is perfect for modern-day basketball. North Carolina probably will not win the national championship but in terms of finding a value bet down the board, this is the most realistic team to achieve that feat.
UCLA 14-1
There are a lot of teams in the 12 to 14-1 Market of national championship bets but I think UCLA maybe has the highest ceiling of these teams. Johnny Juzang and Jaime Jaquez are both All-American candidates this season with Juzang being my #2 player in the preseason Top-100 Players list. Add in a good front-court piece in Myles Johnson and this is a team that has championship aspirations. It will be hard to know if they are able to play at that level all season long but certainly, they have shown that they are capable of winning in the NCAA Tournament.
Kentucky 14-1
Kentucky as a team I really like heading into the season as they possess all the traits you could want in a title contender and at 14-1, I think this is a really good value bet. TyTy Washington will be one of the best freshmen in the sports, while this team has the shooting that it has not had under John Calipari in the past, plus good interior pieces with Oscar Tshiebwe and Damion Collins. I think with this number in play, it is worth exploring a Kentucky national championship bet.
Kansas 12-1
Usually, the second or third best teams in the sports do not have a single-digit number when it comes to winning their Championship. That said, the fact that my #2 team in the sport is coming in at 12-1 leaves me thinking this could be profitable in the end. Kansas is a really good bet to win the National Championship, as the starting-5 is very complete with no major holes, plus with McCormack, Agbaji, and Martin, this team has three All-American candidates, plus role players that can shoot it.
Gonzaga 4.5-1
It would be weird to not include the team that I am going to predict to win it all which is the Gonzaga Bulldogs. While the number is probably a little bit out of whack and I would maybe wait a couple of weeks until maybe it goes to 5-1 or 6–1, after Gonzaga loses a game, It is still a good bet. At the end of the day, Gonzaga will be a team that is alive late into March and April, while being a favorite in every game they play in the NCAA Tournament. It may not be the best value for your dollar but if you want to win your title bet, this one gives you a great chance at doing so.
Conference futures
Illinois 6-1 to win the Big Ten
While I’m not going to say that Illinois is the team to beat in the Big Ten, the fact of the matter is that this Illinois team presents a great value play to win their league title. A team with Kofi Cockburn, Andrė Curbello, and Trent Frazier could make up the best trio in the league and if the rest of the team are able to surround them with shooting, this could win the league. Add to that the fact that the Big Ten race is extremely wide open and this is a bet that gives you a great shot at winning.
North Carolina 4.5-1 to win the ACC
Again, I am really high on North Carolina coming into this season, but while UNC 33-1 to win the title maybe isn’t the most likely winner, this one has a higher chance of happening. Most people are betting Duke to win the league title, but did you know that Duke hasn’t won that since 2010, so they are essentially cursed when it comes to winning regular-season titles. That means betting my next best team North Carolina is a good value bet, as the Duke regular-season curse will live on.
Colorado State 4-1 to win the Mountain West
Either I am completely missing something or this seems to be a walk in the park 4-1 bet. Colorado State just missed out on the NCAA Tournament a season ago but returns a good core of pieces headlined by David Roddy and Isaiah Stevens, mixed in with an elite transfer addition in Chandler Jacobs. Sure San Diego State and Nevada provide some challenge but I don’t think either are nearly as good as the Rams.
Houston to win American 2.5-1
While Memphis has been the team with the most buzz heading into this season and would be the team more likely to win the National Championship, putting some money on Houston is a great bet to win the American. For one, they are more experienced and have been the premier program in the league since 2019, add to that the fact that they will overpower teams on the glass and play tough team defense. Sure, Memphis will also give you a chance to win this bet, but I think the value is on Houston in this spot, and I wouldn’t mind betting both of these either.
Villanova -105 to win the Big East
I’ve stated that I’m not completely in on the Wildcats to win the National Championship, but the Big East is much different. Villanova is the clear class of the league and there are no main contenders, and the league depth also will help Villanova run away with this league title. If 2-6 is losing games to each other and Villanova goes their usual 16-4, 17-3 in league play, they have a better shot at winning the regular-season title by 4 games than they do of finishing second in the Big East. The value isn’t fantastic, but the goal of each bet is to win, and minus a situation where Collin Gillespie gets re-injured, there’s little to not competition for the league title.