Duke, Kentucky & Nova are Betting Favorites for 2017

The memories of the thrilling win by Villanova over North Carolina in the 2016 NCAA title game are as fresh as ever, but Las Vegas is already doing what it does best—focusing on what’s next in the college basketball betting odds… The 2017 NCAA Championship game set to be played on April 3rd, 2017.

Duke’s Grayson Allen returning for junior season: https://t.co/FSofVe5Tno pic.twitter.com/hfmYy6JvdN

— NCAA March Madness (@marchmadness) April 6, 2016

Duke, Kentucky & Nova are Betting Favorites for 2017

In the early college basketball lines for the upcoming season, the Duke Blue Devils have been installed as 9-2 favorites to win it all. Coach Mike Krzyzewski will lose the towering Brandon Ingram to the NBA draft, but the Blue Devils will bring back a ton of talent, led by Grayson Allen, Duke’s leading scorer in the just-concluded season. In addition, Duke will have a solid crop of top-rated freshmen to support the returning team, including the nation’s No. 1 and No. 2 players (as per the ESPN 100) in Harry Giles and Jayson Tatum. It, however, remains to be seen if this group will rise to the occasion or fail miserably like the 2015-2016 group that fell way below the mark after Duke won the National Championship in the 2014-2015 season. John Calipari’s Kentucky comes second in the early lines, favored at 6-1. This, of course, is not a surprise, given the manner the Wildcats have consistently performed well under Calipari, irrespective of the talent in the team. So, whether or not point guard Tyler Ulis returns for his junior season, you can be sure that Kentucky will be a team to watch. Plus, Kentucky also has a solid freshman class, so talent shouldn’t be an issue for the always-high-flying Cats. Reigning champions, Villanova, will lose the stellar services of team captain Ryan Arcidiacono and do-all big man Daniel Ochefu, but the Wildcats still have enough talent to go around, including big-talker, championship-game hero Kris Jenkins, who will be returning with several other contributors like the sharpshooting guard Josh Hart (Nova’s leading scorer and second-best rebounder in the completed season). With that, it goes without saying that the Wildcats are deserving of their third-choice price at 8-1. The rest of the field is pretty balanced, featuring your usual favorites and a couple of teams expected to make the postseason next year after missing out in the 2015-16 season (like Louisville). Below is a brief highlight of these early favorites in the NCAAB odds to win 2017 college basketball national title *Louisville 10-1 *Kansas 10-1 *Michigan State 12-1 *North Carolina 15-1 *Arizona 20-1 *Indiana 20-1 *Oregon 20-1 *Virginia 20-1 *Xavier 20-1 As always, the NBA draft will be ridding us of some talent, which will eventually lead to some changes in the odds before the season starts, so be sure to keep an eye out on who is leaving or staying before betting on any team.