Betting Odds Favorites for the 2017 NCAA Championship

Posted by Eric Williams on Thursday,April 7, 2016 5:51, EDT in

With Monday night’s absolutely thrilling conclusion to the 2016 NCAA National Championship Basketball Tournament, college basketball betting fans and enthusiasts alike are turning their eyes toward the 2016-17 season in the hopes of identifying the best contenders to cash in on their value-packed NCAAB Championship Futures Odds.

To that end, thee teams currently stand head and shoulders above all the rest – and believe it or not – one of them is not 2016 runner-up North Carolina.

You see, right now, oddsmakers and college basketball prognosticators everywhere are expecting a trio of teams to contend more than anyone else when it comes to winning it all in 2017.

Now, let’s take a brief look at how oddsmakers and experts like myself view the nation’s top three teams heading into next season.

Betting Odds Favorites for the 2017 NCAA Championship

Duke Blue Devils 9/2 or +450

At 9/2 or +450, the Blue Devils are the No. 1 overall favorite to win the 2017 national championship, but I’m not sure they should be.

Duke will lose sweet-shooting forward Brandon Ingram to the NBA draft, but ‘semi-dirty’ shooting guard Grayson Allen is expected to return to lead a group of core players that will also include incoming freshmen Harry Giles and Jayson Tatum, the No. 1 and No. 2 high school All-American players in most experts’ view.

For me, I believe it’s hard to say what kind o team Duke will become knowing they’re going to heavily rely on two freshmen next season, although I do believe the Blue Devils will at least be legitimate title contenders next season.

Kentucky 6/1 or +600

With point guard Tyler Ulis, shooting guard Jamal Murray and backup power forward Skill Labriesse, among others all departing for the NBA Draft, Kentucky is losing a ton this year. No matter…as is the case every year these days, head coach John Calipari will be getting another boatload of elite high school talent.

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Kentucky will have elite high schoolers suiting up next season in the form of 6-4 point guard De’Aaron Fox and 6-3 combo guard Malik Monk, generally regarded as the nation’s No. 1 and No. 5 five high school prospects in the country.

Kentucky will also have forwards Wenyen Gabriel and Sacha Killeya-Jones, the nation’s No. 13 and No. 26 prospects on board next season.

Villanova 8/1 or +800

Reigning national champion Villanova will lose key players Daniel Ochefu and Ryan Arcidiacono  but will likely have leading scorer Josh Hart and sweet-shooting ‘folk legend’ forward Kris Jenkins back to lead them in 2016-17 if the NBA waters they test this summer aren’t quite ready yet.

Villanova adds Omari Spellman, the No. 3-ranked high school center and No. 22 ranked overall player in the country to a group that already includes point guard Jalen Brunson and active big men Phil Booth and Mikal Bridges.

Best of the Rest

Louisville +1000
Kansas +1000
Michigan State +1200
North Carolina +1500
Indiana +2000
Virginia +2000
Xavier +2000