Updated College Basketball Championship Odds – January 5th Edition

Updated College Basketball Championship Odds – January 5th Edition

Written by on January 5, 2018

With the 2017-18 NCAAB season moving into the new year and conference action now getting underway across the country, now is the perfect time to highlight some legitimate contenders – and some pretenders according to the latest College Basketball Championship odds. There’s electrifying Oklahoma point guard Trae Young who has been so special this season that he gets his own special section of just why Oklahoma now has the look of an NCAA Tournament darling! Okay, let’s get down to business.

Updated College Basketball Championship Odds – January 5th Edition

Top Contenders

No. 2 Duke (13-1)

  • College Basketball Championship Odds: 5/1
Duke has a trio of sure-fire NBA players in possible No. 1 overall pick Marvin Bagley III, shooting guard Grayson Allen and point guard Trevon Duval, even if they do have some blemishes and aren’t anywhere near where Coach K wants them to be when March Madness time arrives. Love ‘em or loathe ‘em, Duke will contend for this year’s title.

No. 1 Michigan State (14-1)

  • College Basketball Championship Odds: 5-1
Michigan State is absolutely loaded with talent starting with forwards Miles Bridges and Nick Ward and raw, 6-11 center Jaren Jackson Jr. The Spartans’ length, athleticism and the coaching of the widely respected Tom Izzo look quite formidable right now!

No. 3 Villanova (13-1)

  • College Basketball Championship Odds: 10/1
Villanova still has the look of a very legitimate national championship title contender – even if they struggle like hell to beat the Butler Bulldogs every time they face their Big East rivals. The ‘Cats have it all from a great floor leader to sweet wing shooters and active big men, making them one of the very best title contenders in all the land!

No. 14 Arizona (12-3)

  • College Basketball Championship Odds: 12/1
Arizona and their two future NBA performers, Deandre Ayton and Allonzo Trier, are back to looking very legitimate, having won eight straight games at the time of this writing including wins over Texas A&M and No. 4 Arizona this past weekend.

No. 17 Kentucky (12-2)

  • College Basketball Championship Odds: 14/1
Kentucky has won three straight and pounded disgraced Louisville 90-61 to kick off their modest winning streak while getting past LSU team in a hard-fought battle the last time out. Make no mistake about it, the Wildcats and their collection of blue-chip recruits look like they’re going to be very dangerous once March rolls around.

No. 10 Kansas (11-3)

  • College Basketball Championship Odds: 14/1
Kansas has a bunch of issues they need to clear up, particularly in the frontcourt. The Jayhawks got man-handled by Texas Tech in their humbling 85-73 home loss on Tuesday and look more like a pretender than a contender right now.

No. 12 North Carolina (12-2)

  • College Basketball Championship Odds: 20/1
North Carolina lost to ACC rival Florida State 81-80 on Wednesday night and guess who predicted that upset in the MyBookie.ag news section? Yeah, that’s right…yours truly! Right now, I’m thinking Carolina is more pretender than contender, but hey, it’s still early and Roy Williams is a helluva’ coach.

No. 9 Wichita State (11-2)

  • College Basketball Championship Odds: 20/1
has won three straight since getting upended by Trae Young and the Oklahoma Sooners a couple of weeks ago. Still, the Shockers shoot it so well, I’ve got the feeling they’re going to contend for something big once March rolls around.

Pretenders

No. 11 Texas A&M (11-3)

  • College Basketball Championship Odds: 20/1
Texas A&M got smacked around by Alabama and Florida in their last two games and until I see otherwise, I’m going to say the Aggies are more pretender than contender.

Unranked Florida Gators (10-4)

  • College Basketball Championship Odds: 25/1
Florida beat the hell out of No. 11 Texas A&M to win their fourth straight game but their 65-59 loss to tiny Loyola-Chicago back on Dec. 6 tells me the Gators are nothing more than wannabes.

No. 19 Gonzaga (12-3)

  • College Basketball Championship Odds: 25/1
Gonzaga has won two straight, but the Bulldogs clearly aren’t as good as they were a year ago, as demonstrated by their 72-70 loss at San Diego State on San Diego State back on Dec. 21. right now, Gonzaga is good but certainly not great!

No. 5 Xavier (15-1)

  • College Basketball Championship Odds: 25/1
Xavier is looking like a very legitimate championship contender with stupendous 25/1 odds and a superstar floor leader in Trevon Bluiett that will be playing at the next level come next season.

No. 4 Arizona State (12-2)

  • College Basketball Championship Odds: 25/1
Arizona State heads into the weekend having suffered consecutive losses to Arizona and Colorado but wins over Kansas and Xavier lead me to believe the Sun Devils will be just fine. The College Basketball Championship Odds for Arizona State are not looking good.

No. 8 Virginia (13-1)

  • College Basketball Championship Odds: 33/1
Virginia is so good defensively under head coach Tony Bennett, that they remind me of those old John Thompson Georgetown teams from back in the day. When you limit the opposition to just 52.7 points a game, You’re going to beat a lot of people…like, a whole lot.

No. 19 Cincinnati (13-2)

  • College Basketball Championship Odds: 33/1
Cincinnati is looking good right now, but I worry about their lack of quality big men and the fact that they don’t have a true scoring threat. I’m thinking the Cats will be pretender than contender when they face a powerhouse opponent with length and athleticism.

No. 13 Purdue (14-2)

  • College Basketball Championship Odds: 33/1
Purdue looks legit right now with wins over Arizona, Butler, and Maryland highlighting their record right now. Get back to me on the Boilermakers when they lay Michigan State on Feb. 10.

No. 6 West Virginia (13-1)

  • College Basketball Championship Odds: 40/1
West Virginia looks like a typical Bob Huggins team. The can score and defend and have a legitimate star in Jevon Carter. Right now, I expect them to contend well into March Madness.

No. 15 Miami, Fl. (12-2)

  • College Basketball Championship Odds: 40/1
Miami is nothing more than a pretender right now despite their fine, 12-2 mark right now – or maybe you didn’t see their 10-point loss to Georgia Tech on Wednesday night.

No. 7 Oklahoma (12-1)

  • College Basketball Championship Odds: 25/1
Oklahoma is offering more value than any team in the country right now if you ask me, if only because they’ve found out they have a Steph Curry clone in suddenly electrifying point guard Trae Young, my unequivocal leader for the National Player of the Year award right now. Young is averaging a phenomenal 29.4 points and 10.6 assists per game to lead the nation in both categories. Young shoots it like Curry but is a better passer that the Golden State Warriors superstar. More importantly, he’s been as deadly on the road as at home. Young went off for 43 and 7 at Oregon before torching USC for 29 and 9 and following that up with 29 and 10 at Wichita State. Young’s most recent road outing was absolutely phenomenal as he put up 38 and 14 at No. 10 TCU on Dec. 30. Right now, Young makes Oklahoma completely dangerous against any team and one that again, is offering phenomenal value as a 25/1 pick.

Rest of the Field