The nets have been cut down, the champagne has been poured and UConn has etched their names into college basketball history, but that doesn't mean there is any chance to rest for the college basketball world. This week we have already watched a major upheaval with long time Kentucky coach John Calipari leaving for Arkansas and then KU grabbed BYU's head man to replace him.
That has already impacted the betting future odds for both teams and in a generation of NIL deals and the transfer portal we should all expect more movement as the season gets closer. With that said, there could still be some value picks with the early lines released.
Sitting at the top of the betting board are the Duke Blue Devils and Kansas Jayhawks. Kansas will have a focused Bill Self, who is looking to put behind him what he called a disappointing season, while Duke is absolutely loaded with talent. Last season the UConn Huskies were coming off of a national championship but had just the 7th lowest odds to be the first team since the Florida Gators to repeat, coming in at 10-1. This season, only Duke and KU are in front of them but they are just 12-1 to three-peat.
The Houston Cougars have found themselves near the top of the betting board consistently recently and nothing has changed for the upcoming season where they are 14-1 to cut down the nets. North Carolina will lose some top talent but they remain right in the thick of the race at 16-1. After Scott Drew told Kentucky he preferred to stay at Baylor their odds stuck at 18-1 while Alabama and Arizona came in at 20-1. Tennessee, Purdue, and Michigan State are next at 25-1. Iowa State, Texas, Auburn and Gonzaga, who are returning a ton of talent, sit at 30-1. Three Big East teams fill up the 35-1 bracket with Marquette, Creighton and Villanova and Illinois and Wisconsin follow at 40-1 odds.
Where are the headline making Kentucky Wildcats and Arkansas Razorbacks you might be asking? Well, The Razorbacks jumped from 70-1 to 30-1 with coach Cal now apart the system and early betting shows that might be a value right now as people have bought into the Razorbacks for next season. Meanwhile, Kentucky dropped from 16-1 to 20-1 and in some books have fallen all the way down to 25-1 in coach Pope's inaugural season in Lexington.