NCAAB National Championship Odds as of February 19, 2020

Jan 18, 2021 6:50 PM ET | By: matan

Why There is Plenty of Bark and Bite in the NCAAB National Championship Odds

By: Brent Booher

Outside of Louisville and Seton Hall, the Top 10 remained largely intact from a week ago, and as a result, the only real change we’ve seen at the top of the NCAAB National Championship odds race comes with Kansas becoming a slightly shorter favorite to win the title.

Besides that, it’s largely status quo. However, “Showdown Saturday” looms and the leaderboard could see a bit of a shake-up as a result.

With all that being said, let’s dive into this weeks National Championship futures market.

Best Sportsbook 2020

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Third Best NCAAB National Championship Odds: Baylor Bears/Duke Blue Devils (+1100); No Change from Last Week

Baylor has won 22-games in a row and has been at No. 1 in the rankings for a month now – the longest duration any team has held the top spot in the polls all season.

Despite that, the Bears remain tied with Duke at +1100 with the third-best odds to win the 2020 NCAA Tournament.

However, the biggest game of the season looms on Saturday when No. 1 Baylor hosts No. 3 Kansas with the winner likely having the inside track at the No. 1 overall seed in the tournament. Should the Bears win that one, you may see them jump to No. 1 in these rankings too.

Meanwhile, No. 6 Duke is currently enjoying a 7-game winning streak of their own, and now sits atop the ACC standings where they look to win their first regular season title since 2010 (a shocking stat in itself).

Should the Dukies close out the season strong, another No. 1-seed in the NCAA Tournament for Coach K seems like a very real possibility.

The Second Best NCAAB National Championship Odds: Kansas Jayhawks (+900); Last Week +1000

It may seem odd to say Kansas is playing the best basketball in the same conference that features the No. 1 team in the land, but Kansas is playing the best basketball in the same conference that features the No. 1 team in the land.

Of course, this can all change on Saturday, but for now Bill Self’s group is red-hot and stud PG Devon Dotson is 100-percent healthy for the first time all season.

A road-win in Waco against Baylor on Saturday would likely not only vault the Jayhawks to the top of both polls, but make them the odds-on favorite to win it all.

The NCAAB National Championship Odds-On Favorite: Gonzaga Bulldogs (+800)

The Zags have done little to dissuade oddsmakers from tabbing them as the favorites to win the National Championship, as for the third-straight week they are listed at +800 to bring the first ever title to Spokane, Washington.

Gonzaga faces one more test this season when they head to Provo on Saturday night to face No. 23 BYU, and a win over the Cougars would pretty much lock the Zags into their status as one of the top three odds-on favorites to win the title.

Other Teams that Merit Some Love

The Maryland Terrapins have now won 9-straight conference games and hold a two-game lead for first in a ridiculously stacked Big Ten Conference that expects to get at least 10 teams into the NCAA Tournament this year.

Led by senior PG Anthony Cowan and sophomore big man Jalen Smith, the Terrapins have an outside shot at securing a No. 1 seed if they’re able to win the Big Ten regular season and conference championships, and are listed at a very alluring +1500 to win the title.

It’s probably not a bad bet to back the best team from the best conference in college basketball, and that’s what you would be doing here.

This has probably been the least talked about Kentucky team in many years, but that doesn’t mean they’re not capable of a deep run in March.

Led by sophomore guard Immanuel Quickley and junior big-man Nick Richards, the Cats boast a top-20 defense and are lights out from the free throw line, shooting nearly 80% as a team.

If there’s reason for concern in backing the Wildcats for a run in March, it would be their outside shooting as Kentucky ranks in the 200’s (yes that’s correct) for three-point shooting while coming in at 349^th overall (out of 353 teams) for how many threes they put up per game.

While we are not overly excited about the way the Spartans have played down the stretch, this is still a Michigan State team that was ranked as the No. 1 team in the land at the start of the season.
And when you have great coaching and great guard play, you’ll always have a shot at a deep run in March.

The Spartans just happen to have Cassius Winston and Tom Izzo as their combo, and their recent slump may play to the Spartans favor if they are underseeded playing with a chip on their shoulder.

When you look at the Aztecs remaining schedule and the state of the Mountain West Tournament, it’s hard not to picture this team entering the tourney with a perfect record.

The only team that figures to stand in the way of the Aztecs entering the dance a perfect 32-0 would be Utah State should San Diego State draw them in the MWC Tournament Final.

+2200 odds on a team that will likely be 31-1 at worst, 32-0 at best with a No. 1 seed? We’ll take that value every single day.

After losing their best player Isaiah Livers for 9-games, Michigan went on a 4-5 skid and fell down the odds board.

They’ve since got Livers back from injury and look like the same Michigan team that handed Gonzaga their only loss of the season.
Considering how battle tested the Wolverines will be from the gauntlet that is the Big Ten, this is a very dangerous Michigan team coming into the NCAA Tournament.

At +4000, it’s hard to not want to take a shot on Juwan Howard’s crew.

Creighton has been surging up the Big East standings at the perfect time, winning eight of their last nine games to pull within a half-game of first-place Seton Hall.

This is a team playing their best basketball of the season with a four-guard attack that can shoot the lights out in any given game.

While we’re not sure that they have the horses to rattle off a 6-0 run in March, you’re getting tremendous value on a Creighton team that could be all alone in first place in a loaded Big East conference by the end of the week.

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