College Basketball Betting Odds: Virginia, Duke, Michigan State Among March Madness 2018 Favorites

March Madness 2018 is fast approaching, and the race toward the Final Four appears to be wide open. No college basketball team stands out as the clear favorite when it comes to winning this year’s title.

Virginia has the best championship betting odds of any team, which comes as no surprise since they are ranked No.1 in both the AP Top 25 and USA Today Coaches Poll. The Cavaliers are just ahead of Michigan State and Villanova. Duke, Purdue and Kansas are the remaining three teams that have 10/1 or better title odds.

Even though Virginia has the country’s best record, there is some justified skepticism regarding their chances of winning the NCAA Tournament. They’ve had more regular-season success than most teams in recent years, earning two No.1 seeds, a No.2 seed and a No.5 seed since 2014. The Cavaliers made it beyond the Sweet Sixteen just once with no Final Four appearances during that time.

The Cavaliers win with defense, and they don’t even have one player that scores 15 points per game. Teams like Duke and Villanova have stars on offense that are expected to be selected in the upcoming NBA Draft lottery. Michigan State has both a history of NCAA Tournament success and highly touted NBA prospects.

The Spartans have climbed to No.2 in the nation with 12 straight victories. Tom Izzo’s team has reached the Final Four seven times in the last two decades, most recently winning their region in the NCAA Tournament in 2015.

Two teams ranked in the top-10 aren’t considered to be among the national championship favorites. Five teams that are ranked below No.3 Xavier are given better title odds. No.7 Gonzaga has worse odds to cut down the nets at the end of March Madness than five teams ranked eighth through 20th.

Gonzaga has never missed the NCAA Tournament since 1999. Last year was their first Final Four appearance when they lost to North Carolina in the national championship game.

The Tar Heels have the seventh-best odds in their quest to repeat as champions. There hasn’t been a repeat champion since Florida did it in 2007.