August is already here meaning summer is flying by and it will be football and basketball season before we know it. It will especially be a welcome time for sports betting connoisseurs as there will be an abundance of games to gamble on. Betting on future champions is a great option for any sports fan as it gives the player something to be invested in for the entire season. College hoops has a few future champion odds that look like sound investments to make at new online casinos.
UConn is rightfully among the top favorites to win it all, tied with Duke and Kansas with the lowest odds at +1000. Taking the overwhelming favorites is rarely a wise financial decision especially in college basketball where the tournament can often be a crapshoot. However, if any team or coach were capable of winning a third straight title as the favorites, it would be Dan Hurley and the Huskies. Hurley was courted by both Kentucky and the Lakers but ultimately decided to chase a three-peat. He’s brought in another stacked roster to give UConn a strong chance at dominating the sport yet again.
Houston and Gonzaga are both teams that have friendly future odds in comparison to what they should be. Houston is every bit as much of a top contender as UConn, Kansas or Duke. The Cougars are at +1600 to win it all which is the fifth lowest odds when they should probably be among the top 3. Houston hasn’t lost more than six games in each of the last four seasons and have reached the second weekend of the NCAA Tournament all four years. Kelvin Sampson’s team should be right back at that level of play this season.
Meanwhile Gonzaga feels like they have been forgotten as the powerhouse that they are. The Bulldogs are coming off a down year for their standards, but still made their ninth consecutive trip to the second weekend of the NCAA Tournament. Now Mark Few, who already has made two trips to the national title game, returns most of his production from last season and should be right back in the championship mix. At only +2000 odds, Gonzaga is a steal.
A couple of dark horse, longer odds teams to monitor are Illinois and Florida. Both teams sit at +5500 odds and admittedly, neither enter the season with national title expectations. However, both teams possess the upside to make a Final Four run and anything can happen if they reach that point. Florida head coach Todd Golden is an ascending talent in the sport and was able to lead the Gators to a 7-seed in just his second season there. Illinois has more roster turnover than Florida, but head coach Brad Underwood reloaded in the transfer portal and has made four straight NCAA Tournaments including an Elite Eight run last year. Upside is the goal when looking for longshots and these two teams possess plenty of that.
