NCAA Tournament 2025 Odds: UConn Among Favorites to Win Third Consecutive Title

• UConn is among the current NCAA Tournament odds favorites for the 2024-25 regular season despite losing Stephon Castle, Cam Spencer, Donovan Clingan, and Tristen Newton. The Huskies will seek their third straight National Championship after winning it each of the past two seasons.

• Based on the latest update of ESPN’s Way-Too-Early Top 25 list for the 2024-25 season, the Kansas Jayhawks are projected to be the top team in the country, bringing in AJ Storr, Zeke Mayo, and Rylan Griffen to join Wooden Award frontrunner Hunter Dickinson, KJ Adams, and Dajuan Harris Jr.

• Besides UConn and Kansas, the Duke Blue Devils, Iowa State Cyclones, Gonzaga Bulldogs, Houston Cougars, and Baylor Bears are other teams to keep an eye on throughout the 2024-25 regular season, as they are either returning or bringing in a boatload of talent.

The UConn Huskies currently have the second-best 2025 NCAA Tournament odds after winning back-to-back championships in 2023 and 2024. They were the first team to accomplish that feat since the Florida Gators in 2006 and 2007.

However, they will lose four of their best players to the NBA Draft and graduation, including Stephon Castle, Cam Spencer, Donovan Clingan, and Tristen Newton.

Plenty of other talented teams lurk in the shadows, hoping to dethrone the blue-blooded Huskies, including the Houston Cougars, Kansas Jayhawks, Duke Blue Devils, North Carolina Tar Heels, Alabama Crimson Tide, Baylor Bears, and many others. 

Let’s break down the top teams with the best NCAA Tournament odds and analyze which ones have the best chance to take home the hardware in 2025!

NCAA Tournament Odds 

Now that the 2024-25 college basketball season is starting, we have updated each NCAA Tournament odds favorite, courtesy of FanDuel Sportsbook. Throughout the season, these odds will fluctuate based on a team’s performance on the court and any critical injuries to star players.Bet $5, Get $150 in Bonus Bets if Your Bet Wins.

Check out our NCAA Tournament odds table below:

NCAA Tournament Predictions - NCAA Favorites to Win

With the conclusion of the 2023-24 college basketball campaign, we will look ahead at next season and analyze the top teams and their respective odds, as well as make our official NCAA Tournament championship predictions:

Baylor Bears

Woah. 

Head coach Scott Drew has been busy since the end of this past season. Drew signed V.J. Edgecombe, the nation’s No. 1 small forward recruit and a near-sure-fire top-five pick in the 2025 NBA Draft, but he didn’t stop there.

He also snagged former Miami Hurricanes forward Norchad Omier and standout Duke point guard Jeremy Roach in the transfer portal, two players who can help Baylor enter contender status the moment they step on campus.

Omier averaged a monstrous 17 points and 10 rebounds in the ACC on 55.2% shooting from the field, while Roach has been a four-year player for the Blue Devils and is fresh off a 2023-24 campaign that saw him posting 14 points per game on an outstanding 42.9% shooting from 3-point land.

Further, Drew kept some key returners, including Langston Love and Jayden Nunn, two sharpshooters who will allow the Bears to be one of the best 3-point shooting teams in the nation once again. 

An improvement on the defensive end of the floor would make this team nearly impossible to beat, given its talent level, experience, and 3-point shooting ability.

And that end of the floor will be the difference between being a title contender and an early exit in the NCAA Tournament. Luckily, Roach, Omier, Love, and Nunn bring experience and a competitive spirit that will undoubtedly elevate the Bears’ defense to a much more reasonable level.

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UConn Huskies

It is official: as long as Dan Hurley is coaching, we cannot and will not rule out a UConn National Championship. 

Hurley and the Huskies have assembled two of the most convincing NCAA Tournament runs in college basketball history, beating all 12 of their opponents by double-digits, including the Final Four and National Championship games.

Sure, Hurley and company will lose Cam Spencer, Tristen Newton, Donovan Clingan, Stephon Castle, and, more than likely, Alex Karaban.

However, they have been busy in the transfer portal and have a ton of talent returning, including Hassan Diarra, Solomon Ball, Jayden Ross, Jaylin Stewart, Samson Johnson, and, surprisingly, Alex Karaban, who decided to return for one more season.

Karaban’s return elevates the Huskies from a likely repeat Big East champion and second-weekend NCAA Tournament team to a bonafide championship favorite; he posted 13.3 points and 5.1 rebounds per game last season on a hyper-efficient 50/38/89 shooting split.

That group alone would be talented enough to compete for another Big East championship. Still, Hurley signed Liam McNeely, a former 5-star Indiana commit, and stole Aidan Mahaney (Saint Mary’s) in the transfer portal. Between Diarra, Mahaney, and McNeely, the Huskies have one of the best backcourts in the country.

Then, you have to add that Hurley turned down the Los Angeles Lakers job to return to Storrs for a chance to achieve something that has not been done since the John Wooden days at UCLA: a three-peat.

If you don’t think this Huskies team is all the way “bought in,” think again. Hurley would not have signed a contract extension with UConn if he didn’t think it was possible to win the National Championship once again!

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Kansas Jayhawks

An unfortunate season-ending injury to Kevin McCullar Jr. resulted in an early exit from the 2024 NCAA Tournament. Still, the Jayhawks will be reloaded heading into next season, courtesy of head coach Bill Self’s work on the recruiting trail and in the transfer portal. 

Self was not only able to convince Wooden Award frontrunner Hunter Dickinson to return, but he also brought back Dajuan Harris Jr and KJ Adams Jr, meaning that three of the Jayhawks’ starters from last season’s team will take the floor for them again in 2024-25.

Dickinson is an incredibly accomplished college basketball player. At 7-foot-2, he dominates in the paint on both ends of the floor due to his size, length, physicality, and feathery touch. Dickinson also has terrific instincts around the rim defensively, knowing how to time his jumps and contest shots without fouling.

Last season, Dickinson posted just shy of 18 points and 11 rebounds per game on 54.8% shooting from the floor and 35.4% from 3-point land; he has established himself as a three-level scorer, which opens the floor for the Jayhawks’ offense, as they can use him as a hub at the top of the key, in the post, or as a screener on or off the ball.

Meanwhile, Adams (12.6 PPG, 4.6 RPG, 3.1 APG on 60.1% shooting) and Harris (8.5 PPG and 6.5 APG on a 42/38/80 shooting split) are integral to this Jayhawks team. Not to mention, they are both NCAA champions already, so they know what it takes to go the distance in the “Big Dance.”

But, as we mentioned above, Self conquered the transfer portal, bringing in six players to fill out their roster. Several players, including AJ Storr, Zeke Mayo, and Rylan Griffen, will immediately contribute for Kansas.

Storr had a breakout season for the Wisconsin Badgers last year, averaging 16.8 points per game on 43.2% shooting from the floor. 

While he is unlikely to average that many points per game this year, he should have improved shooting efficiency since he won’t be constantly relied upon for offense like he was at Wisconsin.

Griffen (11.2 PPG on 39.2% from 3-point range) and Mayo (18.8 PPG, 5.7 RPG, 3.5 APG on a 47/39/83 split), arguably the best mid-major combo guard last year, will also play pivotal roles for the Jayhawks in their 2024-25 campaign.

And lastly, the Jayhawks brought in a 5-star freshman center, Flory Bidunga, who should be a terrific rotational piece from the jump to his frame, athleticism, and physicality; he is ready for Big 12 basketball right now.

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Who Will Win the NCAA Tournament - My Pick 

Kansas Jayhawks

There should be no surprises here. The Kansas Jayhawks dominated the transfer portal, recruiting incoming freshmen and retaining nearly all of their top talent, save Kevin McCullar, from last season.

The Jayhawks will have the most experienced, talented, and cohesive team in college basketball entering the 2024-25 regular season.

I love this group’s scoring and shooting ability. With so much established cohesiveness, they won’t lose many games, even in the Big 12.

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Who Won the NCAA Tournament in 2024

m to win back-to-back National Championships in the NCAA Tournament since the Florida Gators did it in 2006 and 2007. Florida had three very talented future NBA players on those teams: Jo

NCAA Tournament History

The NCAA Tournament was founded in 1939, making it 85 years since the inception of one of the most popular sporting events in the world. In its beginning stages, the NCAA Tournament only had eight teams but has since expanded to 68 teams as of 2011, when the “First Four” games were introduced. There are two ways for teams to get into the NCAA Tournament: winning their conference tournament or receiving an at-large bid.

There are 32 conferences in Division I basketball, meaning 32 teams punch their ticket before “Selection Sunday,” completely avoiding the “sweat” of waiting to hear their name called. The remaining 36 teams are “at-large,” which is awarded for having a successful season and winning meaningful games.

Despite having not won a National Championship since 1995, the UCLA Bruins have the most titles of any college basketball team, with 11 titles. During his tenure, legendary UCLA head coach John Wooden won 10 National Championships with the Bruins. Kentucky (8), North Carolina (6), Duke (5), UConn (5), and Indiana (5) rank second through fourth (three-way tie), respectively. 

Past NCAA Tournament Winners

Listed below are the past 15 NCAA Tournament champions, starting with the most recent champions. Take a look.

How to Choose the Best Sportsbook for Betting on the NCAA Tournament

Several factors determine how to choose the best sportsbook for betting on the NCAA Tournament. First, you should always consider which sportsbook has the best odds for the bets you want to place. If you wish to place a number of bets during the NCAA Tournament, it might make sense to have multiple sportsbooks to ensure you get the best value possible.

Beyond finding out who has the best odds, you should also consider which sportsbooks offer the best welcome bonus, what their payment options are for depositing and withdrawing funds, the user interface of their apps, and much more!

The table below details some of the advantages of BetMGM, Caesars, and FanDuel. Check it out.

How to Read NCAA Tournament Winner Odds

Understanding odds can get confusing if you are newer to the betting scene. If a team’s betting odds have a minus in front of them, they are a favorite; if the betting odds have a plus in front, they are an underdog.

For example, if the Houston Cougars are -115 to make the Final Four, then they are considered a favorite (greater than 50% chance of making it). You would have to bet $115 to win $100.

However, if you are betting the Purdue Boilermakers to win the National Championship at +750, you would only have to bet $100 to win $750 because they are significant underdogs to win six consecutive games in the NCAA Tournament.