NCAA Futures: Odds of an Alabama Final Four and Basketball National Title

Feb 7, 2023 - 2:17 PM

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It’s still only February but the Madness is already upon us. For awhile, it looked like Purdue, UConn, Houston, Kansas, and Arizona were running away from the pack. And then teams starting hitting the wall.

UConn had a bad streak of losing six of eight games. ‘Zona dropped two out of three to unheralded Washington State and Oregon. The Jayhawks had a three-game losing streak and dropped four out of six in that span. Houston has looked strong since their loss to Alabama but fell to NIT-bound Temple at home. Purdue had been the last holdout until suffering only their second defeat at the hands of #21 Indiana last Saturday, proving no team is infallible.

Alabama had an inexplicable loss at Oklahoma last week but have rebounded to win two straight. The Tide currently sit at #3 in both polls and appear to be in line for a No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament. But what do the Las Vegas oddsmakers think of Nate Oats’s team?

According to DraftKings sportsbook, they are high on the Tide but not as high as last week.

Alabama still has the third best odds to make the Final Four at +250 - the same odds as Tennessee. Ahead of them are Houston, unchanged at +140, and Purdue whose odds actually improved from +240 to +200. For the uninitiated, this means that a $100 bet on Alabama at +250 would pay out $250 should the Tide reach that Final Four. A negative number such as -150 for example would mean bet $150 amount to win $100.

DraftKings has Final Four odds for 94 basketball teams including the likes of UAB and LSU. Click the heading that Says “FUTURES” to see them all. They also have the odds for each individual Conference Champs. As the favorites to win the SEC, Alabama has one of those negative numbers next to their name.

Also posted are the odds to win it all. Houston is on top, followed by Purdue, and then Alabama. 92 teams have been given odds in this category including Auburn and UGA. Be sure to talk that annoying neighbor/co-worker/in-law into placing a bet on one of those two teams.

DraftKings also projects the Wooden Award winner which is basketball’s equivalent of the Heisman Trophy. Purdue’s Zach Edey is still the favorite. Alabama’s Brandon Miller has dropped from third at +2500 to tied for fourth with an Arizona Wildcat at +4000. Players from Kansas and Indiana are also ahead of him.

I cannot recall the last time Alabama has been given this much positive consideration so late in the season. It is a testament to what Oats has built.

Speaking of building things: Build The Damn Arena, Greg. #BTDA

#RollTide