College Basketball National Championship Odds 2024: Early favorites, sleepers, long shots to win national title

With the current college basketball season coming to a close, it's never too early to look toward next year. Ahead of Monday night's National Championship game between the Connecticut Huskies and San Diego State Aztecs, DraftKings Sportsbook has dropped their initial odds to win the 2024 National Championship.

After none of the 12 schools donning top three seeds in the 2023 NCAA Tournament advanced to the Final Four, the parity within college basketball has never been more apparent. Who would have thought the combined seed total of the four schools that made it to Houston would be 23?

Along with more parity, in the age of the transfer portal, schools like Miami can see the trajectory of their program change within one offseason. From a betting perspective, it gives savvy futures bettors a chance to take advantage of a team whom they feel is mispriced in the betting market.  

While the odds are stacked against them to claim their first National Championship in school history, props to any futures bettors with an outstanding San Diego State future in their betting account. The Aztecs might not end up knocking off the Huskies in the National Championship game, but laying down futures action on a team with preseason odds of 60-1 that ends up making the title game is worthy of a hat tip.

Of course, the goal is to cash tickets, but pinpointing undervalued teams with a chance to make a deep tournament run is what can make you a profitable bettor and really what betting college basketball futures is all about. Unlike the NBA, where teams play multiple seven-game series to determine a champion, it's wiser to pinpoint teams with longer odds in a single-elimination, 68-team tournament. Florida Atlantic was one missed basket away from making the National Championship with 200-1 odds, and there's a good chance we see another school make a deep run in the 2024 NCAA Tournament with similar odds.

What long shot can make a run in next year's tournament you ask? Frankly, it's still a bit too early to have a good sense of undervalued teams, as there is an abundance of players currently in the transfer portal or testing the NBA draft waters.

That being said, we're enticed by Maryland's (+7000) price tag, as we think Kevin Willard elevates his program to another level in his second season in College Park. Getting Jahmir Young and Julian Reese back for another season could result in the Terrapins' futures odds increasing throughout the offseason.

Duke (+1000) currently has the best odds to win next year's title, which makes sense given Tyrese Proctor and Mark Mitchell have already announced they'll be returning for their sophomore seasons. Couple that with another loaded recruiting class headlined by Mackenzie Mgbako and Jared McCain, and the Blue Devils figure to make some noise in Jon Scheyer's second season. If Kyle Filipowski and Jeremy Roach also return, Duke's likely to enter the season with odds shorter than 10-1.

On the sleeper front, Villanova (+4000) has a good shot to return to the NCAA Tournament after missing the big dance in 2023. A full season with Justin Moore running the point along with improvements from Jordan Longino and Mark Armstong could result in the Wildcats' being slightly undervalued at 40-1.

What school is your favorite futures bet on the board? Here's a look at the early odds to win the 2024 college basketball National Championship.

All odds courtesy of DraftKings Sportsbook

Odds to win the 2024 College Basketball National Championship