2025 College basketball odds: Will it be Duke or Auburn, or the field?

college-basketball Sports

February 12, 2025The Daily US News

2024-24 Men’s NCAA National Championship
Duke and Auburn vs. Field

Field: -200 (bet $10 to win $15 total)
Duke and Auburn: +160 (bet $10 to win $26 total)

Let’s first take a look at the Final Four odds.

Duke is at -120 to make it to the national semifinals, and Auburn is at -110. Third is Alabama at +220, fourth is Houston at +225, and then right on the outside is Florida at +250.

Now, the national title odds.

Duke and Auburn have the shortest odds once again, at +400, followed by Alabama at +900, Houston at +1100 and Florida at +1300.

In other words, the odds say Duke and Auburn are the favorites, by somewhat of a wide margin, to win this year’s National Championship, after UConn won it the last two seasons.

Currently, Auburn is -6000 to earn a 1-seed and Duke is -3000 to be a 1-seed, and in recent decades, being a top seed entering the tournament has translated to success.

UConn won it as a 1-seed last season and as a 4-seed in 2023. In 2022, Kansas won as a 1-seed, and in 2021, Baylor won as a 1-seed.

Virginia, Villanova, North Carolina and Duke won the tournament as 1-seeds in 2019, 2018, 2017 and 2015, respectively. Villanova won as a 2-seed in 2016.

Outside 2023 UConn and 2017 UConn (7-seed), the last time a seed lower than three won a national title was Arizona in 1997 as a 4-seed.

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