Betting preview of the 2024 NCAA Tournament

College basketball conference tournaments are in progress throughout the country, and those games feature drama and excitement. These tourneys are great appetizers ahead of the NCAA tournament, beginning next week. 

It’s not easy putting together an NCAA preview until the brackets are revealed, though there are future betting options available right now. There are always March Madness future wagers which stand out over the others.

Predicting which teams reach the Final Four is usually a good place to start. That’s not where the value is, however. Finding the eventual national champion is much harder to do, but with more risk comes more reward, so.

Here’s a look at some of the top betting options/odds to explore when looking at the Big Dance.

Start with Favorites

Now is actually the best time to bet on some markets. Getting to the Final Four is considered one of the hardest accomplishments in all of sports, thus a tough hurdle to leap.  

The defending-champion Connecticut Huskies have the lowest odds to reach the Final Four, hovering somewhere around even-money. UConn is ranked No 2 nationally in the latest poll.

The Houston Cougars, No. 1 team in the country, is next at around 13-10 (+130). At last look, Houston was leading the nation in both scoring defense and field-goal percentage defense.

The Purdue Boilermakers and Tennessee Volunteers are the other two favored teams to reach the Final Four. Purdue is around 17-10 (+170), while the Vols are a bit better than 5-2 at (260).

The Arizona Wildcats, who may turn out to be a No. 1 seed in a region, are at about +280 to make the Final Four. However, the ‘Cats first order of business is the Pac-12 tourney, where they’re prohibitive favorites at -160, according to NCAA conference tournament odds.

Look at the region each school is in, do some homework and hitch your wagon to a team to make the Final Four.

Winning it All

It’s not easy to win a championship in any sport, but an NCAA basketball title is quite the feat. UConn wasn’t expected to cut down the nets last season, but was getting hot at the right time. 

This time around, Connecticut is actually the betting favorite to defend its title, priced at around 9-2 (+450). Of course, odds may change once the brackets come out and the Huskies’ road to  another title is revealed. 

Houston, in its first season in the Big 12, has made itself right at home. As was mentioned, the Cougars own the nation’s stingiest defense. 

The Purdue Boilermakers, stunned by No. 16 (and 23½-point underdog) Fairleigh Dickinson in the opening round last season, does not have the best of Big Dance resumes. Purdue was about a 15-2 (+750) proposition to win the national championship this season.

It’s called "March Madness" with reason. It’s not easy to predict what is going to happen. 

Tennessee (11-1 [+1100]), Arizona (13-1, [+1300]) and North Carolina (16-1. [+1600]) also have their share of supporters, as each team has spent time at or near the top of this season’s polls. 

It’s not illegal to wait and see how the first few rounds unfold before making a selection. Of course, there’s an odds sacrifice, but the Big Dance, big picture is clearer.

Amy time during the season, daily board is available at college basketball odds.