After putting together its second consecutive 30-win season, Houston sits as the odds-on favorite to win the NCAA Tournament at a number of sportsbooks.
The Cougars sit at +475 on DraftKings, +500 on FanDuel and +600 on Caesars Sportsbook to win their first national title in program history. Houston, which has gone 31-3 and will be a No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 1983, begins its quest for a championship against 16th-seeded Northern Kentucky (22-12) on Thursday night.
Alabama (29-5) has the second-best odds to go all the way despite criminal allegations regarding a shooting death surrounding star freshman Brandon Miller, who has not been charged. DraftKings has the Crimson Tide at +650, while Caesars and FanDuel have them at +700 and +800, respectively. Over at DraftKings, Purdue (+1000), UCLA (+1200) and Kansas (+1200) round out the top five favorites. FanDuel agrees, but Kansas (27-7) is listed at +1000, Purdue (29-5) is at +1200 and UCLA (29-5) is at +1400. Caesars has both Kansas and Purdue at +1000, while UCLA, Arizona (28-6) and Texas (26-8) all sit at +1200. Gonzaga (28-5) also finds itself among the teams with the best odds to be crowned national champion, sitting at +1500 on both FanDuel and Caesars and +1600 at DraftKings.
FanDuel has Purdue listed as the favorite to win the East Region at +300, while Marquette (28-6), which won its first Big East tournament in program history on Saturday, trails close behind at +420. In the Midwest Region, FanDuel has Houston as the heavy favorite (+120), while Texas presents the biggest threat to the Cougars at +450. Alabama (+190) is projected to capture the South Region, while Kansas (+320), UCLA (+350) and Gonzaga (+400) are all in a tight race in the West Region. –Field Level Media
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