Opening 2024 NCAA Tournament Odds Favor Duke; UConn +1400 to Repeat

• Duke has opened as +1000 favorites to win the 2024 NCAA Tournament
• The defending champion UConn Huskies are the 3rd betting favorite with odds of +1400
• Below, find the opening 2024 NCAA tournament odds for the top contenders

It wasn’t the “blueblood” program everyone was expecting to win it all in 2023, but the UConn Huskies capped the most unpredictable of NCAA tournaments by beating San Diego State 76-59 on Monday night. Now that the final is in the books, there’s no better time than the present to look forward to next year.

Sportsbooks have already released the odds to win the NCAA Tournament in 2024, and the shortest odds belong to the Duke Blue Devils at +1000, followed by Kentucky (+1200) and UConn (+1400).

No team has repeated as champions since Billy Donovan’s Florida Gators in 2006 and 2007, the only school to win the NCAA tournament twice in a row in the last 30 years. Next year’s tournament will begin on March 19th and conclude with the championship game on April 8th, 2024, at State Farm Stadium in Glendale, Arizona.

2024 NCAA Tournament Champion Odds

Odds as of April 3rd at DraftKings Sportsbook. 

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Duke Favored to Win March Madness in 2024

Inevitably, there will be departures and additions, but it’s the returnees, that can bring Duke back to national prominence and give Jon Scheyer some credibility in his 2nd season after taking over for Blue Devils’ legend, Mike Krzyzewski.

Leading scorer, Kyle Filipowski is fully expected to declare for the NBA Draft, but it’s the backcourt combination that has many expecting big things for this team next season.

Tyrese Proctor and Jeremy Roach finished 2nd and 3rd on the squad in scoring and helped the team win 10 in a row down the stretch before their offense fell short in the Round of 32, going down 65-52 to Tennessee.

Tyrese Proctor is BACK! 👀

The Duke guard announced he is returning for his sophomore year 👏 pic.twitter.com/vdxRsYfn8W

— NCAA March Madness (@MarchMadnessMBB) March 27, 2023

The lure of playing for Duke is always strong, so expect them to hit big in the transfer portal. Add in a strong recruiting class, headlined by talented big wing Mackenzie Mgbako who has already committed, and you have the makings of a championship caliber squad.

Can UConn Go Back-To-Back?

What a statement Dan Hurley and the UConn Huskies made this season. It was just a short while ago that this once proud program seemed to be in tatters, finishing with more losses than wins three times in a row.

Time to turn the page. Not only did the Huskies win the 2023 NCAA tournament, they smashed every team along the way, covering the spread every single time in the college basketball odds, with their slimmest margin of victory coming by 13 points.

Granted, their two best players, Jordan Hawkins and Adama Sanogo may both feel they have nothing left to prove at the college level, but that’s not a guarantee, and Hurley will still have reinforcements.

Rising sophomore Donovan Clingan, has the potential to be an All-American and looked terrific at times as a freshman. Add in the presence of a loaded freshman class headlined by combo guard Stephon Castle, and the upside here is obvious. Especially if Hawkins and/or Sanogo return.

Calipari Loading Up Like The Old Days

Finally, let’s talk about Kentucky. It appears as though the one and done nature that made John Calipari’s teams so spectacular for so many years in a row will return in 2023.

Kentucky with three of the top four recruits in the McDonalds game.
Coach Cal not messing around..

— Alan Covington (@Alan_Covington) March 29, 2023

One glance at the ESPN top 100 recruiting list reveals that the Wildcats have three of the top four high school players in the country signed to play for them next season. By far, Kentucky has the best freshmen class for next year.

Guard D.J. Wagner and wing Justin Edwards are expected to make big contributions right away. There is also tremendous defensive upside with the two-headed monster of freshman Aaron Bradshaw and sophomore Ugonna Onyenso in tow to block shots.

After not making it past the 2nd round of the NCAA tournament for the last four years, it appears as if Coach Cal has had enough and will be intent on bringing respect back to Kentucky next year.