The Alabama Crimson Tide might be the most intriguing men’s college basketball team this season. They have beaten Gonzaga, Baylor, LSU, Tennessee and Houston. They have lost to Memphis, Missouri and Georgia. They took down Baylor on Saturday in the Big 12/SEC Challenge, dominating the action from wire to wire. Jahvon Quinerly looked like a much better point guard than James Akinjo, and Jaden Shackelford put up 19 points and nine boards. The team dominated the boards and knocked down shot after clutch shot. They are now tied for second in Quadrant 1 victories – but they are also the top ranked team with two Quadrant 3 losses. One issue is their defense, which is ranked just #70 in the nation, and their interior defense is particularly inconsistent.
If you’re curious about the latest college basketball betting odds for the top contenders to win the men’s college basketball championship, read on – and check out our thoughts about some of the other top teams.
NCAA News: Updated Men’s College Basketball Championship Odds
| Team | Odds |
|---|---|
| Gonzaga | +600 |
| Auburn | +800 |
| Duke, Purdue | +1000 |
| Baylor, Kentucky | +1200 |
| Arizona, Kansas | +1400 |
| UCLA | +1600 |
| Villanova | +2000 |
| Illinois | +2500 |
| Texas Tech, Houston | +3000 |
| Michigan State, Alabama | +3500 |
| Texas | +4000 |
| Ohio State, LSU, USC, Tennessee, Wisconsin, Marquette | +5000 |
| Providence, Connecticut | +6600 |
| Michigan, Memphis, North Carolina, Arkansas, Indiana, Xavier | +8000 |
| Iowa, Oregon, Miami (FL), Iowa State, Florida State | +10000 |
| Oklahoma, Florida, BYU | +12500 |
| Seton Hall, Loyola-Chicago | +15000 |
| St. Bonaventure, West Virginia, Boise State | +20000 |
Kentucky proved that it belongs as a title contender after running right over Kansas on the road on Saturday. They put up 51 points in the first half and ended up winning by 18. That is the biggest winning margin against a top-five team on the road in the history of the program. Keion Brooks had his best game as a Wildcat, putting up 27 points and eight boards. Neither TyTy Washington nor Sahvir Wheeler shot well, but they distributed effectively instead, dishing out 13 assists. Kellan Grady knocked down three-balls and played shutdown defense on Ochai Agbaji. This is a team with a sky-high ceiling, and we will see if this carries over into March Madness play.
UCLA routed the Arizona Wildcats at home last Tuesday, going on a 12-0 run in the first few minutes of the contest, and Arizona never got off the mat after that. UCLA limited Arizona to just 16 of 47 shooting from two-point land, by far the lowest percentage of the season. In transition, UCLA kept the Wildcats from turning rebounds into easy baskets. Johnny Juzang had 15 points, and Jaime Jaquez Jr knocked down some monster shots in the second half, repelling Arizona each time it made a run.
Florida State has started to wobble off the table as far as a tournament team. After putting up a six-game winning streak, the Seminoles lost at Georgia Tech by 14 and followed that up with a 13-point loss to Virginia Tech at home. Georgia Tech and Virginia Tech are the bottom two teams in the ACC standings, and so the Seminoles will need a few more quality wins even to get back on the bubble.
Auburn survived its first game as the #1 team in the nation, winning at Missouri despite scoring just 55 points, thanks to the big night from K.D. Johnson, the transfer from Georgia. Over the last month, Johnson has put up 15.6 points per game in the last seven contests, shooting 42.1% from behind the arc.
Gonzaga could be getting the best play from Andrew Nembhard back again. He had a 24-point, six-assist night against UCLA but then went into a funk, going 12 of 14 games without scoring in double figures. In the last five games, including victories over BYU, San Francisco and Santa Clara, he has put up 15.8 points and 6.6 assists per game, turning the ball over just 1.2 times per contest. He has also shot 46.2% from behind the arc. But will this transfer into postseason play?
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