It was a week filled with upsets on the college basketball scene. Michigan State, Duke, Texas Tech, Oklahoma and Xavier – all teams in the Top 10 – suffered a loss this week. As a result, the rankings are expected to see a bit of a shakeup. In terms of our power rankings and how the sports betting odds makers see the teams, don’t expect much to change. These types of losses will be viewed as temporary speed bumps in the futures markets.
The field is listed at +5000. Stats as of Thursday, January 11th.
1. Duke Blue Devils
College Basketball Title Odds: +450
The Blue Devils (14-2, 2-2 ACC) lost at North Carolina State and then won in Pittsburgh, and they’ll host Wake Forest before heading to Miami this week. The Blue Devils are clearly led by Marvin Bagley, who had 31 points and 10 rebounds against North Carolina State, and then 16 points and 15 rebounds against Pittsburgh. However, the rest of the Blue Devils have been inconsistent and Grayson Allen has been the main culprit there. The senior needs to step up and be better to support Duke’s star freshman.
It’s interesting to note that while the Blue Devils are viewed as the top team by the odds makers, they are merely the No. 7 team in the country according to the Associated Press Top 25.
2. Michigan State Spartans
College Basketball Title Odds: +500
The Spartans (16-2, 4-1 Big Ten) lost at Ohio State, then needed overtime to beat Rutgers at home, which is where they’ll start this week to host Michigan. The Spartans got off to a slow start at Ohio State as they were down by 12 at halftime, and they allowed Rutgers to erase a seven-point deficit at home. While they have a good Big Ten record, the Spartans still have some work to do.
3. Villanova Wildcats
College Basketball Title Odds: +800
The Wildcats (15-1, 3-1 Big East) won at home over Marquette and Xavier, and now they’ll head out on the road to visit St. John’s and Georgetown this week. The win over Xavier was especially impressive as Xavier is a top-10 team and the Wildcats dominated that game from start to finish and Villanova needed to do that coming off their first loss of the season at Butler.
4. Kansas Jayhawks
College Basketball Title Odds: +1000
The Jayhawks (13-3, 3-1 Big 12) won at TCU and then at home over Iowa State, and they’ll host Kansas State this week before heading to West Virginia. Kansas beat TCU by four points and over Iowa State by six points, and a major problem that they seem to have is depth. Five players average double figures in scoring for the Jayhawks, and then no other player averages more than 4.0 points a game. If their top five isn’t scoring, the Jayhawks could find themselves in trouble in the Big 12.
5. Oklahoma Sooners
College Basketball Title Odds: +1500
The Sooners (13-2, 3-1 Big 12) lost at West Virginia and then won at home over Texas Tech, and they’ll host TCU before heading to Kansas State. It was a tale of two games for the Sooners’ Trae Young, who had 29 points against West Virginia, but he was also 3-of-12 from three-point land and he had eight turnovers. Young was much better against Texas Tech with 27 points and nine assists, and he had just four turnovers.
6. Florida Gators
College Basketball Title Odds: +1500
The Gators (12-4, 4-0 SEC) won at Missouri and at home over Mississippi State, and they’ll head to Ole Miss this week before hosting Arkansas. The Gators have now won six in a row and their defense has been great as they have held the opposition under 70 points in four of those six wins. The Gators are also shooting 39.3% from the three-point line, which is a massive boost in college basketball these days.
7. Arizona Wildcats
College Basketball Title Odds: +1500
The Wildcats (12-4, 2-1 Pac-12) won at Utah and lost at Colorado, and they’ll host Oregon State and Oregon this week. Deandre Ayton has been a stud for the Wildcats, but Arizona needs Allonzo Trier to be better than he has been. He scored seven points in the win over Utah, and then eight points in the loss to Colorado, going 2-of-8 from three-point land. He also had a combined three free-throw attempts in those two games. Much like at Duke, the upperclassman (Trier, who is a junior) has to improve to help out his star freshman.
8. Virginia Cavaliers
College Basketball Title Odds: +2000
The Cavaliers (15-1, 4-0 ACC) beat North Carolina and then Syracuse, both at home, and they’ll host North Carolina State this week. The win over North Carolina was huge for Virginia, who held the Tar Heels to 29.6% from the floor and 21 points in the second half. Devon Hall had 16 points and seven assists for the Cavaliers, who are only going to go as far as their defense takes them, and they lead the nation in points allowed per game.
9. North Carolina Tar Heels
College Basketball Title Odds: +2000
The Tar Heels (13-4, 2-2 ACC) lost at Virginia, and then bounced back to rout Boston College at home. They’ll travel to Notre Dame this week, and then return home to host Georgia Tech. Luke Maye was really bad against Virginia, going 2-of-10 from the floor for six points and he also added eight rebounds, but he was great against Boston College, going for 32 points and 18 rebounds. Still, the Tar Heels need Maye to be at his best for the big games.
10. Kentucky Wildcats
College Basketball Title Odds: +2000
The Wildcats (13-3, 3-1 SEC) lost at Tennessee, but they won at home over Texas A&M. They’ll be on the road this week to visit Vanderbilt and South Carolina. The loss to Tennessee was disappointing as Kentucky were up by eight points at halftime and wound up losing by 11, and then they only won by a single point over Texas A&M, who could have won if not for their lousy free-throw shooting. This Kentucky team isn’t as talented as in years past, and they’re going to have to work a little harder to be a real threat in March.
The 2018 March Madness futures are out. There has been plenty of news to keep up with in the offseason but keep an eye on the betting lines as they move around at Diamond Sportsbook! Get the latest college basketball betting lines right here.
