Big teams continue to fall in the college basketball world as North Carolina and Wichita State both lost last week. The Tar Heels fell in epic fashion on Wednesday night, losing outright to Wofford. That’s simply shocking. The Terriers found themselves as 50/1 underdog and should have simply been happy with the cover. Instead, they won the game outright.
It looks like a free-for-all with the meat of the conference schedules on the horizon in the New Year. We’ve seen a number of big brand schools lose games like this. The odds makers haven’t indicated that it has a big impact on the futures just yet. However, if these teams continue to struggle as we get into conference play, that could be a problem.
The field is listed at +5000. Stats as of Thursday, December 21st.
1. Michigan State Spartans
College Basketball Futures: +450
The Spartans (11-1, 2-0 Big Ten) beat Oakland in the Hitachi College Basketball Showcase in Detroit, and then they routed Houston Baptist at home. This week, the Spartans host Long Beach State before a nine-day break. The game against Oakland was tougher than many would have expected, but the Spartans managed to five all of their starters in double figures as they shot 51.7% from the field, including 39.1% from three-point land, and they outrebounded Oakland 45-30 to pick up the win.
2. Duke Blue Devils
College Basketball Futures: +450
The Blue Devils (12-1, 0-1 ACC) came off an 11-day rest following their loss at Boston College, and they thumped Evansville by 64 points at home. They don’t play against until December 30th against Florida State in conference play. The Blue Devils got 27 points from Wendell Carter Jr., and they managed to get everyone on the floor in a very easy game as Duke also shot 61.9% from the floor, including 61.5% from beyond the arc.
3. Villanova Wildcats
College Basketball Futures: +800
The Wildcats (11-0) has been off since a win over Temple, and they’ll play Hofstra in the Long Island Showcase in Uniondale, then they head to DePaul for their first Big East game of the season. The Wildcats are the #1 team in the country, and they definitely look like they’re the cream of the crop in the Big East, although they have yet to start the conference part of their schedule.
4. Kansas Jayhawks
College Basketball Futures: +1000
The Jayhawks (9-2) rebounded from two straight losses by winning at Nebraska and then thrashing Nebraska at home. The Jayhawks beat Nebraska by just a point on the road, led by Udoka Azubuike’s 26 points and 10 rebounds, while Sviatoslav Mykhailiuk hit a late three-pointer to seal the win for the Jayhawks, who really needed that victory.
5. Arizona Wildcats
College Basketball Futures: +1000
The Wildcats (9-3) won at New Mexico and then again at home over North Dakota State, and this week, the Wildcats will host Connecticut before taking a nine-day break ahead of their Pac-12 opener against their rivals from Arizona State. The Wildcats won both games convincingly, jumping out to 16-point halftime leads in both games, and after a shaky start it looks like Arizona is a title contender once again.
6. Kentucky Wildcats
College Basketball Futures: +1200
The Wildcats (9-1) beat Virginia Tech at home, and they’ll play UCLA in New Orleans in the CBS Sports Classic this week ahead of their annual showdown with Louisville. The Wildcats overcame a six-point halftime deficit to beat Virginia Tech as Kevin Knox had 21 points, while Hamidou Diallo added 20 points for Kentucky, who shot 11-of-22 from the three-point line and forced 19 turnovers. These next two games will be a good barometer of where the Wildcats are heading into the SEC portion of the schedule.
7. North Carolina Tar Heels
College Basketball Futures: +1500
The Tar Heels (10-2) won a tough road game at Tennessee, but they couldn’t get on track against Wofford and lost in one of the biggest upsets of the season to date. The Tar Heels will take on Ohio State in New Orleans in the CBS Sports Classic. The Tar Heels had to rally to win on the road at Tennessee, led by 21 points from Joel Berry, who also had 23 in the loss to Wofford. However, North Carolina shot 36.4% from the field and 28% from behind the three-point line. They even shot 20 more free-throw attempts than Wofford and made 16 more, but still lost as the Tar Heels lost out on a big chance to move up the rankings.
8. Florida Gators
College Basketball Futures: +1500
The Gators (7-4) lost to Clemson in the Never Forget Tribute Classic in Sunrise, then beat James Madison at home in a tougher game that was expected. The Gators were up by seven at halftime, but couldn’t hold off the Tigers and then struggled mightily against James Madison. They shot 41% and 37.9% from the floor, respectively in those games, and the Gators need to pull it together before they get into the SEC schedule, which begins December 30th against Vanderbilt.
9. Arizona State Sun Devils
College Basketball Futures: +1800
The Sun Devils (11-0) won at home over Vanderbilt and then by a much larger margin against Longwood, once again at home. They’ll host Pacific before an eight-day break, which leads into their showdown with Arizona. Tra Holder put up 25 points to spark the Sun Devils against Vanderbilt, and then had 20 points, six assists, five rebounds and six steals against Longwood as the Sun Devils put up 60 points in the second half. The Sun Devils are proving that they’re for real, but the game against Arizona will really show if they’re ready to compete with the big boys of college basketball.
10. Texas A&M Aggies
College Basketball Futures: +2000
The Aggies (10-1) beat Northern Kentucky at home, and then they’ll host Buffalo before a nine-day break going into the SEC slate, which begins at Alabama. Duane Wilson scored 16 poitns to lead the Aggies, who shot just 37.1% from the field and they made just two of their 20 three-point shots against Northern Kentucky. The Aggies also had a 48-39 advantage on the boards, which helped as they had 12 turnovers to nine for their opponents. Texas A&M has to play better when they start the conference part of the slate.
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.
