Is it ever too early to start thinking about NCAA March Madness? No? We thought so. Even months away, we can’t help but lay down futures bets on who will win the 2024 NCAA hoops title. Keep on reading to get our way-too-early predictions, but ones we’re confident in nonetheless.
2024 March Madness Odds
We’re not even into conference play yet, but still, there’s enough sample size of games to get a “lay of the land” so to speak. Using these games, the best NCAA hoops betting sites have released 2024 March Madness odds. At the moment, these teams are the betting favorites to cut down the nets come the end of the tourney:
| Team |  |  |  |
|---|---|---|---|
| Purdue | +1000 | +1000 | +1000 |
| Kansas | +1100 | +1100 | +1100 |
| Arizona | +1100 | +1100 | +1100 |
| UConn | +1400 | +1400 | +1400 |
| Marquette | +1400 | +1400 | +1400 |
| Houston | +1600 | +1600 | +1600 |
| Duke | +1800 | +1800 | +1800 |
| Kentucky | +2000 | +2000 | +2000 |
| Creighton | +2000 | +2000 | +2000 |
These NCAA Tournament odds are going to fluctuate wildly from here on out. Bookmakers constantly refresh odds based on the latest happenings — wins, losses, injuries, slumps, and everything in between. If you want to lock in any of these betting odds, you have to act quickly. Speaking of which, here are the teams you should probably prioritize betting on.
Best Bets To Win 2024 March Madness
You’re a madman (or woman) if you only have one bet on the March Madness winner. We mean, did you see who made last year’s Final Four? FAU, Miami, San Diego State, and eventual winner, UConn. Not exactly a predictable Final Four — the opposite of 2022 which featured only blueblood programs (Duke, North Carolina, Kansas, and Villanova). You’d be smart to pick a few different teams and we’d start here if we were you:
Purdue
The Boilermakers became the butt of every joke last season as they became the second-ever No. 1 seed to go down to a No. 16 when Fairleigh Dickson beat them 63-58. The other team it happened to? The 2018 Virginia team, who avenged that chokejob by winning the championship the season after. Deja vu for Purdue? We’re betting on it as a strong possibility.
The best thing going for the Boilermakers is an extremely experienced core. Only two players from last year's squad are gone — and neither was a major contributor. The rest are holdovers with a chip on their shoulder after the FDU defeat, plus a few new additions. The big one is four-star freshman Myles Colvin, who is getting consistent minutes so far.
But make no mistake, Purdue’s title chances rest on the reigning Wooden Player of the Year, Zach Edey. He’s a rare award winner who came back to school and so far, he’s picked up right where he left one. Edey is currently averaging more points (23.7) on better shooting (63.6 percent) with more blocks (2.9) than he did a year ago. The 7-foot-4 behemoth is a difference-maker and is the big reason we’re confident in betting the Boilermakers here.
Kansas
The preseason No. 1 team in the nation has lived up to expectations so far. They did lose one game, but have beaten four ranked teams already — Kentucky, Tennessee, and reigning champion UConn. The Jayhawks pretty much check every box you’d want in a national title contender.
Top-level coach? Check. Bill Self is going on 20 years with the program and he’s trying to deliver a third national title. There are very few coaches in the collegiate game better than Self right now.
Wooden Player of the Year-type talent? Oh yeah, transfer Hunter Dickson fits that model. Like Edey, he’s also a seven-foot center. The former Michigan stud is currently No. 2 in the award betting odds.
What about a bevy of shooters to surround its big man? You betcha. Returning guards like Dajuan Harris and Kevin McCullar can shoot lights out. That’s a perfect compliment to Dickinson who can draw double teams down low so often.
The talent and coaching are all there for the Jayhawks to run the table. This is a no-brainer futures bet in our mind.
Creighton
After backing two perennial betting favorites, we wanted to pick a longer shot for our final choice. You almost have to given the unpredictable events of the 2023 tournament. In this category, Creighton immediately comes to mind.
We say darkhorse despite the Bluejays being the No. 10-ranked team in the country right now. But let’s be real, no one is taking them as a serious contender — not in the so-so Big East.
We like Creighton here because this is a highly experienced team, one that was within a basket of making last year’s Final Four. A lot of what we said about the two previous picks also applies here: this group is experienced and is playing with a chip on their shoulder. That’s a key ingredient under the bright lights of March Madness.
How To Bet On March Madness Futures?
As we said, betting on March Madness futures should be done sooner rather than later if you want to lock in the current betting odds. You can do just that by hitting one of the bookmakers listed below. Per our latest sportsbook reviews, these sites are as good as it gets. That’s partly because of the lucrative sportsbook bonuses offer — free money that can fund your basketball betting. See the table below for full details.
