NCAA Basketball Betting Preview: Can Kansas Go Wire-To-Wire?

Dajuan Harris of the Kansas Jayhawks basketball team taking the ball upcourt

The Kansas Jayhawks of the SEC open the 2023-24 NCAAB season as the top-ranked team in college basketball and lead the national championship futures.

By the time the tournament begins, it will have been 32 years since a college basketball program entered the season ranked first, finished number one, and then cut down the nets at the March Madness Tournament.

Preseason Men’s College Basketball Rankings For 2023-2024

Kansas
Duke
Purdue
Michigan State
Marquette
UConn
Houston
Creighton
Tennessee
Florida Atlantic

The Duke Blue Devils were the most recent team to go wire-to-wire, getting the job done in 1992. The feat has only been accomplished on seven occasions in the history of college basketball, with the UCLA Bruins pulling it off four times.

College Basketball Teams That Have Gone Wire-To-Wire

San Francisco Dons – 1956
UCLA Bruins – 1967
UCLA Bruins – 1969
UCLA Bruins – 1972
UCLA Bruins – 1973
Indiana Hoosiers – 1976
Duke Blue Devils – 1992

The preseason odds for betting on college basketball grant Kansas +1000 odds to go all the way this season. A $100 bet on the Jayhawks to win March Madness will result in payouts of $1,100, even though they are the favored team.

2024 NCAA Men’s Basketball Championship Odds

Kansas +1000
Duke +1200
Kentucky +1200
Purdue +1400
UConn +1600
Michigan State +1600
Arizona +2000
Creighton +2200
Houston +2200
Marquette +2500
Arkansas +2500

The March Madness defending champion UConn Huskies enter the season ranked 6th. They are listed fifth in the NCAAB futures listed at March Madness betting sites.

Duke enters 2023-24 looking strong, tied for second in the NCAAB futures and holding the number two preseason ranking. The Blue Devils are also a heavy favorite to win the ACC.

Here are all the current college basketball conference odds that are available at our favorite 18+ sportsbook sites as of this writing.

2023-2024 NCAAB Conference Championship Odds:

AAC Odds: Florida Atlantic +105, Memphis +175
ACC Odds: Duke +140, Miami FL +425, North Carolina +425, Virginia +750
America East Odds: Vermont -160, UMass Lowell +225, Bryant +900
Atlantic 10 Odds: Dayton +300, VCU +400, St Bonaventure +625, Loyola Chicago +650, Duquesne +850
Big 12 Odds: Kansas +200, Houston +325, Texas +450, Baylor +650
Big East Odds: Creighton +240, Marquette +260, Connecticut +300, Villanova +650
Big Sky Odds: Weber State +180, Montana +300, Eastern Washington +425, Portland State +600
Big South Odds: UNC Asheville +250, Winthrop +300, Radford +400, Longwood +500, Gardner Webb +600
Big Ten Odds: Purdue +225, Michigan State +300, Maryland +750, Illinois +800, Indiana +800
Big West Odds: UC Irvine +300, Hawaii +350, UC Santa Barbara +375, Long Beach State +375
CAA Odds: Charleston +210, UNC Wilmington +225, Drexel +550
Horizon Odds: Wright State +200, Milwaukee +400, Northern Kentucky +500, Youngtown State +550, Cleveland State +600
Missouri Valley Odds: Drake +250, Bradley +400, Northern Iowa +500
Mountain West Odds: San Diego State +140, Boise State +350, New Mexico +400
Pac 12 Odds: Arizona +200, USC +275, UCLA +375
SEC Odds: Tennessee +350, Kentucky +350, Texas A&M +600, Arkansas +600, Alabama +600
Southern Conference Odds: Furman +200, UNC Greensboro +275, Samford +300
Summit League Odds: South Dakota State +125, Oral Roberts +275, North Dakota State +500
West Coast Conference Odds: Gonzaga -140, Saint Mary’s +130

Another college basketball prop bet making the rounds is the following set of Final Four odds that largely resemble the top ten and overall NCAAB futures.