NCAA Basketball National Title Odds Ahead of Christmas Break

• BetOnline has Duke and Louisville (+1000) as the co-favorites to win the 2020 national championship
  
• Kansas (+1200) moved to No. 1 in the AP Top 25 Poll this week
  
• Ohio State (+1200) and Gonzaga (+1600) have been rising up the board in recent weeks
  

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There is no dominant program in college basketball this season.

Four of the top-five teams in the Associated Press Top 25 suffered losses last week and the AP has already ranked five different teams at No. 1 through the first month-and-a-half of the year.

With all this volatility promising to make March as unhinged as an in-his-prime Bob Knight, let’s take a look at the national-title favorites at BetOnline as we head into the holidays.

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THE FAVORITES: DUKE AND LOUISVILLE

The previously-unbeaten Cardinals dropped from +800 national title favorites to +1000 after falling 70-57 to Texas Tech in the Jimmy V Classic last Tuesday.

Louisville’s next test will come against rival Kentucky (+1200) on Dec. 28. Having faced a soft-schedule to this point, Coach Cal’s Wildcats will also host the No. 5-ranked Buckeyes this Saturday.

POLL ALERT: Kansas becomes fifth team this year to reach No. 1 in Top 25 men’s poll; Gonzaga, Louisville next, North Carolina out.

Full poll: https://t.co/xXlGQKLkGZ

More college basketball coverage: https://t.co/N0HLv6oHbR pic.twitter.com/0Muf4DQK9N

— AP Top 25 (@AP_Top25) December 16, 2019

Since playing ten games in the first month of the season, Duke (+1000) is on somewhat of a holiday break, with only two games on the schedule between Dec. 7 and Dec. 31.

After recording a big win over Michigan State a few weeks back, the Blue Devils’ next game against a ranked team doesn’t come until mid-January against Louisville.

RISING: OHIO STATE AND GONZAGA

Perhaps feeling the pressure of an incoming No. 1 ranking, the Buckeyes fell 84-71 to Minnesota on Sunday night without their second-leading scorer, Duane Washington Jr., who was nursing a rib injury.

Ohio State has moved from +3300 before the season to +1200 today,  but assuming Washington Jr. can’t make it back for this week’s Kentucky game, expect their odds to start heading back in the other direction.

Zags take care of business! ?

No. 6 Gonzaga defeats No. 15 Arizona, extending the longest active true road win streak to 11! #UnitedWeZag pic.twitter.com/nFYNy7KSP7

— NCAA March Madness (@marchmadness) December 15, 2019

Aside from getting crushed by Michigan during Feast Week, Gonzaga (+1600) has been impressive recently with road Ws over Washington and Arizona.

On Wednesday, the Bulldogs will host the 6-4 Tarheels. Sliding from +1300 to +2000 following their upset-loss to Wofford on Sunday, North Carolina is in deep trouble after losing star freshman Cole Anthony to a serious knee injury.

HOW LONG WILL KANSAS STAY AT NO. 1?

Before the year, Kansas coach Bill Self said he would use the NCAA charges against his program as “motivation” and it appears to be working.

Despite an opening-game loss to Duke, the Jayhawks are No. 1 in the new AP Top 25 poll after nine straight wins against middling opponents. The question, however, is how long will they be able to stay there?

Gregg Popovich won’t be the coach of the Spurs forever, and as hard as it is to picture someone else on their sidelines, Bill Self may be the guy.https://t.co/wqY1smHHas

— The Big Lead (@thebiglead) December 12, 2019

Six weeks into the season, no school has been able to hold onto the top ranking, and with Kansas heading to No. 18 Villanova this Saturday, the curse may continue.

Hold off on the Jayhawks at +1200. With five of their next seven on the road, there’s no point in paying an inflated price on a No. 1 team in a year where nobody stays No. 1 for long.