Steve Starr
- BetOnline has Duke (+900) favored to win the 2020 national championship after a 15-1 start to the season
- Gonzaga (+1000) and Baylor (+1400) are battling for the No. 1 spot in the AP Top 25 Poll
- Auburn (+2500) and San Diego State (+2500) remain undefeated at the season’s midway point
We’re halfway through a volatile college basketball season that has seen six different No. 1 teams in the first eight weeks.
While blue blood programs such as Duke (+900), Kansas (+1000) and Kentucky (+1400) are still among the favorites to win the national championship, many other preseason contenders have fallen off the board altogether, including Memphis, North Carolina and the defending-champion Virginia Cavaliers.
Let’s take a look at the latest odds at BetOnline and recap all the action.
ODDS TO WIN 2020 NCAA CHAMPIONSHIP
| Team | Current Odds | Trending | Odds as of Dec. 16, 2019 |
| Duke | +900 | ↑ | +1000 |
| Gonzaga | +1000 | ↑ | +1600 |
| Kansas | +1000 | ↑ | +1200 |
| Louisville | +1000 | ↔ | +1000 |
| Baylor | +1400 | ↑ | +2000 |
| Kentucky | +1400 | ↓ | +1200 |
| Maryland | +1400 | ↑ | +1600 |
| Michigan State | +1400 | ↓ | +1200 |
| Ohio State | +1400 | ↓ | +1200 |
| Oregon | +1600 | ↑ | N/A |
| Arizona | +2000 | ↑ | N/A |
| Auburn | +2500 | ↑ | N/A |
| Butler | +2500 | ↑ | N/A |
| Colorado | +2500 | ↑ | N/A |
| Dayton | +2500 | ↑ | N/A |
| Florida | +2500 | ↓ | +2000 |
| Michigan | +2500 | ↓ | +1600 |
| San Diego State | +2500 | ↑ | N/A |
| Seton Hall | +2500 | ↑ | N/A |
BAYLOR PUSHING GONZAGA FOR NUMBER 1
Gonzaga (+1000) finally created some stability at No. 1 of the AP Top 25, reeling off ten straight wins. Undefeated in six weeks, the Bulldogs are now benefiting from a comparatively soft WCC schedule, most recently crushing Loyola Marymount by 25 points.
Entering the week with impressive Quadrant 1 victories over Butler, Villanova, Arizona, the Baylor Bears defeated reigning runner-up Texas Tech on the road on Tuesday before blasting Kansas 67-55 at Allen Fieldhouse on Saturday.
BAYLOR WINS AT THE PHOG! ?
The No. 4 Bears secure their first win at Allen Fieldhouse with the dub over No. 3 Kansas! #SicEm pic.twitter.com/husA544I9c
— NCAA March Madness (@marchmadness) January 11, 2020
With national media outlets making the case that Baylor should be the No. 1 team in the country, it’s no surprise to see their national-title odds jump from +2000 to +1400 since we last checked in.
AUBURN AND SAN DIEGO STATE ARE STILL UNDEFEATED
Despite losing by one-point in the Final Four to the eventual champion Virginia and starting this season undefeated at 15-0, the Auburn Tigers are getting no respect from oddsmakers.
Listed at +2500 to win the national championship, Bruce Pearl’s Tigers are off to the school’s best start to a season in more than two decades, but still haven’t played a ranked team. That will change on February 1st when they host No. 14 Kentucky.
No. 5 Auburn destroys Georgia, 82-60 to move to (15-0) on the season and now have won an astounding 27 out of their last 28 games. Bruce Pearl has transformed Auburn into the hottest program in college basketball #WarDamnEagle pic.twitter.com/u68UCo2GCx
— Skye Underwood (@SkyeUnderwood) January 11, 2020
San Diego State (+2500) is also off to its best start since 2010-11, holding opponents to under 60 points in seven of their past eight games. Playing in the weak Mountain West conference, the 17-0 Aztecs have a strong shot at entering March Madness as an unbeaten No. 1 seed.
ANOTHER LOSS FOR MICHIGAN STATE
Favored at the beginning of the year, Michigan State started its season much in the same way as I started my university career: by failing every test.
After losses to Kentucky, Virginia Tech, and Duke, the Spartans and National Player of the Year frontrunner Cassius Winston looked to be finding their groove recently with eight straight wins, including an 87-69 victory over their state rivals in Michigan.
Anyone who thinks Cassius Winston is not the best PG in CBB. Please watch this video. pic.twitter.com/Z79ZWmLUsE
— INSIDE MSU (@inside_msu) January 6, 2020
That all ended on Sunday with a 71-42 beatdown at the hands of the Purdue Boilermakers.
While Tom Izzo’s team always seems to be playing deep into March, the coach hasn’t won a national title since the year 2000. And considering the Spartans’ lackluster results to this point, +1400 hardly seems like a value.
