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Back in early November, old Bubs gave you the pre-season March Madness futures. John Calipari and his Kentucky Wildcats found themselves in a familiar spot: on top. Duke followed and the AP’s pre-season no. 1 team, UNC, rounded out the top three.
But none of the three three were able to make it through their non-conference schedule unbeaten.
Duke fell to Kentucky on a neutral floor; UNC was shocked at Northern Iowa; and then Kentucky lost by double-digits to an underwhelming UCLA team (that already has three losses, itself). Our original no. 4 team, Maryland, also has a loss on its resume already, coming up short against UNC in Chapel Hill.
While we hesitate to put too much stock in these early-season losses by top teams, they do go to show that parity is still on the rise in college basketball, in spite of the new rule changes (which ought to favor the teams with better athletes).
Some of our pre-season favorites remain perfect, including Michigan State, which already owns top-25 wins over Kansas and Louisville. (Iowa State is also unbeaten, but haven’t really faced any stiff competition.) All told, we’ve learned a little about every team, and the March Madness futures have been adjusted accordingly.
Updated 2016 March Madness Odds (as of Dec. 4, 2015):
Kentucky: 8/1
Duke: 10/1
Michigan State: 12/1
North Carolina: 12/1
Iowa State: 15/1
Maryland: 15/1
Kansas: 16/1
Oklahoma: 16/1
Villanova: 20/1
Virginia: 20/1
Purdue: 25/1
Gonzaga: 30/1
(Photo credit: U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class Dylan McCord [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons. Photo may appear cropped.)
