Duke, UConn, Kansas separated as title favorites in men's college hoops

The sports betting odds are stacked to win the men's college basketball national championship, with three bluebloods vying for the season's favorite spot.

Duke is the favorite at 9-1 on ESPN BET, closely followed by UConn (10-1) and Kansas (11-1), while other sportsbooks have the two-time defending champion Huskies as favorites or co-favorites along with the Jayhawks. No preseason favorite has won the national title since the 2008-09 North Carolina Tar Heels.

Alabama (12-1), Gonzaga (16-1) and Houston (16-1) make up the second tier of title contenders on ESPN BET.

The offseason betting offering was split between Duke, UConn and Kansas. These three teams account for about 50% of the money placed on ESPN BET's odds to win the national championship.

UConn began the last two seasons as long shots in sports betting. The Huskies were 60-1 entering the 2022-23 season and 22-1 last season, but defied the odds to win back-to-back national championships.

Duke has been the preseason national title favorite in three of the past eight seasons and was just ahead of UConn in ESPN BET's championship odds at the end of last week. The Blue Devils feature highly touted rookie Cooper Flagg.

Kansas has the favorite for the John Wooden Award in big man Hunter Dickinson (+550). Alabama senior guard Mark Sears (+600) and North Carolina senior guard RJ Davis (+650) are also top contenders for the award entering the season.