Duke and Kansas Lead the Pack: Early Odds Favor Heavyweights Over UConn for 2025 Title

As the overwhelming favorite going into the season, UConn produced a dominant second straight national championship. Although Duke and Kansas started as the favorites on BetMGM to win the 2025 championship, the Huskies are still very much in the lead in the odds to win a third title in a row.

The Blue Devils and Jayhawks are both +1100 to win it all. UConn is right behind at +1200. Houston is fourth at +1400.

The Huskies opened at +1200 to win the 2024 championship after winning the 2023 championship. They were tied for first place with Kentucky and Duke. Even though Duke advanced to the Elite Eight and both of those teams had strong regular seasons, UConn was the overwhelming favorite to win it all as the season went on. Before the Final Four, the Huskies had zero chance of winning it all.

Now that UConn has won two straight titles since 2007, they have a chance to become the first team to accomplish a three-peat since UCLA’s seven consecutive titles from 1967 to 1973. But Dan Hurley, the coach, will have a lot of people to replace. Stephon Castle, a rookie, and dominant center Donovan Clingan will probably play professionally. In the NBA Draft, both are anticipated to be first-round selections. Both the team’s second-leading scorer, Cam Spencer, and most outstanding player of this NCAA Tournament, Tristen Newton, are fifth-year seniors who will be leaving. Hurley must have a lot of faith in himself to still have UConn ranked so high, even if the reigning champions are always close to the top of the rankings.

While all of this is going on, Duke is anticipated to regain Jeremy Roach and lose Kyle Filipowski to the draft but gains two highly sought-after prospects in Cooper Flagg and Khaman Maluach. According to CJ Moore and Sam Vecenie’s way-too-early top 25 rankings for the upcoming season, the Blue Devils are ranked #1. At Duke, there is never a dull moment, but huge things are anticipated from Jon Scheyer in his third year.

Under Bill Self, Kansas is a consistent contender and started the season ranked No. 1. By March, injuries had left the Jayhawks with a roster shorthanded, as seen by the addition of Zeke Mayo via the transfer portal and the anticipated return of Hunter Dickinson. Mayo led the South Dakota State Jackrabbits to the NCAA Tournament and was named the Summit League Player of the Year.

Blue bloods continue to fill the remaining spots in the top 10, as usual. North Carolina, Kentucky, and Baylor are all located at +1800. Arizona and Alabama are both +2000.

2025 men’s college basketball national title odds

Team	Odds
Duke	+1100
Kansas	+1100
UConn	+1200
Houston	+1400
North Carolina	+1800
Kentucky	+1800
Baylor	+1800
Alabama	+2000
Arizona	+2000
Tennessee	+2500
Purdue	+2500
Michigan State	+2500
Iowa State	+3000
Gonzaga	+3000
Texas	+3000
Auburn	+3000

(Photo of Jon Scheyer: Lance King / Getty Images)