- Gonzaga is still the solid +400 odds on favorite to win the NCAA men’s basketball title.
- The Bulldogs fell to No. 3 in the latest AP Top 25 poll after losing to Duke last Friday.
- One day after taking the top spot in the rankings, the Blue Devil fell to Ohio State 71-66 as 3.5 point betting favorites on Tuesday night.
The Gonzaga Bulldogs remained as the solid odds on favorite to win the NCAA men’s basketball title this season despite falling to 3rd in the latest AP Rankings.
Gonzaga’s unbeaten season ended after seven games with the Zags suffering an 84-81 loss to the Duke Blue Devils last Friday. The Zags bounced back with a 64-55 win over Tarleton State to improve to 7-1 on the season, 1st in the WCC. They are still the current +400 odds on favorite to win the National Title at online sportsbook BetMGM.
New No. 1 in the AP Poll
There’s a new No. 1 in the latest men’s AP Poll ?
1. Duke
2. Purdue
3. Gonzaga
4. Baylor
5. UCLA
6. Villanova
7. Texas
8. Kansas
9. Kentucky
10. Arkansas— SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) November 29, 2021
Duke jumped four spots to no.1 in Monday’s poll following its big win over Gonzaga Despite their rise to the top, the Blue Devil remained as second favorites at +800. Meanwhile, the Purdue Boilermakers rose from 3rd to second behind Duke, their highest ranking since becoming no. 2 late during the 1987-88 season.
Defending champion Baylor moved up two spots to no. 4 after winning the Battle 4 Atlantis in the Bahamas. The Bears have the 9th best odds to repeat as champions with their +2000 odds. UCLA which suffered a blowout loss to the Zags last week, fell down three spots in the latest rankings to no. 5. The Bruins are among four teams that share the 5th best odds to win the championship at +1600.
Villanova is ranked 6th and they are a +1600 to win the National title. No. 7 Texas is listed at +1400 while No. 8 Kansas is at +1200. 9th ranked Kentucky is priced at +1600 and No. 10 Arkansas has the longest odds among Top 10 ranked teams at +3300. Michigan dropped four spots to No. 24 but is still a +1600 at the best NCAA basketball sportsbooks. The story doesn’t end here.
Duke Goes Down
? DUKE GOES DOWN! ?
Ohio State falls down big early and comes back to topple #1
Ohio State +3.5 ?
UNDER 147.5 ?Final Score:
Ohio State 71, Duke 66pic.twitter.com/U9fqdCdPVD— BetOnline.ag (@betonline_ag) December 1, 2021
Duke’s stay on the top, however, could be as quick as its rise. One day after being voted as the no.1 team in the nation for the first time since spending two weeks at the top in November 2019, the Blue Devils blew a 43-30 half-time lead and were beaten by unranked Ohio State 71-66 as 3.5 points betting favorites.
The Buckeyes improved to 8-3 SU in their last eight games against AP no. 1 ranked teams and 2-0 SU in their last two home games against a no. 1 team. The loss marked the first time in over a decade when the Blue Devils lost a game after leading by 10+ points at the half. The Blue Devils don’t play until December 14th when they host South Carolina but by then, they might no longer be the top team in the nation.
As for the Zags. they will next play No. 16 Alabama on December 4th in the Battle in Seattle at the Climate Pledge Arena. The Crimson Tide defeated Miami 96-64 in the 5th place game at the ESPN Invitationals last Sunday.
