This is a great time to get ahead of the market in the College Basketball March Madness futures. Most things are settled in terms of rosters, recruits, and transfers although there still are a few pieces left to fall. Most people will be focused on football for the next few months and into the fall so during the summer time you can pick off some really good numbers for next year’s tournament. 

Contenders

In this category we’re looking for teams that will more than likely get a top three seed hopefully can play their way onto to the one line. Most of these numbers will be a bit shorter but there can still be value if you see a team with the potential to have a special regular season. 

Kansas +1200

You may need to get a bit creative with this number so low but it can be a great final leg of a parlay if you have a few other bets to combine it with. See our Draftkings Futures Parlays page to get some leg ideas if you need them. The Jayhawks return a multitude of quality players from last year’s squad including three key starters, they have three four star freshman recruits coming in, and they added Hunter Dickenson in the transfer portal. Bill Self will no doubt maximize the talent that is on the roster and there is a high likelihood that this is the number one overall seed some March.

Houston +2000

This was the hot team heading into last season and really all the way up until they lost. They had sub 10/1 odds the entire year and really lived up to hype, they just ran into a super hot Miami team and they fell victim to the injury bug. They lost Sasser to the draft and Tramon Mark to the portal but they bring in two of the best guards available in the transfer portal in Baylor transfer LJ Cryer and Temple transfer Damian Dunn. Jamal Shead is also back after testing the NBA draft waters, and Emanuel Sharp showed flashes of his potential last season. They transition to the Big 12 which might give them some issues. On the flip side though, it should give them quality competition throughout the year which might sharper their sword for the tournament. One of the knocks on them was that their strength of schedule was so weak it was tough to know how they would match up to a quality opponent, those questions will be do more and you can always count on Sampson coached teams to play elite defense and with a tenacious relentless attitude. Lundardi has them projected as a two seed, this is a team that can play their way into a one seed and three is probably their floor. 20/1 would be a great number to have in pocket if they can play their way to a one seed. 

Potential Contenders

These are teams that may be headed for that 4/5 seed range heading into the year but that have two or three seed upside, maybe they could even play their way into a one seed. These numbers will be a bit better and could provide some real value if they exceed expectations in the regular season.

Kentucky +2500

25/1 is a steal on a Kentucky team that boasts the highest rated recruiting class. There is some disagreement between books on this squad as their odds range from 14/1 all the way up to 25/1. There were some 30/1 numbers out there for awhile too. Calipari looks to be going back to the stud freshman model that worked so well for him before. They saw a price cut because Tshiebwe went to the NBA, but it honestly seemed like he actually slowed their offense down last year and really forced them to play a slow paced game that featured a lot of back to the basket post plays. They should be able to play a faster fluid game with the young athletes they have. They return some nice players as well and they just got Tre Mitchell from West Virginia. Make no mistake either these kids that they have coming in are legit. Out of the ESPN 100 recruits they have the number 4 and number 6 ranked players coming in which are both from the same high school, DJ Wagner PG and Aaron Bradshaw C. Then on top of that you have the number 3 ranked player in the class coming as well who’s a SF out of Philadelphia. This team is going to be young but Calipari has a great track record with super young talented teams. This is a great time to buy in on the Wildcats before people get a chance to see these young pieces on the floor together. 

Creighton +3000

Ryan Kalkbrenner is one of the best players in the nation and will be the center piece of this team. Utah State transfer Steven Ashworth will replace Nembhard who was actually a bit of a disappointment last year. Ashworth was arguably the best non big in the the country available in the portal. Arthur Kaluma elected to transfer as well but that’s not huge loss. Baylor Scheierman and Trey Alexander both flirted with the NBA but will be back for 2023-24 giving the Blue Jays three returning starters who all averaged more than 12 points per game last year. 30/1 is a great number on a team that should land between a one and a three seed come tourney time. 

North Carolina +4000

R.J. Davis and Armando Bacot return and give Hubert Davis a great core with a veteran guard and center combo. He then went out and surrounded those two returning stars with intriguing complementary players. Veteran sharp shooter Cormac Ryan comes in from Notre Dame, while Harrison Ingram from Stanford gives them a versatile wing. They also get promising freshman Elliot Cadeau to come in as he opted to reclassify and will be in Chapel Hill this fall. He's a truly elite passer and playmaker who could have the ball in his hands from day one.

Final Four Sleepers

This is the fun long shot category, but this is one market in which you can find some great value. If you can get a team 100/1 or higher into the final four it gives you a lot of options. These are teams that you can bet outright with the goal of hedging and bet them for the final four, which is a bet you can actually win. You don’t have to go back any further than last year and Florida Atlantic who went on their miraculous run. This is a valuable market to look for long shots in and that can’t be said about every futures market. 

Oregon 

National Title +8000

Final Four +2200

This is one of the best recruiting classes in the Dana Altman era. This could be the first time Altman starts three Freshman. At guard Keeshawn Barthelemy will battle it out with incoming West Linn product and Oregon High School Player of the Year Jackson Shelstad for the starting point guard position. 5-star duo Kwame Evans Jr. and Mookie Cook come in at forward and then they’ll have Nate Bittle and Kel’el Ware down low, both five star recruits who still need to make some gains but the talent is there. If the incoming squad buys in to Altman’s coaching style and doesn’t play so hot and cold, the Ducks should compete for a conference championship and a locked in spot in the tourney.

St. Johns

National Title +9000

Final Four +2000

This has a lot to do with the Rick Pitino effect, he really is a great coach and St. Johns seems to be the perfect spot for his comeback. He added 11 scholarship players, retaining just Joel Soriano and Drissa Traore. Soriano is a huge piece, a skilled offensive player at center and a double-double machine. A backcourt featuring high-scoring Penn transfer Jordan Dingle, Iona transfer Daniss Jenkins and UMass import RJ Luis also presents plenty of intrigue. The talent here is more than enough for Pitino to have them in the thick of the national conversation and don’t be surprised if they make a run in the tourney as an eight or nine seed.

Drake 

National Title +30000 

Final Four +10000

Drake swingman Tucker DeVries is one of the best watches in all of college basketball. He’s just a sophomore and his Bulldogs had Miami on the ropes in the first round of this year’s tournament with just a couple of minutes to play. DeVries went 1-for-13 from the floor in the gasme, scoring only three points to cap a season where he had managed at least 11 in 33 of 34 games. But he’ll be back and more experienced, they also return their second leading scorer Roman Penn. They have some nice recruits coming in and some promising talent from the portal as well. This has been a program on the rise and this may be the year that it all comes together. 

Charleston

National Title +50000

Final Four +10000

The Cougars might have had another round or two in them if they hadn’t drawn San Diego State in the first round. Charleston’s three elder statesmen are leaving because of eligibility. All three averaged more than 10 points per game. But the rest of Charleston’s core is young, talented, and experienced, which is a pretty lethal combination in today’s college basketball game. The Cougs have proved they can add key pieces through the portal, too, which means they might be one addition away from running it back as CAA champions. The CAA isn’t the toughest conference but we know its champion can still make some noise during March Madness.