College Basketball National Championship Odds
Even as the favorite, Gonzaga's title odds still have value
Matthew Horner - Nov 13, 2021, 10:39am EST
Gonzaga Favored To Win National Championship
The Gonzaga Bulldogs opened the 2021-2022 college basketball season as the +650 favorites to win the national championship. Many people don't want to bet on the favorite, since you get the shortest odds and a smaller payout, and there is a stigma out there against betting the preseason favorites for anything.
I'm here to tell you that at +650, these are the best odds you are likely to get on Gonzaga all season long. When the Bulldogs went undefeated last year in the regular season, they were so heavily favored to win the national title that you actually had to pay some juice to bet them to win.
I would expect that to happen once again here, with a team that might be even better than last year's national championship runner-up. I would expect Gonzaga to be favored in every single game they play this season, barring some sort of injury to star players. This means you get 6.5-to-1 odds on a team that will never be an underdog.
Heading into the Sweet 16 or Elite Eight with a +650 or better ticket on the 'Zags will be like having a gold nugget. Of course, Gonzaga needs to get there first, but they will definitely do so if they play anywhere near their sky-high potential.
Gonzaga At Short Odds
The Bulldogs are the most talented team in the country, and the best team in college basketball on paper. They may have lost some star players like Jalen Suggs and Corey Kispert to the NBA Draft, but that doesn't matter much for a program that just retools every year with new stars.
Head coach Mark Few landed three five-star freshman, including the nation’s No. 1 player in Chet Holmgren, to add to this team's already stacked roster. In fact, it says all you need to know about Gonzaga's depth when I've written this much and have yet to mention John Wooden Award frontrunner Drew Timme, who will be a dominant player for the Bulldogs.
Look, just don't overthink this too much. We know Gonzaga is the best team in the country. We know they are going to absolutely railroad the West Coast Conference on their way to a probable No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament. You are getting +650 odds on that team right now.
Grab it while you can, as I believe those odds will be significantly shorter in just a few short months.
