Hoop! There it is. Legal betting sites are ready for the road to the Final Four. Like Julius Caesar, the best online sportsbooks fear not the Ides of March Madness. And how should welcome the upcoming 2018-19 NCAA Division I Men’s Basketball Tournament? I know. Let’s speculate on who’s going to win before the first shot has even been fired. Hey, it’s a gambler’s life.
Villanova Wildcats +1000
Champagne Villanova is your current reigning and defending champion. But as they found out in 2017, winning back-to-back titles is no easy task. Though at least this time it didn’t take the Wildcats 30 years to win their next championship. Nova has won two NCAA titles in the last three seasons, but expect them to make it three in the last four. “This year is a real transitional year,” head coach Jay Wright said. “It’s gonna test everybody. We haven’t had a year where we have two dominant seniors and really everyone else is unproven. “This is just rare for us. It brings me back to our early days here.” The Wildcats lost Jalen Brunson, Donte DiVincenzo, Omari Spellman, and Mikal Bridges to the NBA Draft. They all won multiple accolades during their time in Villanova. Including the aforementioned two NCAA titles.
Duke Blue Devils +450
Universitas Dukiana is the favorite to win the championship this season, according to legal betting sites. Head coach Mike Krzyzewski’s not-so-secret weapon is ‘Iron Lion’ Zion Williamson. (his teammates apparently call him Zanos, on account of Marvel villain Thanos. But I think my nickname for him is much cleverer and even literate). The freshman power forward is the rare basketball player who’s built like a football player. Or, as the Wall Street Journal puts it, “He’s the anomalous basketball player roughly the size of Charles Barkley who can jump like Michael Jordan.” That’s some mad scientist stuff right there. The NBA already has a hard-on for Williamson. Thus, Duke better make him count while they still have him. Lord knows his father already tried to cash in on him. A year from now, coach K will probably weep when he remembers Zion. Which is another clever reference.
Kansas Jayhawks +850
Kansas doesn’t have as good odds as Duke does. But they do have the kind of determination that beats the odds. “The goal is to win a national championship,” freshman Quentin ‘Hapsburg’ Grimes says. “Ultimately, anything less would be a failure here.” Like with Villanova, it would be no mean feat. The Jayhawks lost Devonte Graham to the NBA draft. Graham was 2018 Big 12 Player of the Year. He also was a consensus first-team All-American, and a first-team All-Big 12. Kansas also lost shooting guard Malik Newman to the NBA G League. Newman was the 2018 Big 12 Newcomer of the Year and Big 12 Tournament MVP. Shouldn’t have let all that go to your head, Malik.
In spite of the departures, Grimes leads a new batch of Kansas talent. That includes other five-star recruits like Devon Dotson and David MCormack. As well as eligible transfers Dedric ‘Tatum’ and K.J. Lawson and Charlie Moore.
Kentucky Wildcats +550
We started with Wildcats so let’s finish with Wildcats. According to small forward Keldon Johnson, UK plays “punk basketball.” Does that mean they deem themselves to be the best in the world? Or just that they’re highly overrated? Actually, it apparently just means head coach John Calipari likes to experiment with big men. Hey, don’t look at me. I’m just reporting the facts. In any case, we’ll find out when Kentucky opens their season against Duke.
All odds taken from MyBookie.ag, one of the most legal betting sites.
